The best Amsterdam shopping

1. Overview

2. Hotels

3. Attractions

4. Restaurants

5. Nightlife

6. Itineraries

From hidden 18th-century bookshops and hip boutiques showcasing the best of Dutch fashion, to cheese emporiums and toy-meets-liquorice shops, retail therapy in the Dutch capital is a quirky, rewarding experience. Telegraph Travel expert Rodney Bolt gives the low-down on the best Amsterdam shopping.

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The Frozen Fountain

The minimalist interiors that were all the rage a few years back in the Netherlands still have loyal fans, but now there’s a quirkier, more colourful and playful touch to edgy Dutch design. The Frozen Fountain brings together hot new local talent and established figures to make exciting chemistry – with the occasional art installation or photographic exhibition. There are plenty of smaller, portable objects on sale – though you might just be tempted into shipping something big. Seek out salvaged-wood tables and cabinets by Piet Hein Eek or wonderfully abstract carpets by Claudy Jongstra.

Address: Prinsengracht 645
Contact: 00 31 20 622 9375; frozenfountain.nl
Opening times: Mon, 1pm-6pm; Tues-Sat, 10am-6pm; Sun, 12pm-5pm
Prices: ££

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De Kaaskamer

Large wheels of cheese are piled to the ceiling, wedges line the shelves, and a milky aroma fills the air. If you’ve only ever had the rubbery Dutch cheese exported to supermarkets, you’re in for a very different experience. The older cheeses, such as belegen (matured for 16-18 weeks) or oude kaas (10-12 months), are firm, even crunchy, with a caramel tang. Try the truffle cheese (which tops all for me), or family favourites nagelkaas (pitted with cloves), and komijnekaas (spiced with cumin). Assistants will slice off slivers for you to taste, and they’ll shrink-wrap cheese for you to take home.

Contact: 00 31 20 623 3483; kaaskamer.nl
Opening times: Mon 12pm-6pm; Tue-Fri, 9am-6pm; Sat 9am-5pm; Sun, 12pm-5.00pm
Prices: £

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Mint Mini Mall

The ideal 'something for someone who has everything' spot. Mint is a mall in concept, though not in appearance – a single shop, long and light with merchandise grouped in different 'departments'. Seek out the cabinet of wooden phone covers, some extremely stylish baby clothes, a cluster of chunky ceramics, and greetings cards impregnated with seeds that grow wildflowers when the card is buried. Originality is the guiding theme, with a nod to natural and sustainable materials. Mint is the place to come if you’re buying gifts for both genders and a range of ages, and are in need of inspiration.

Contact: 00 31 20 627 2466; mintminimall.nl
Opening times: Mon, 12.30pm-6pm; Tues-Sat, 10.30am-6pm; Sun, 12.30pm-5pm
Prices: ££

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Pontifex

Speciality stores like Pontifex once abounded in the Negen Straatjes quarter, but as the little streets crisscrossing the main canals have become more hip, rents have risen, and shops like this have been squeezed out by boutiques and cafés. Pontifex sells candles. Only candles (well, with a few candlesticks, and some incense). There are candles coloured and plain, patterned and scented, embossed with religious images, and formed into skulls, Buddhas and human torsos. The shop also has an intriguing sideline. The owner is a doll and teddy doctor of note, and he repairs damaged items in his workshop out the back.

Contact: 00 31 20 626 5274
Opening times: Mon-Fri, 10am-6pm; Sat, 10am-5pm
Prices: £

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Rinascimento

A tunnel of a shop, stacked floor to ceiling with Delftware – both antique and fresh from the kiln. There are plates and urns, tiles and even ornamental clogs, with not only the traditional blue-and-white porcelain from Delft itself, but multi-coloured Makkum china, too. The company packages well, and ships worldwide. For a quintessentially Dutch buy, choose a tulip vase, with individual funnels for single blooms – a design dating from the 17th-century tulip mania, when the price of a single bulb could set you back as much as a horse and carriage.

