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Rotterdam is the number-one shopping city in South Holland. Its famous Lijnbaan and Beurstraverse shopping centers, as well as the surrounding areas, offer a dazzling variety of shops and department stores. Here you'll find all the biggest Dutch chains, like Mango, Morgan, Invito, and Sacha. The archways and fountains of the Beurstraverse, at the bottom of the Coolsingel, make this newer, pedestrianized area more pleasing to walk around. It now boasts some of the highest commercial rents in town, and even has a nickname: "Koopgoot," which can mean "shopping channel" (if you like it) or "shopping gutter" (if you don't). Exclusive shops and boutiques can be found in the Entrepotgebied, Delfshaven, Witte de Withstraat, Nieuwe and Oude Binnenweg, and Van Oldenbarneveldtstraat. West Kruiskade and its vicinity offer a wide assortment of multicultural products in the many Chinese, Surinamese, Mediterranean, and Arabic shops. The shops in the city center are open every Sunday afternoon, and there is late-night shopping (until 9) every Friday.
Look along the Voorhaven and its continuation Aelbrechtskolk, in Delfshaven, for the best antiques. On Sunday head to the Schiedamsdijk, where you can expect to find a market (noon–5) that specializes in antiques and old books.
Dille & Kamille is a fantastic store for anyone interested in cooking. From herbs to sturdy wooden spoons to recipe books, this is a browser's heaven. It is one of the few shops in the Netherlands that still carries traditional Dutch household items, such as a huge water kettle to make tea for 25, a nutmeg mill, or a zeepklopper, a device that holds a bar of soap and can whip up bubbles—a forerunner to liquid dish-washing detergent.
