papyPiHi

Hi Folks,

So here it goes, in October I'll be reaching one major milestone in my life: the quarter of a century!
In order to celebrate it with my friends who are scatterred all over the world, I thought about doing it in Amsterdam, as it is a party destination easily reached from France, the UK, Germany, Austria and Sweden, countries in which most of my European friends live.

The only drawback is, I don't know Amsterdam that well (had a few train connections there a few years ago so I explored the city centre a few hours at a time) and I am browsing the web for ideas.
The catch is, I don't want to end up doing the typical stuff that most people do when in AMS: coffee shops are for the moment out of scope, and so are the ladies in their red cabins

We might be between 12 and 20 depending on the number of definite answers, all between 23 and 32 years old.

I was thinking about the following plan:
Friday evening: Arrival in AMS and check in at the hotel (not yet defined, probably something close to the central station). Then a few drinks in the city centre and back to bed.
Saturday: Visit of the Van Gogh and Anne FRank museum, flower market(althgough I don't think this will be the season), maybe something like a bike or boat tour. Then dinner party in some nice and original place, followed by a nightclub.
Sunday: rest time, perhaps some visits, and flights back home in the evening.

But as I am not familiar with the city, I don't know where would be the perfect place to host a party. I had a look at tripadvisor, and Blauw aan de Wal seems a nice option.
Any ideas on what to do, and where to eat (I'm thinking around 20-25€ per head without alcohol, is that a high price range for AMS?)?
Thank in advance,
PapyPihi

GetSetJetSet

Unless you guys are very very into getting high, i'd go elsewhere. The boozing/club scene in Amsterdam is pretty crap. Low end and not so fun (unless you are incredibly into hard house I guess).

UnitedFlyGuy

As said above, sounds like elsewhere might be best.

Also, the area around Central Station isn't the best. Go more towards museum campus. Much nicer.

Just my .02

papyPiHi

Thanks for the replies!
The problem is, I have hardly any other options available, given that I'm trying to bring my friends together w/o making them pay too much on air/rail fares.

I had considered Brussels or Paris, but the latter doesn't appeal to me anymore in terms of nightlife and living.

Where else would you recommend, given that we'll all fly/take the train from either LHR, MRS, CDG, GOT, NUE, VIE, ZRH and NTE?

Aviatrix

Why restrict yourself to capitals? While I can't think of anywhere in particular that might suit your age group how about widening your search to include places that are - say - within a 60 to 90 minute train ride of one of the airports you mentioned?

GetSetJetSet

There's one decent club in Brussels, but I would agree not to consider Paris. The good places in Paris aren't big on letting in people they don't know and a group of all dudes who they don't know would be a non-starter.

etch5895

Have you considered Munich or Nuremberg?

papyPiHi

Yes, I had considered other cities, the problem being that we all come from the above airports (LHR, MRS, CDG, GOT, NUE, VIE, ZRH and NTE) and therefore needed to find a destination not too expensive to fly to(i.e. under £150), over a weekend (5-7OCT), and with the option to leave on a Friday after work. therefore AMS or BRU seemed a good compromise.
NUE is tough to reach from NTE, and MUC is out of the budget.

FRA was another option, but I am not a fan of the nightlife there, so I left it out

hdogan

How about PRG or BTS? BTS can be reached by bus from VIE, it is definitely cheap with a few good places, and a nice old town and castle that you can visit - or you can stay and club in BTS and have a day trip to VIE.

PRG has some totally cool places, but might be out of budget, depending on where you stay.

keisari

Let me throw a totally different idea:

Rent a very large house, # of bedrooms depends on how many people confirm, somewhere in France - maybe around Lyon or Aix en Provence; everybody stays in the same house and then you celebrate your birthday in the house; saturday trip to the local market, one group goes to buy the booze, another the food, bring your own music, cook dinner at home and enjoy a good time with the people you like.
October may still be nice enough in Provence so you can enjoy a pool.
Sunday AM look for a nice bistro for "brunch" and then everybody leaves at their own leisure.

MSPeconomist

For a group, the Amsterdam canal cruises could be fun, although this is best in summer. A great but very expensive way to do it would be to charter a smallish boat through a hotel and have drinks and dinner while seeing Amsterdam from the water.

Fanjet

Amsterdam is actually quite expensive. And hotels are not cheap. Why not go to Berlin? Lots of LCC flights there. It's still pretty inexpensive, particularly for alcohol. It's open all night, including public transport. And while it has a massive amount of tourists now, its sidewalks are much wider than Prague's (which would be my other recommendation for partying cheaply), so it's easier to maneuver around. And they're on the Euro.

Julian

Agree, for what it's worth. Better than AMS, BRU, or CDG.

stimpy

Wow, I'm surprised to see so many people trying to dissuade you from Amsterdam. It's a great city for a party, even without the sex and drugs .

You can eat in any price range and there are loads of bars and restaurants who would love to host a party for 20. We are in an economic crisis after all. If I were you I would not plan too much ahead. Just spend the first night in city center enjoying a few drinks and scout around. There are loads of fun places. As you walk out of the Centraal station, to your left is the red light district which you would probably want to avoid. Instead head slightly to the right of center and you will see lots of nice places.

CubsFanJohn

Amsterdam doesn't sound that bad for a party but I'd also look into Berlin.