Shopping in Amsterdam

The Dutch, famous for their savvy business skills and wily ways with trade, are considered either frugal or cheap (hence the phrase "going Dutch"). And while it's true that Lowlanders monitor their wallets they do have a very healthy consumer culture. What does this mean for you? First, there is ample shopping to be had—a bit of something for everyone; and second, you won't have to take out a second home mortgage for that dandy trinket you like so much.

Most of the city's major shopping districts are hard to miss. Just down the road from Centrale Station is Nieuwendijk. Besides the national chains, this street has a busy pedestrian mall catering to bargain hunters and a younger crowd of urbanites. To the south of the Dam is the city's principal shopping strip, Kalverstraat (one of the only areas open on Sundays). Here you'll find the international chains and favorite Dutch franchises. (Avoid this area on the weekend if you don't like crowds.) Leidsestraat offers a scaled-down version of Kalverstraat with an escape-route of canal-side cafés. Here you'll find some one-of-a-kinds, including the grand Madam of high-end department store shopping, Metz & Co. Just east is the Spiegelkwartier, one of Europe's most fabled agglomerations of antiques shops.

If these main drags excite you about as much as the mall back home—minus the food court—go where the locals go. Explore the unique clothing and jewelry boutiques, crafts ateliers, and funky consignment stores dotted along the Nine Streets, which radiate from behind the Royal Palace to the periphery of the Jordaan. Take time to browse this neighborhood's art galleries, jewelry shops, and purchasable homages to interior design. If you head all the way north on Prinsengracht, you're sure to pass the Noordermarkt and eventually reach the trendy trappings of Haarlemerstraat, with its gamut of high-end specialty stores.

Not far from the Museum District is Van Baerlestraat. This street is lined with bookstores specializing in art, music, and language and clothing shops that are smart—but not quite smart enough to have made it to the adjoining P. C. Hooftstraat. This is the Madison Avenue of Amsterdam: all the main fashion houses are here, from Armani to Vuitton. Continue farther south, through to the other side of the Vondelpark, and you'll come upon Amsterdam South, and a burgeoning cluster of small clothing and shoe boutiques, sleek home furnishers, and pricey delicatessens.

To get back to Amsterdam's democratic roots, stop in the neighborhood of The Pijp. Skip the clothing and shoe chains more and more branded with "Made-in-China" tags to peruse the working-class shops hidden behind the stands of the Albert Cuypmarkt. Finally, if you need a decent yet still slightly decadent foray into Amsterdam shopping, have yourself a stroll along Utrechtsestraat, perhaps one of the city's most underrated avenues. You may well find just what you were always looking for, from that high-quality Japanese pressing of a Blue Note record to baby-blue ballerina flats made of antique goat's leather.

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