Amsterdam - Centre
Luxury New Design Apartment
Shopping in Amsterdam
With everything from multi-tory department stores and exclusive boutiques to antiques and contemporary Dutch design, Amsterdam inspires even the most discerning shopper.
The P.C. Hooftstraat is Amsterdams most exclusive shopping street, featuring brands like Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Prada, DKNY, Mulberry, Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger. Continue down the Van Baerlestraat for brands like Vanilia, Gant and Miss Sixty. Famous Dutch designers like lingerie guru Marlies Dekkers have shops on the Cornelis Schuytstraat. Also, the Cornelis Schuytstraat is surrounded by nice local restaurants for lunch, dinner and drinks. Click here to view all shops in the Cornelis Schuytstraat.
Located in the heart of the city's historical canal district, this area of nine narrow streets called the Negen Straatjes was constructed during the 17th century. The Nine Streets intersect the main canals between the Leidsestraat and the Jordaan district, and are dotted with great restaurants, cafés, art galleries, jewellers, boutiques and vintage stores. With an exceptional array of styles, trends and prices, this area is truly a shopper’s paradise. See for more information and shops: www.9straatjesonline.com.
A busy street with a great number of unique, eye-catching stores. Lifestyle, interior design, fashion, gifts, gourmet food, music and literature. A street that will leave you overwhelmed with options. You will also find authentic, welcoming bars and restaurants between the stores. The website NLstreets.nl provides more information on the shops the Utrechtsestraat has to offer.
The two main shopping streets in Amsterdam’s city centre are the Kalverstraat and the Leidsestraat. Of the two, the Leidsestraat has the more exclusive shops like Filippa K, Karen Millen, Paul Warmer and Shoebaloo. The Kalverstraat is home to all the shops you would expect to find in a large European city like H&M, Mexx, Zara and Esprit.
This busy, bustling street is ideal for a stroll. There is a great diversity of stores, but it is also a great place to spend your afternoons and evenings, as it has a great number of eateries and bars. It’s hip, it’s quirky and it’s the perfect spot for hours of relaxed browsing, dining and bar-hopping! The website NLstreets.nl provides more information on the shops the Haarlemmerstraat has to offer.
For the past eighty years, the Spiegelkwartier has been the heart of the Dutch art and antique trade. Enthusiasts and collectors can wander around to their hearts content, looking for that one unique item. Over seventy specialised traders offer a wide variety of modern and antique art, ranging from old medical instruments to contemporary art, and from clocks to jewellery. The Spiegelkwartier is within walking distance from the Conservatorium Hotel and is the ideal route to take when walking into the city centre. The website NLstreets.nl provides more information on the shops the Spiegelkwartier has to offer.
More shopping tips...
On Monday mornings, Amsterdam fashionistas set their alarm clock at 08.00 to storm the second-hand clothing market on the Noordermarket. Retro clothes and shoes are usually piled in heaps, so be prepared to use your elbows and dig a little to find the best bargains. And be early, because all the good stuff is pillaged before you’ve even ordered your morning cappuccino. Also some good antiques can be found on the Monday morning market. And even if you are not planning on buying anything, the atmosphere in the Jordaan district is somthing one should experience when in Amsterdam. Oh, and don't forget to go for the best Dutch Apple Pie in the world at Café Winkel or café Papeneiland.
Looking over Dam Square and home to a broad selection of high-end brands, De Bijenkorf (meaning ‘Beehive’) is one of Amsterdams best-known department stores. The store contains a restaurant and a coffee bar, an art gallery and a hairdresser for the young people. They organize festivities, concerts, fashion shows and exhibitions. They issue their own credit card and a periodical magazine. No wonder The Bijenkorf bears the proud title Koninklijke – Royal. The Royal Bijenkorf - because it’s rich history is inseparably linked with the history of Amsterdam and the Netherlands. www.debijenkorf.nl
Directly behind the Queens Palace on the Dam square you may find an elegant 19th century building, now one of the few shopping malls in Amsterdam – Magna Plaza. This is the place to shop for designer clothing and fashion accessories. In the boutiques on three floors of Magna Plaza, all the major fashion brands are represented. However, there are also some more mainstream shops as Spanish women’s clothing brand Mango and American brand America Today and the GSUS jeans shop (all on the ground floor). On the upper floors, you may find more elegant clothes and shoes, two good interior shops, a DVD’s shop with all artsy European titles you might need, A Swarovski boutique, several gift shops, a shop with the traditional wooden toys (Pinokkio) and RDLFS (Rudolpho's) - a skater’s shop with clothes, shoes and boards. If you are hungry or thirsty, you can also find an Italian style brasserie (Ovidius– on the ground floor) and an Italian coffee bar (Ristretto - on the top floor). www.magnaplaza.nl
We love Design...
No clothing here, instead you will find modern design and it is well worth a visit! Avant-garde design collective Droog has taken up shop in a centuries old building on the Staalstraat. View exhibitions of unique work by international designers and get your hands on furniture and small accessories for the home. Shop around for the very best of Dutch and international design, including items such as the Sticky Lamp by Chris Kabel, the Urn Vase by Hella Jongerius and The Birdhouse by Marcel Wanders. www.hoteldroog.com. Tip: next to Droog, you will find Puccini Bomboni, a true paradise for chocolate lovers. Tamarind, thyme, lemongrass, pepper and gin are just some of the flavours of these delicious handmade chocolates, completely without artificial ingredients.
With two grand buildings on Amsterdam’s Prinsengracht, The Frozen Fountain has plenty of space to display design furniture, trendy accessories and contemporary knick-knacks from the big names to emerging new talent. They sell recycled wood tables by Piet Hein Eek, felt textiles by Claudy Jongstra as well as salad servers from horn, white ceramic ‘plastic’ beakers and many other designer items: all perfect gifts! www.frozenfountain.nl
The first shop of furniture label Moooi is in a towering 850-m2 space in the Westerhuis, offering a gigantic area in which to showcase their wares from top designers. Check out the collection of sofas by Marcel Wanders, black lacquer chairs by Maarten Baas and a life-size horse lamp from Front Design. They also sell Moooi accessories, gadgets from Japan and architecture and design books by Taschen. www.moooi.com
Dutch interior designers: