- Amsterdam
- /
- shopping
- (24)
-
Netherlands
Right opposite the excellent Café Gollem (a lovely, cosy little bar where you can sample up to 200 Belgian beers) is one of the best beer shops in Holland. Selling about 500 beers from all over the world and specialising in beers from small independent brewers, it's an absolute treasure trove for the beer lover. You can buy Westvleteren there (which is reputedly the best beer in the world and extremely hard to come by), as well as some truly stunning Scandinavian and American beers. Try the Norwegian Porters and Imperial Stouts. Highly recommended.
And once you've bought some for later, why not pop into Café Gollem to try a couple on tap and maybe a Kaasplank (literally a plank with cheese & bread on it). Very satisfying. There's also a second branch of Café Gollem right by the Albert Cuyp Market in the Pijp district.
crackedkettle.nl/store/
www.cafegollem.nl/default_EN.asp
www.cafegollem.nl/bierkeuken/default_EN.asp
Both The Cracked Kettle and Café Gollem are on Raamsteeg, a small alley between Spuistraat and the Singel canal. The other Gollem is on Daniel Stalpertstraat, round the corner from the Albert Cuyp Market and the Heineken brewery
One of the best organic farmer's markets I've ever been to. Amazing cheese, bread, vegetable stalls, even a stall selling all sorts of mushrooms in season (bought some chanterelles and a black truffle last time). Smoked mozzarellas, huge focaccias, stunning veg - a truly superb market. 9am - 4pm Saturdays (the rest of the week it's a flea market).
Noordermarkt is in the shadow of Noorderkerk, about 10 minutes' walk from Centraal Station, on the edge of the Jordaan district.
About 45 kms from Amsterdam, Aalsmeer is the "Wall Street of flower trade". It has an average daily turnover of 6.6 million Euros, with about 60,000 clock transactions every morning.
silenteloquence.suryaonline.org/2007/05/29/wall-street-of-flower-trade/
www.vba.nl/
In summer the temperatures in Amsterdam, like in any city, can get quite unbearable. Hire a bike and head for the green Bijlmermeer in the south-east of the city, only half an hour from the centre.
On summer weekends there is the Kwakoe Afro-Caribbean festival, which makes Notting Hill look like a family picnic. Football, food and kaseko and no multicultural pretensions.
When you get really hot and even the ginger beer don't work, take a dive in the sparkling clear waters of the Gaasperplas.
metro 53 or 54: station Bijlmer/Arena or Gaasperplas
Open air food and music in Amsterdam's little known Afro-Caribbean area.
Friday: Amsterdamse Poort
Saturday: Ganzenhoef
Nearest metro stations:
Amsterdamse Poort: Bijlmer/Arena
Ganzenhoef: Ganzenhoef
La Tarte de Ma Tante on Ferdinand Bolstraat - a tea shop with the kitschiest decor ever seen, and magnificent multi-coloured fake three tier cakes adorning every table.
The real cakes that they serve are pretty magnificent too. This is the Barbara Cartland of tea-shops.
For unique and panoramic views over the city, within ten minutes walking distance of the station, visit the Metz cafe on the top floor of the Metz department store - and enjoy wonderful coffee and cakes at the same time!
Keizersgracht 455
A real gem of a music shop, selling sheet music for all kinds of music, is Broekmans & Van Poppel in Van Baerlestraat 92.
Start the day by heading to De Bakkerswinkel bakery on 69 Warmoesstraat for a delightful breakfast. Their filled rolls, fresh from the oven are divine.
Work off breakfast by exploring the canals, visiting the floating Singel flower market and buying tulip bulbs for green-fingered friends and family. Take in some culture at the Van Gogh museum; alternatively, if the sun is shining, head south for a picnic in Vondelpark.