Contact: 00 31 20 622 7509; delft-art-gallery.com
Opening times: daily, 9am-6pm
Prices: £££

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Sukha Amsterdam

Dutch-designed fashion, footwear, jewellery and accessories produced with an eco-friendly mindset, Sukha is among the new line-up of designer boutiques and high-end delis on Haarlemmerstraat and Haarlemerdijk. With such such a pleasing mix, it is my favourite shopping drag in town. At Sukha, you’ll find everything from hefty wooden-bead necklaces and hand-stitched desert boots, to sturdy shopping bags and soft cotton shirts. Keep an eye out for the chunky, hand-knitted woollen scarves, designed by the owner, Irene Mertens, and made by craftswomen in Nepal.

Contact: 00 31 20 330 4001; sukha.nl
Opening times: Mon, 11am-6.30pm; Tues-Sat, 10am-6.30pm; Sun, 12pm-5pm
Prices: ££

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Skins

The fragrance world's equivalent of a boutique winery. Ranged on the shelves are scents and bodycare products from exclusive makers, many of them available at only a handful of outlets worldwide. Some come from small, specialist concerns like Biehl Parfumkunstwerke; others from centuries-old masters of the art, such as L. T. Piver, whose aromas wafted through the court of Louis XVI. There are insider names such as local makeup genius Ellen Faas, or Hollywood hair expert Philip B. If you have half-an-hour to spare, go for a digital perfume diagnosis, which hones choices down to one or two.

Contact: 00 31 20 240 0199; skins.nl
Opening times: Mon-Fri, 10am-7pm; Sat, 10am-6pm; Sun, 12pm-5pm
Prices: £££

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Van Ravenstein

Clinically cool, pristine white, with fashion items on display like pieces in a museum – Van Ravenstein is the nirvana of cutting-edge Dutch and Belgian design. It’s the sort of boutique you feel compelled to dress up for simply to enter, and carry tweezers with you to lift up the clothes. Fashionistas and wealthy women about town come for garments by the likes of Dries van Noten and Viktor & Rolf. If you don’t have a few thousand euros to spend, drop by on a Saturday, when there’s an outlet section in the basement with more affordable options.

Contact: 00 31 20 639 0067; van-ravenstein.nl
Opening times: Mon, 1pm-6pm; Tues-Fri, 11am-6pm; Sat, 10.30am-5.30pm
Prices: £££

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't Zonnetje

This 'mom-and-pop' coffee shop has been selling teas and coffees for more than 100 years, its big brass dispensers, old-fashioned scales, and time-aged tea caddies still functional and intact. The quarter of town, the Haarlemmerbuurt, is how I remember the Negen Straatjes (the alleys that crisscross the canals) being a decade or so ago, before they became hip and the rents went up. Here you’ll still find neighbourhood shops and quirky stores, alongside high-end delis and boutiques. ’t Zonnetje stocks more than 25 sorts of tea and over fresh-roast coffees. Try their enticingly mild home blend.

Contact: 00 31 20 623 0058
Opening times: Mon-Fri, 9am-6pm; Sat, 9am-5pm
Prices: £

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Amsterdam Vintage Watches

Fancy a 1950s Rolex, or a gleaming gold fob watch? This is the place for that eye-catching vintage timepiece – from precision military watches, to complex, multi-faced chronographs. But the reason many people come to the shop is for its parallel line in antique jewellery – delicate diamond earrings, an Art Deco brooch, a pearl necklace, cameo rings – all selected by a very fine eye. There are collectors’ items, but also pieces that are simply beautiful to wear. If your taste is for something more contemporary, don’t be put off by the shop’s name – new Dutch designers get a look in, too.

