Katsu

Katsu is a very popular coffee shop and has now been open for over 20 years. It has a very extensive menu, selling 20 different strains of marijuana and 16 hashes from all over the world, including the Cannabis cup winning Crystal Clear ice-o-lator brand. If you see all that choice as actually rather daunting, then I highly recommend the Northern Lights brand of marijuana. Smoking tobacco indoors has now been banned in Amsterdam, but an American style pure marijuana joint will set you back just three euros. The fully stocked bar is well equipped for an attack of the munchies, with candy based snacks and fresh fruit pieces.

De Dampkring

This coffee shop gained notoriety when the cast of Ocean’s 12 decided to film a scene here, it was chosen by the producers for its unique interior which definitely sets it apart from the other coffee shops in Amsterdam.

Whether Clooney and co sampled any of the green stuff remains to be seen, but one thing’s for sure, as far as marijuana is concerned – De Dampkring really knows its stuff. Marijuana isn’t just a means to a business for De Dampkring’s owners, but rather it is a way of life. The shop opened in 1993 as a place for marijuana connoisseurs, with a policy that customers could buy anything that they wanted with no profited bags full of standard amounts of cannabis. The shop is notorious throughout Amsterdam for its orange bud, and in 1998 this was proved when it won four out of six of the Cannabis Cup finals.

The Greenhouse

This is another coffee shop that knows a few things about winning the cannabis cup. The walls are adorned with pictures of celebrities as a testament to its popularity and famous faces that have frequented this joint include Britney Spears, 50 Cent and the Wu Tang Clan. The Greenhouse also owns a smart shop that enables you to buy marijuana seeds of your favourite strains to grow at home. The music here is suitably eclectic with anything from Pink Floyd to Snoop Dogg being played in a single visit. Drinks and snacks in The Greenhouse are very reasonably priced and your munchies are well catered for with dishes such as butter chicken and cheese toasties featuring on the food menu.

Amnesia

Amnesia is located in a very scenic location on the Herengracht with outdoor seating and spacious open windows, where you can smoke a joint of marijuana whilst watching the boats float past. The cannabis café is known for its American style soda fountain drinks which feature old classics, such as New York egg cream and lime rickeys. Smokewise, the Amnesia is known to be the best place in the city to buy organically grown marijuana, including the bio haze and amnesia varieties. Try and fit your visit around one of their famous vaporiser parties, which take place sporadically and are staffed by knowledgeable students from the nearby Cannabis College.

Hill Street Blues

Hill Street Blues doesn’t have an alcohol license, but they more than compensate with fresh fruit smoothies and cannabis related foodstuffs, including space cakes and space shakes. The cannabis café has a relaxed atmosphere, with cushy beanbags and attentive staff who are keen to deliver your order directly to your table. Hill Street Blues is located on the Nieuwmarkt in a prime location for people spotting and it is so named as it is located next door to a police station. Every square inch of the place is sprawled with graffiti, but keep an eye out for some famous scrawlings as Eminem had his photo taken on the Hill Street couches for the cover of his first album.