Spend the evening relaxing over delicious food and wine at Morlang (Keizersgracht 451); on a warm evening, sit on the terrace outside, overlooking one of Amsterdam’s tranquil canals.
www.debakkerswinkel.nl/
www.amsterdamtourist.nl/en/home/about+amsterdam/Amsterdam+Surprise/article/xp/content_artikel.Surprise+EN+-Floating+flower+market/default.aspx
www.morlang.nl/
Wander through the flower market and bring home some beautiful tulip bulbs.
Visit Cora Kemperman, the women's clothes store - very chic, cool, funky ... and very affordable (there's a branch in Antwerp, too).
Take a free tour at the Gassan Diamond centre - drinks and a loo stop included.
Turn right when you leave the rail station in Amsterdam. The area is full of lots of little shops selling a wide variety of interesting things.
There is also a small local supermarket, so you can buy food that doesn't cost a small fortune. Keep your eyes open for the local coffee chain Bagels & Beans - they sell a good-sized, reasonably-priced cup of coffee.
For something a bit different, you could try a trip to the Flower Auction at Aalsmeer, near to Schiphol Airport; it's easily reached by a bus from the city centre.
It’s definitely an early start to your day (best to arrive before 9am), but well worth it. This auction house is a vast place where most of the world’s cut flowers get sold off every day - it's a great insight into where your bouquet of flowers might have started off!
web1.msue.msu.edu/mastergardener/trips/2002/netherlands/aalsmeer.htm
You should always visit Droog, the design shop at Staalstraat 7a-7b, for a hundred moments of 'why didn't I think of that'. It makes simplicity beautiful.
Pay a visit to a diamond house, an amazing place for your future spouse. Buy her a ring, in the season of spring, when the tulips are in bloom, and you will become the groom.
The Dutch equivalent of the AA or RAC, the ANWB has a shop behind the Rijksmuseum that is the place to come if you're considering a bike or road trip. All the maps you could ask for (in Dutch of course, but that's no big) and accessories from gel seats to emergency triangles. Members get a discount, and the ANWB is affiliated to the AA so it's worth a shot.
Museumplein 5;
tel: +31 20 6730844;
www.anwb.nl
If you like vintage clothes and accessories, you’ll love Amsterdam. The best places to go for second-hand bits and pieces are:
Noordermarkt: on Mondays the Noordermarkt in the Jordaan, one of Amsterdam’s most authentic areas, is filled with stalls selling vintage clothes and accessories like bags, shoes, belts and jewellery from the sixties, seventies and eighties.
Noordermarkt; tram 6, 7 or 10
Waterlooplein: More vintage shopping at the Waterlooplein, a ten minute walk from the Rembrandtplein, bustling with merchants six days a week. Definitely the place to go when you’re looking for leather jackets, fur coats, jeans, or home ware from grandma’s era.
Waterlooplein; metro 51, 53, 54 or tram 9
Zipper: If you’re more into indoor than outdoor shopping, one of the best places for fashionable vintage is Zipper. The checked blouses and oversized baseball shirts are men’s favourites, women like everything at Zipper.
Zipper; Huidenstraat 7, 1016 ER Amsterdam (0031-20-6237302) and Nieuwe Hoogstraat 10, 1011 HE Amsterdam (20 623 70353)
Laura Dols: A no-go area for men, but women will love this shop. You’ll enjoy browsing the dresses and skirts they sell at Laura Dols. From the thirties all the way up to the eighties; if Marilyn Monroe were still alive, she would be shopping here.
Laura Dols; Wolvenstraat 6-7, 1016 EM Amsterdam (20 624 9066)
Sarphati Park is in de Pijp, a part of Amsterdam happily neglected by tourists. The park is small but joyous and you can enjoy the environs with a stroopwafel, which you can purchase at the Albert Cuyp Markt. There’s plenty of snazzy bars and shops in which you can flaunt the splendid wares acquired at the market. Watch out for the bears though.
South of the Heineken brewery - turn left or right along the Ferdinand Bolstraat
The finest chocolate shop this side of, umm, chocolate heaven. Say no more...
Send your feedback or queries to been.there@guardian.co.uk
Search Been there
Your tips about Amsterdam