Contact: 00 31 20 638 0296; amsterdamvintagewatches.com
Opening times: Tues-Sat, 10am-6pm; Sun, 1pm-5pm
Prices: £££

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Flower Market

Buckets of tulips, banks of brightly coloured blooms, bulbs, pot plants and (increasingly) a cluttering of tourist souvenir paraphernalia line a narrow street. On warm days, mingled scents of flowers waft through the walkway. People jostle to buy bags of tulip bulbs and bouquets of cut flowers, or simply wander from stall to stall, soaking in the ambience. Note that there are strict customs regulations governing the export of bulbs to outside the EU. Many of the bulbs on sale are packaged with an eye to the tourist market.

Opening times: Mon-Sat, 9am-5.30pm; Sun, 11.00am-5.30pm
Prices: £

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Anneke Schat

Artist Anneke Schat is also one of the Netherlands’ foremost jewellery designers (her patrons include members of the Dutch royal family). Japanese calligraphy, and elements of the natural world – especially ones that evoke movement, such as wind and water – all form part of the inspiration for her delicate, complex pieces in gold, silver, amber, precious and semi-precious stones. Pieces are distinctive, with a sense of daring. While most of the pieces are in the upper price bracket, you might find the odd more affordable line.

Contact: 00 31 20 625 1608; annekeschat.nl
Opening times: Thurs-Fri 10am-6pm, Sat 10am-5pm
Prices: £££

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Hester Van Eeghen

Discover geometric, daringly coloured bags, briefcases, shoes, and more from local design deity, Hester van Eeghen. Local fashionistas adore her handbags, not only for their stylishness, but for their capacity, strong craftsmanship and practical design. Shape, colour, and surprise are guiding principles in the design, and the products are handcrafted in Milan. Hester travels the world on the lookout for new ideas. Keep an eye open for the one-off special lines that are a by-product of these journeys – Cambodian hand-woven silk scarves, perhaps. Her other 'flagship' bag and shoe stores are on Hartenstraat.

Contact: 00 31 20 626 9213; hestervaneeghen.com
Opening times: Mon, 1pm-6pm; Tues-Sat, 11am-6pm; Sun, 12pm-5pm
Prices: £££

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Spiegelkwartier

The Spiegelkwartier arts and antiques district has been going for a good 100 years, brimming with booty of such quality that it can bill itself as a 'supplier to the Rijksmuseum'. The shops are handily located one beside the other on the street that leads up to the museum. You can pick up anything from a Picasso print to period jewellery. Although on the pricey side, with some only enduring the pangs of window shopping, a visit to the Spiegelkwartier doesn’t have to bust the bank. An antique Delft tile (from Kramer, or M.C. Gasseling) makes an interesting gift, and is easily transportable home.

Contact: spiegelkwartier.nl
Opening times: various
Prices: ££-£££

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Van Roselen Fine Chocolates

The shop front is so smart you might be tempted to miss it. Inside however, the musty, sweet, comforting aromas of chocolate tell the true story. Van Roselen sells its own handmade, heart-meltingly good chocolates and truffles – ranging from classic pralines to curious combinations of fruits and spices. It also stocks prime chocolate from Mexico, Peru, Ecuador and more. A box of their fingertip-sized chocs is an ideal dinner party gift – just the right size for two (alright, three) with coffee after a meal.

Contact: 00 31 20 620 2777; vanroselen.nl
Opening times: Mon-Wed, Fri, Sat 10am-6pm; Thurs,10am-7pm, Sun 11am-6pm
Prices: ££

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By AMFI

Check out who the next hot Dutch fashion designer might be, and pick up an affordable something to wear home. By AMFI is the showcase store for the Amsterdam Fashion Institute, with clothes, accessories and some interiors pieces by teachers and alumni, as well as by current students: from hip T-shirts and suede leather coats to recycled-fabric bags and eyebrow-raising evening dresses. Look for the 'Individuals' label – an annual collaboration by all the students on concept, design and fabrics – which has come up with some really cool clothes over the years.

