Twenty Third Bar

If you can't afford to dine at the Michelin-awarded Ciel Bleu next door, then this upscale lounge bar is a fabulous alternative. Sharing its lofty perch with the restaurant, it's also high up on the twenty-third floor of the Hotel Okura, offering an incomparable view of the city, especially at twilight or at night, when Amsterdam is laid out below like a handful of scattered jewels. Expansive glass walls maximize the panorama and comfortable benches run the length of its large windows. What's more, Twenty Third specializes in international cocktails, wines and champagne (it has 17 different varieties of bubbles). Nibbles, in the form of caviar, oysters and the like, are prepared by chefs in the kitchen of Ciel Bleu.