City guideAmsterdam · Sat 10 – Sun 11 October
Amsterdam this weekend: de Kooning, disco and 140 boats
De Kooning at the Rijksmuseum, Disco at the Wereldmuseum, Kusama, the Grachtenrace, The Strokes and a flea market.
The weekend at a glance
Choose a pick to find it on the map; scroll down for the full story.
Saturday · 10 October
Sunday · 11 October
All weekend · Saturday and Sunday
Saturday
10 October
Sat 10:00–17:00
Exhibition · Wereldmuseum
Disco, more than glitter
Disco began in New York’s underground clubs, where Black, Latino and queer dancers made a home for themselves, and from there it went around the world. The Wereldmuseum’s new exhibition about it opens on Saturday.
Across 835 square metres, tracks, fashion, art and design turn the show into a dance floor, and follow the music all the way to Amsterdam. It runs until 22 August 2027, at the museum in Oost.
Sat 11:00–16:30Free to watch
Race · The canals
140 boats, 25 km of canals
The Grachtenrace has rowed through Amsterdam each October since 1986. For the 39th edition up to 140 sloops, many of them old wooden boats, row a 25 km course from the Olympic Stadium through the city’s canals.
The slowest boats start first, so the faster crews have to overtake in the narrow canals. They leave between 11:00 and 13:00; find a bridge on the Herengracht or Keizersgracht from midday and cheer.
Sunday
11 October
Sun 21:30
Concert · Ziggo Dome
The Strokes, live
The Strokes, the New York band that brought guitars back at the start of the 2000s, are on tour with Reality Awaits, their first album in six years. On Sunday at 21:30 they take the stage at the Ziggo Dome.
Doors open at 18:30; Fat White Family and Alex Cameron play first. The Ziggo Dome is in Zuidoost, by the Johan Cruijff ArenA; take the metro or the train to Bijlmer ArenA and walk.
All weekend
Saturday and Sunday
Sat and Sun, 9:00–17:00
Exhibition · Rijksmuseum
Willem de Kooning at work
Willem de Kooning was born in Rotterdam in 1904, left for America as a young man and became one of the great painters of New York’s Abstract Expressionism. The Rijksmuseum now brings him home.
About 120 drawings, paintings and sculptures show him at work, two of them hung in the Gallery of Honour beside the Dutch masters. From 9 October until 17 January, on Museumplein.
Sat and Sun, 10:00–18:00
Exhibition · Stedelijk
Yayoi Kusama, in full bloom
The Stedelijk’s retrospective of Yayoi Kusama spans more than seventy years: paintings, sculpture, installations, drawings, fashion and happenings. It opened in September, weeks after the artist’s death at 97.
Its centrepiece is an Infinity Mirrored Room made for the exhibition, its polka dots repeating without end. It is the last stop of a tour that began at the Fondation Beyeler and the Museum Ludwig; until 17 January.
Sat and Sun, 9:00–16:30
Market · NDSM
600 stalls of treasure
The IJ-Hallen flea market fills the old NDSM shipyard halls in Amsterdam Noord with around 600 stalls of vintage clothes, furniture, records and everything else: one of the biggest flea markets in Europe.
It is open on Saturday and Sunday from 09:00 to 16:30. Take the free ferry from behind Centraal Station across the IJ, come early for the best finds, and stay for lunch on the wharf.
Saturday
Sat 10:00–17:00
Disco, more than glitter
Disco began in New York’s underground clubs, where Black, Latino and queer dancers made a home for themselves, and from there it went around the world. The Wereldmuseum’s new exhibition about it opens on Saturday.
Across 835 square metres, tracks, fashion, art and design turn the show into a dance floor, and follow the music all the way to Amsterdam. It runs until 22 August 2027, at the museum in Oost.
Wereldmuseum Amsterdam Sat 11:00–16:30
140 boats, 25 km of canals
The Grachtenrace has rowed through Amsterdam each October since 1986. For the 39th edition up to 140 sloops, many of them old wooden boats, row a 25 km course from the Olympic Stadium through the city’s canals.
The slowest boats start first, so the faster crews have to overtake in the narrow canals. They leave between 11:00 and 13:00; find a bridge on the Herengracht or Keizersgracht from midday and cheer.
Sunday
Sun 21:30
The Strokes, live
The Strokes, the New York band that brought guitars back at the start of the 2000s, are on tour with Reality Awaits, their first album in six years. On Sunday at 21:30 they take the stage at the Ziggo Dome.
Doors open at 18:30; Fat White Family and Alex Cameron play first. The Ziggo Dome is in Zuidoost, by the Johan Cruijff ArenA; take the metro or the train to Bijlmer ArenA and walk.
Ziggo Dome All weekend
Sat and Sun, 9:00–17:00
Willem de Kooning at work
Willem de Kooning was born in Rotterdam in 1904, left for America as a young man and became one of the great painters of New York’s Abstract Expressionism. The Rijksmuseum now brings him home.
About 120 drawings, paintings and sculptures show him at work, two of them hung in the Gallery of Honour beside the Dutch masters. From 9 October until 17 January, on Museumplein.
Rijksmuseum Sat and Sun, 10:00–18:00
Yayoi Kusama, in full bloom
The Stedelijk’s retrospective of Yayoi Kusama spans more than seventy years: paintings, sculpture, installations, drawings, fashion and happenings. It opened in September, weeks after the artist’s death at 97.
Its centrepiece is an Infinity Mirrored Room made for the exhibition, its polka dots repeating without end. It is the last stop of a tour that began at the Fondation Beyeler and the Museum Ludwig; until 17 January.
Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam Sat and Sun, 9:00–16:30
600 stalls of treasure
The IJ-Hallen flea market fills the old NDSM shipyard halls in Amsterdam Noord with around 600 stalls of vintage clothes, furniture, records and everything else: one of the biggest flea markets in Europe.
It is open on Saturday and Sunday from 09:00 to 16:30. Take the free ferry from behind Centraal Station across the IJ, come early for the best finds, and stay for lunch on the wharf.
IJ-Hallen