4 Best Performing Arts Venues in Amsterdam, Netherlands

This center for innovative and experimental theater has four venues where it puts on plays, often with an eye towards international audiences.

Although increasingly focused on commercial and large-scale musicals, this former circus theater (that still houses the annual World Christmas Circus) also schedules acclaimed Eastern European ballet and opera companies. International stars can be seen, too: Tom Waits, Idina Menzel, Dionne Warwick, and David Sedaris have all performed here.

Former industrial shipyards have been reinvented as, quite possibly, the city's largest broedplaats, or "breeding ground" for the arts, where regular theater performances and festivals take place. And with a ferry departing from behind Centraal Station, getting here could not be easier.

This theater is the main venue for Flemish culture in the city but also plays host to the IDFA documentary film festival and other events. An atmospheric café with a terrace is perfect for pre- or post-viewing pleasure.