Amsterdam is a shopping paradise of a special kind. In the Dutch city there is nothing that could not be bought. Shopping in Amsterdam offers excellent opportunities for both small and large wallet, and, as a result, in many shopping streets and shopping centers you can find both cheap mass products and fashion designer ones. Nevertheless, we’ll try to figure out where and what products are better to buy.
Where to begin?
Many tourists who arrived in Amsterdam seek to combine hiking in interesting places and sights with shopping in shops and shopping centers of the city. Many go to the world's only floating flower market, one of Amsterdam's main attractions. At the end of Kalverstraat, this market is located on barges. Florists can buy tubers of Dutch tulips at a not so high price.
Shopping in Amsterdam is relevant not only for updating the wardrobe. Be sure to pay attention to jewelry and precious metal products. These products can be purchased at the Amsterdam Diamond Center at a price much lower than in European countries. When buying gold products, be interested in quality certificates to protect yourself from acquiring fakes.
What is 5th Avenue in New York? This is Pieter Cornelisz Hooftstraat in Amsterdam, where all the most famous designer brands are represented. The chic shopping area is small compared to other shopping streets, but Jimmy Choo and Tiffany, Louis Vuitton and Longchamp, Chanel and Hugo Boss coexist on Hoofdstraat RS. By the way, prices in stores are often two times lower than in Moscow "mega".
Amsterdam Markets
You can’t call full shopping in Amsterdam without visiting the markets. Each has its own focus - antique, floral, book ...
The Thorbecke art market, which works on Sundays, is interesting for shopping. It sells antiques and paintings by contemporary artists.
Do not ignore the market, which is called the big flea market - Rommelmarkt. In this market you can buy clothes of the best world brands, as well as little-known in Russia, but high-quality brands at a fairly low price.
The Waterplane flea market appeared in Amsterdam in 1883. It began its existence as a Jewish bazaar, and in the 60s of the last century, there was a brisk trade in clothes worn by hippies. The market currently includes a variety of different styles of clothing: from trendy T-shirts and vintage clothes to various attributes of youth subcultures.
Among the many goods on the market shelves you can find rare things for relatively little money. And if you're lucky, you can buy what you have been looking for years. But there is no hope of a bargain. Flea market sellers are well aware of the price of their product, good or bad. If this is a souvenir from Amsterdam and the purchase is not of great value, then the deal can be won by a little bargaining, as is the case in the markets.
Useful information about the work of stores
A large number of Amsterdam stores are open on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 10:00 to 18:00. On Monday, stores open 2 hours later, but are open until 18:00. Tourists should take this into account so as not to stand at the door of the store and wait for the opening. Every Thursday there is a so-called evening shopping, when the shops remain open until 9 pm. Saturday trading ends early. After 17:00 you will not find working stores. Sunday is a day off, so no store is open. However, you can go shopping in the center of Amsterdam. Supermarkets in the city center, such as Albert Heijn, are open daily from 8 to 22 hours.
As in many European countries, Amsterdam operates the Tax Free system, which is used to return value added tax at a customs post. Each country has its own conditions for this return. For example, in the Netherlands, the condition for the return is the purchase of goods worth more than 50 euros in boutiques and shops in Amsterdam.
Sales season
To make good acquisitions in Amsterdam, you should go there after the New Year holidays. From the first days of the new year in all stores in Amsterdam there has been a decline in prices. Huge posters are hanging in the windows that encourage customers to go shopping and get a good discount of up to 70%. Residents of the Netherlands postpone their acquisitions precisely on these days of seasonal sales. Buying designer jeans for 40 euros or fashionable boots for 30 euros is a good deal.
Top Stores
When shopping in Amsterdam, many tourists believe that the best purchases were made in the largest department store in the city of De Bijenkorf. There are shops with clothes for men, women and children, shoe and jewelry stores, and cosmetics companies. The department store is located on the corner of Damrak Street and Dam Square. If you purchased I amsterdam card, do not forget that a free gift awaits you at Bijenkorf!
Harlemmerstraat are small and trendy stores offering local designer clothing. At the beginning of Harlemmerstraat there is a Zilch store, which presents goods for middle-aged women.
Shopping centers
The largest shopping centers, where you can successfully buy, are mainly located on the central streets of Amsterdam. Among them, an old-fashioned Jewish family-owned shopping center. He looks almost at home. The assortment of the store is similar to the one at the De Beyenkorf department store.
There are two more large shopping centers on Kalverstraat: Kalvertoren, which works with Levi's, Dockers, Douglas, and Magna Plaza with designer clothes and inexpensive brands, Miss Sixty and America Today. In addition to these centers, there are many shoe and bookstores on the shopping street.
The main assortment of Amsterdam's oldest department store is luxury brands. And another store worthy of the attention of shoppers is Vroom & Dressman. It has inexpensive clothes and shoes, so it belongs to the middle price segment.
Where else is interesting shopping?
There are practically no outlets in Amsterdam, apart from the designer Designer Outlet Roermond, located 150 km from Amsterdam in the city of Roermond. It is possible to purchase models of more than 150 brands in it. Outlet discounts range from 50 to 70 percent. You can arrive by shopping from Amsterdam's main city railway station.
The outlet works daily, so elite shopping is available at any time. Roermond is a real attraction. In addition to shopping at low prices, fashionable visitors from Holland, Germany and Belgium can relax in the city, admiring its architecture and landscaped areas. There are enough cafes and restaurants in the city for a bite to eat between the shopping trips. A designer outlet can be a good addition to a trip to historic Roermond for tourists and their families. It is located just a 30-minute drive from Düsseldorf and Maastricht.
It is open all year, except December 25 and January 1. Opening hours: Saturday - Sunday 09:00 - 20:00, Monday - Friday 10:00 - 20:00.
Amsterdam Shopping Reviews
Amsterdam is one of the most attractive cities for shopping. Tourists find that the price of goods is quite affordable for any buyers. Of course, everyone focuses on their own wallet. In social networks and forums you can get acquainted with numerous reviews of tourists about shopping in Amsterdam. Here are the impressions of the purchases, and tips for those who are going shopping. Reviews are different. Someone is very happy with their acquisitions, while someone is unlucky and has not inspected the marriage. Therefore, everyone recommends carefully considering the purchased items. In the markets, marriage is often found in products of well-known brands and in confiscated goods.
But there are more positive reviews about shopping in Amsterdam. Nobody comes home without souvenirs and gifts, which means that the trip was a success.