The 3 best coffee shops in Amsterdam (and we're not talking about coffee)

The Bulldog: The First Coffee Shop

Located in the heart of Amsterdam's sulphurous red light district, The Bulldog The First Coffeeshop boasts a colourful facade and a quirky interior: crazy paintings, old photos, neon lights, cowhide sofas... It's the ideal place to relax and strike up a conversation with strangers.

As well as a wide selection of flavoured space-cakes and pre-rolled joints, the place that claims to be the very first coffee shop in the city offers a wide choice of coffees, teas, smoothies, waffles and other sweets.

The Grey Area Coffeeshop

In the city centre, halfway between Anne Frank's house and the Royal Palace, an unusual shopfront catches the eye. Behind this grey door covered in stickers lies one of the smallest coffee shops in Amsterdam, but also one of the most famous: the Grey Area Coffeeshop.

This is where connoisseurs come for variety and, above all, quality. Ty Dolla $ign, Willie Nelson and even Snoop Dogg chose this coffee shop when they visited the Dutch capital!

Location: it's here!

Opening times: daily from 11am to 8pm

Although soft drugs are legal in Amsterdam, they are of course regulated. First of all, it is forbidden to buy (and inadvisable to consume) in the street. Secondly, you must be at least 18 years old to enter a coffee shop.

It is also illegal to have more than 5 grams on you and to try to take cannabis back to your country of origin, at the risk of a hefty fine or even imprisonment.

Finally, don't get behind the wheel after you've had a drink: as well as being illegal, it's extremely dangerous! In the event of a problem, call 112, the European emergency number.