The Hague Nightlife

With a picturesque terrace on leafy Lange Voorhout, this former coaching inn is now a popular meeting point for locals, tourists and even politicians from the nearby parliament. The interior walls are usually adorned with works by local artists (many for sale, of course) and there’s regular live music on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

As the name suggests, Brouwcafé De Hofnar started life as a microbrewery, but it soon outgrew its premises. Instead of packing everything up and moving away, the owners kept this quayside spot on as a bar selling the brewery's full range of beers. With a good choice of food and chic, comfortable surroundings too, you'll find it just as hard to move on.

Hidden on a secluded square, just north of the Hotel des Indes, the interior of this former coach house has been stripped back and it's now a cosy spot for a drink, especially out on its peaceful summer terrace (weather permitting). No matter when you visit though, the beer range is always vast.

Centrally located Club Seven has become a firm favourite on The Hague's nightclub scene, with DJs pounding out an eclectic mix of electronic and underground beats most weekends. It generally attracts a young and enthusiastic crowd, keen to work up a sweat on the dancefloor with their best moves.

A short skip from Het Plein, Danzig has been pulling big crowds since it first threw its doors open in 1995. With no big name DJs, and seemingly no strict music policy, expect to hear anything from pop to dubstep via jazz, hip hop and rock. With a bias towards themed nights and very late opening hours, Danzig often draws a student crowd.

An elegant café and restaurant by day, this venue morphs into a chic wine bar at night, before transforming into a DJ-led club come the weekend. Once the food is cleared away, the tables are moved to one side of the room, and everyone hits the dancefloor.

Famed as the launch pad for international Dutch rock and pop groups like Golden Earring, De Paap is the place to head for if you're a music lover visiting The Hague. Regular live concerts feature rock, soul and funk bands, while the organisers host some comedy every now and then as well.

With two concert halls and a résumé that boasts early appearances by such luminaries as U2 and Prince, the Paard van Troje (Trojan Horse) is always full of surprises. It has been The Hague's primary rock music venue since it opened in the early 1970s and hasn't lost any of its gusto since.

The Zuider Strand Theatre is the replacement for the former Dr. Anton Philips hall and the Lucent dance theatre and the temporary home to shows and performances of The Hague Philharmonic - Orkest, one of the Netherlands' top symphony orchestras - and the Nederlands Dans Theater until the new culture complex (OCC) will be finished by 2020. Its season generally runs from September to June.