Tucked away at the southern end of Amsterdam’s central canal ring, just a stone’s throw from the famous Rijksmuseum and bustling Leidseplein with bars, nightclubs, and restaurants, this neo-Gothic building will draw your attention if not by its architecture, then by the size of the queue at the entrance that forms here almost every evening. Built in the late 19th century as a meeting place for a religious organization known as the Free Congregation, this place radically changed its purpose in the 1960s. First simply squatted by a group of hippie music fans, the building was eventually converted into an official cultural venue, named Cosmic Relaxation Center Paradiso.
From 1968 on, Paradiso has thrived as a music club, attracting international artists from Pink Floyd to Lana Del Rey, who performed in a unique setting with stained-glass windows, distinctive balconies, and church-like atmosphere.
