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Whether you go for Baroque antiques or cutting-edge fashion, the variety of goods available in Amsterdam’s boutiques, street markets, and concept stores is mind-boggling, and hunting for that special purchase akin to grand entertainment.
If you enjoy the thrill of the chase, explore the charming, mazelike streets of the Jordaan and The Nine Streets, in the Western Canal Ring, where you'll stumble upon a surprising number of vintage fashion boutiques, high-end denim brands, art galleries, local design outlets, and specialty-food stores.
For high-end shopping, Amsterdam's priciest street is the P.?C. Hooftstraat, in the Museum District–-affectionately called "the P.?C." (pronounced “pay say”). Porsches and Range Rovers are parked on the street, and many shop interiors mimic stately Dutch mansions, replete with marble floors, crystal chandeliers, and antique furnishings. Don't neglect the nearby Van Baerlestraat, Willemsparkweg, and Cornelis Schuytstraat, where you're likely to discover a hyperchic home accessory or premium investment piece for your wardrobe. At the other end of the scale, join the crowds on the Leidsestraat, Kalverstraat, Damrak, Rokin, and Nieuwendijk, where flagship stores, major chains, and department stores stand shoulder-to-shoulder with inexpensive fashion outlets and cheesy souvenir shops.
If that's all a bit too noisy and crowded, head to the Spiegelkwartier for a quieter, more refined shopping experience, with proportionately escalated prices. You’ll find elegant antiques shops whose beautiful displays include antique art, maps, furnishings, jewelry, and clocks. Collectors, museum curators, and antiques dealers routinely shop here for old Delft and Makkum treasures. If you have time, visit one of the daily outdoor markets: the bustling Albert Cuypmarkt in De Pijp is one of the oldest and best known. Be sure to explore the neighborhood’s many concept stores and hip indie boutiques as well, and make a pilgrimage to nearby Utrechtsestraat for its fantastic food, fashion, and lifestyle stores. There are lesser-known Sunday markets, like the organic Pure Markt at Frankendael Park and the Maker Market at De Hallen, or check out the Sunday Market and Neighbourfood Market at Westergasfabriek.
What began in the early '70s as an erotic magazine outlet has grown into reputedly the largest brick-and-mortar English-language book emporium on the continent. True to its name, the shop is American-owned, but the selection is broad and eclectic, running the gamut from crime fiction to New Age and Manga. Students, teachers, and senior citizens (on Monday only) receive a 10% discount with a valid ID.
Rarely does anyone leave this renowned shop empty-handed—not with its stock of beautiful oversize art and photography books spanning architecture, landscape design, and natural history.
For the city's best selection of international newspapers, creative magazines, and highbrow periodicals, as well as the freshest local offerings, find your way to the unmissable red-and-white awning on the Spui.
This antiquarian's heaven, housed in a former department store, offers five floors of treasures on Amsterdam history. Specialties of this family-run business include books on pre-18th-century art, classical archaeology, architecture, biology, and the Olympic Games, as well as topographical maps and prints. It also offers a fair share of other literature nicely shelved by subject.
Redolent of a bygone era in a rural New England town, this browse-worthy shop sells used English-language books on all subjects and many a secondhand paperback.
This tiny, venerable book market is snuggled in the heart of the University of Amsterdam's meandering edifices. Booksellers in this 17th-century alleyway have been hawking used and antiquarian books, prints, and sheet music daily since 1879.
