Café Hoppe

Café Hoppe has stood on the Spui since 1670, making it one of the oldest cafés in Amsterdam. It is a classic bruin café, or brown café, the name given to the city's traditional pubs, whose wooden interiors have been darkened by centuries of use. Behind the bar, old wooden barrels once used for gin and liqueurs line the wall, and the atmosphere is unpretentious, with regulars, students, office workers and visitors standing shoulder to shoulder at busy times.

The café fills up quickly after work, when the crowd often spills out on to the pavement of the Spui. Beer is the main drink, along with jenever, the Dutch spirit that is ancestor to gin, and the bar keeps things simple. A visit here is about the atmosphere and the history rather than a cocktail list, and it is one of the easiest places in the centre to experience the Dutch idea of gezelligheid, a cosy sociability that is hard to translate.

The café suits anyone wanting a traditional Amsterdam pub, from solo travellers to groups of friends, and it is a good place to start or end an evening in the centre. It opens early, so it also works for a coffee in the morning or a quiet drink in the afternoon, when it is at its calmest.

Opening hours are from 9am to 1am from Sunday to Thursday, and from 9am to 2am on Friday and Saturday. There is no need to book: just walk in and find a spot at the bar or outside. Early evening on weekdays is the liveliest time. If you are driving into the city, the café points visitors to the municipal Park and Ride system, as parking in the centre is limited and expensive.

The Spui is a small square surrounded by bookshops and cafés, and it hosts a book market on Fridays and an art market on Sundays for much of the year. The Begijnhof, the Amsterdam Museum and Kalverstraat are a few minutes' walk away, and trams stop at the Spui. D'Vijff Vlieghen is around the corner on Spuistraat for dinner, and Vleminckx's fries hatch is just off the square.