Ask most visitors to name a film set in Amsterdam and you will get Ocean’s Twelve or The Fault in Our Stars: films where the city is scenery, shot by crews who flew in for three weeks.
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Anne+ is the opposite, and it is the reason we wanted to write this one. A Dutch queer series that started as ten-minute web episodes in 2018, grew a devoted following, and became a Netflix film in 2021. Made largely by queer women, set entirely in Amsterdam, and shot in the parts of the city people actually live in. It is a love letter written by people who live here, and it shows.
An Honest Note About This Guide
We are going to be upfront, because the alternative is padding this page with invented addresses.
Anne+ has never been given the shot-by-shot location treatment that Hollywood productions get. There is no published location list, and a great deal of it was filmed on ordinary residential streets, in flats, and in bars that were dressed for the shoot. So this is a neighbourhood guide rather than a list of pinpoint addresses, with the confirmed locations we could verify and an honest account of where the rest of it lives.
Frankly, that suits the show. Anne+ is about a twenty-something’s Amsterdam: cycling between house shares, bad dates in decent bars, and standing on a bridge having a difficult conversation. You do not tick that off with a map. You walk into it.
The Confirmed Location
Pamela
- Address: Jacob van Lennepstraat 86H, 1053 HZ Amsterdam.
- The scene: a pivotal restaurant sequence in the 2021 film.
- Today: a small neighbourhood bar and eetcafé in Oud-West, which is exactly the sort of place the series is built out of. Not a tourist venue, so behave like a customer rather than a location hunter.
The Neighbourhoods to Walk
The show lives in the Amsterdam that exists outside the canal-ring postcard. These are the districts to spend an afternoon in if you want the feel of it.
Oud-West
Where Pamela is, and the natural centre of gravity. Jacob van Lennepstraat and the streets around the Kinkerstraat are dense with the kind of small bars and eetcafés the series uses constantly. The Foodhallen in a converted tram depot at Bellamyplein is the area’s obvious anchor, and the Ten Katemarkt runs most days.
De Pijp
The other great twenty-something Amsterdam neighbourhood, built around the Albert Cuypmarkt and full of terraces. Sarphatipark on a warm afternoon is the single most accurate visual shorthand for the life the show depicts.
Amsterdam Oost
Cheaper, greener and increasingly where this generation actually ends up. The Oosterpark and the Javastraat are the heart of it, and the Dappermarkt is one of the best markets in the city.
The University Quarter
Anne’s student world sits around the University of Amsterdam’s city-centre buildings near the Roeterseiland campus and the Binnengasthuis site off the Kloveniersburgwal. Both are open campuses you can walk through.
Queer Amsterdam Beyond the Show
If you have come for Anne+, this is the trail that actually rewards you.
- The Homomonument, Westermarkt, 1016 GV. Three pink granite triangles by the Westerkerk, unveiled in 1987, and the first monument in the world to LGBTQ+ people persecuted for their sexuality. Free and always open.
- Reguliersdwarsstraat, 1017. The historic spine of gay Amsterdam nightlife.
- IHLIA LGBTI Heritage, in the OBA public library at Oosterdokskade 143. One of Europe’s largest LGBTQ+ archives, free to visit, and almost entirely unknown to visitors.
- Vondelpark in summer, which is where half the show’s outdoor mood comes from.
Your Questions Answered
Where was Anne+ filmed?
In Amsterdam, on location, with the outdoor sequences shot on real city streets. The confirmed venue is Pamela at Jacob van Lennepstraat 86H in Oud-West. Most of the rest was filmed in residential flats and neighbourhood bars that have not been publicly catalogued.
Is Anne+ a series or a film?
Both. It began in 2018 as a Dutch web series of short episodes and concluded with a feature film in 2021, which is the version most international viewers found on Netflix.
Do I need to watch the series before the film?
It helps, and the episodes are only about ten minutes each, so it is not a big commitment. The film works alone but lands considerably harder with the history behind it.
Which Amsterdam neighbourhood is Anne+ set in?
It moves around, but Oud-West, De Pijp and Oost are the districts it belongs to. Deliberately not the canal ring, which is where visitors go and residents of that age largely cannot afford.
Where to Stay
Skip the canal belt for this one. Oud-West puts you by Pamela, the Foodhallen and the Vondelpark, and it is what the show looks like. De Pijp is the liveliest option and walkable to the Albert Cuypmarkt. Oost is the best value of the three and increasingly the most interesting. All are ten to fifteen minutes by bike from the centre, which is how everybody here gets around anyway.
More Amsterdam on film in our complete Amsterdam filming locations guide, and more queer screen tourism in our Sense8 Amsterdam guide.
🏳️🌈 About Cramberts
From our home base in Amsterdam, we frequently explore some of Europe’s most vibrant cities, and we’ve compiled detailed guides to share our insider knowledge. Whether you’re seeking the canals and culture of Amsterdam itself, the sunny beaches of Gran Canaria, the historic charm of Lisbon and Porto, the bustling energy of Barcelona and Madrid, the refined elegance of Paris and Munich, the unique character of Sitges, or the diverse landscapes of the Randstad region, you’ll find comprehensive information and recommendations in the links below.
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