Contact: 00 31 20 525 8133; amfi.nl/byamfi
Opening times: Mon-Fri, 1pm-6pm
Prices: ££

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Droog

This is the flagship store of the Amsterdam-based design studio, Droog. It's stocked not only with its own stylish homeware, but with clothing and beauty sections too. A collective of different designers, Droog is renowned internationally for sleek, clean designs, often with a dry, witty edge (the name Droog means ‘Dry’) – a doorbell made with inverted wine glasses, a clothes-hanger lamp and folding cutlery that slips into a plastic credit-card holder. Climb the stairs to find the sparkling white, über-cool café overlooking a quiet canal (not many people do).

Contact: 00 31 20 523 5050; droog.com
Opening times: Daily, 9am-7pm
Prices: £££

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Oudemanhuispoort Book Market

Slip through an arched, 18th-century portal in a wall beside the Kloveniersburgwal canal for a second-hand book-buying experience from another era. Men unlock wooden shutters along the bare brick wall of a dim passageway. The shutters flap down as foldable tables, on which are spread collectible books, nondescript dusty tomes, old prints and engravings, and piles of sheet music. Students pass in surges as classes end; the arcade was built as the entrance to an almshouse which now forms part of the University of Amsterdam.

Opening times:Mon-Sat, 9am-5pm
Prices: £

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Waterlooplein Flea Market

Once the heart of the Jewish Quarter, this has been the site of market trading for centuries, and today sells everything from mildewy old overcoats and vintage designer classics, to Peruvian jumpers and odd bits of bicycles. Though becoming increasingly commercialised, the flea market is still a fun place to seek out clothing bargains, gifts with a difference, and handmade knick-knacks from around the world. Haggling is not generally the order of the day, but a subtle ‘and that’s your best price?’ may get you places.

Contact: waterlooplein.amsterdam
Opening times: Mon-Sat, 9am-6pm
Prices: £

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X Bank

You'll find everything from old-school products (tinned butter, where the label hasn’t changed since colonial times) to cutting-edge clothing. Haute couture and off-the-peg line the rails' watches, jewellery, knick-knacks, beauty products, crockery, sculptures and prints stretch through a vast area of varied spaces. There are wacky shoes by Jan Jansen, gilded objets from Marcel Wanders, and vibrantly coloured, beautifully tailored dresses from Matthijs van Bergen. X Bank works as a showcase and forum for local artists and designers in all fields, so there’s often something going on: a show, installation, performance or talk.

Contact: 00 31 20 811 3320; xbank.amsterdam
Opening times: Mon-Wed, Fri-Sat, 10am-8pm; Thurs, 10am-9pm; Sun, 12pm-8pm
Prices: ££

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Albert Cuyp Market

The busy general market in De Pijp runs for over a mile. Between the piles of silk, gaudy modern clothes and cheap shoes, you’ll find boxes of dried herbs and teas, people slipping raw herring down their throats (in the time-honoured Dutch way), nibbling on homemade chocolates, tasting farm cheeses, and stocking up on fish, fruit and vegetables for even greater feasting at home. Behind the stalls there’s yet another layer of life – fabric shops, ethnic stores and cheap Asian and Surinamese eateries. Take a break at one of the pavement cafés along Eerste Van der Helststraat.

Contact: albertcuypmarkt.nl
Opening times: Mon-Sat, 9am-5pm
Prices: £

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Pure Market

Food, crafts, artisanal deli goods, beauty products from sustainable sources, a solar-powered carousel – all can be found in the Pure Market. Every fortnight this travelling market comes to town, and it’s a favourite spot to impress the current house guests. You can sit down to eat with everybody bringing their pick from one of the stalls – organic sausages, perhaps, or vegetarian Surinamese roti. There are two main Amsterdam locations: Frankendael Park and Amstel Park. The latter is the one to go for: a vast, beautifully laid-out park on the southern edge of town, with a small lake at the centre.

Contact: puremarkt.nl
Opening times: Frankendael Park, last Sun of the month, 11am-6pm, excluding Nov, Jan, Feb; Amstel Park, second Sun of the month, 11am-6pm, excluding Nov, Jan, Feb, Mar; check website for further one-off locations
Prices: £

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Chocolátl

Billing itself as a 'chocolate gallery' with artisanal, single-origin chocolates so beautifully displayed, and in such alluring packaging, that it seems a pity to pick one off the shelf. But take the plunge. You’ll be rewarded with exquisite bursts of flavour: from the makers El Rey in Venezuela, perhaps, or Marou from Vietnam. Smaller, craft makers are a speciality, and there are various choccie treats made in-house, as well as bonbons from the Belgian chocolatier extraordinaire, Geert Vercruysse. You’ll find excellent coffee and gloriously indulgent hot chocolate here too, an ideal hot drink treat after traipsing round the Jordaan.

Contact: chocolatl.nl
Opening times: Tues-Fri, noon-6.30pm; Sat, 11am-6.30pm; Sun 1pm-5pm
Prices: ££

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De Looier Antiques Market

Nondescript doors lead off the street to a warren of walkways lined with stalls selling antiques and curios. The Antiekcentrum Amsterdam (to give it its official name) offers nearly everything from bric-a-brac to cherishable collector rarities. Cheaper stuff – books, DVDs, old china and jewellery – is laid out on tables; deeper into the market come kiosks and vitrines with silver, Art Deco rarities, icons, paintings and more. This is one of the few markets in Amsterdam that remains open on a Sunday, and it is an enticing place to while away an hour or two on a rainy afternoon.

Contact: 00 31 20 624 9038; antiekcentrumamsterdam.nl
Opening times: Mon, Wed-Fri, 11am-6pm; Sat, Sun, 11am-5pm
Prices: £-££

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Noordermarkt

The small square beside the 17th-century Noorderkerk is the scene of a busy farmers' market on Saturdays (fresh oysters shucked while you wait, farm cheeses and the like), and a flea market on Monday mornings, extending along Westerstraat as a lapjesmarkt (rag market). Here you’ll find textiles by the metre, as well as vintage clothes bargains, in an old-style neighbourhood market atmosphere complete with street organs. Come early for both markets – the farmers' market gets really busy after 11 am, and for the best clothing bargains on Monday, arrive at 9 am, or even a little before.

Contact: noordermarkt-amsterdam.nl
Opening times: Farmers' Market, Sat, 9am-5pm; Clothing/textile Market, Mon, 9am-1pm
Prices: £

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Mechanisch Speelgoed

Toddlers, squealing delightedly, scrabble about in boxes of plastic animals; dads murmur nostalgically about old toy cars; and mums assist in the blowing of soap bubbles. This quirky shops sells the sorts of toys you probably thought didn’t exist anymore – those little hand-held windmill sticks, clockwork clowns, kaleidoscopes, enamel beach buckets decorated with shells and rosy-cheeked babes. There’s not a battery or electronic screen in sight. Parents do have to be on the ball – there’s lots to break or knock over, and the shop can get crowded.

Contact: 00 31 20 638 1680; mechanisch-speelgoed.nl
Opening times: Mon-Fri, 10am-6pm; Sat, 10am-5pm
Prices: £

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Het Oud-Hollandsch Snoepwinkeltje

Explore a sweetshop that seems out of a children’s story – complete with shelves filled with glass jars full of goodies, and a cheery, tubby lady behind the counter. But 'The Old Dutch Tuck Shop' is not only for the kids. The Dutch love their drop (liquorice), and the shop stocks around 60 different sorts, from forest-fruit or honey-flavoured through to three different strengths of 'salty'- the preferred flavour for adults. Lollies, rock, and all manner of gums and mints complete the array. Try a stick of zoethout – a wooden twig that tastes sweet when chewed.

Contact: 00 31 20 420 7390; snoepwinkeltje.com
Opening times: Tues-Sat, 11am-6.30pm
Prices: £

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