Second hand clothing male/female and other Amsterdam, Netherlands Shopping Tips

Name of Shop: Neef en Nicht

Lovely little shop where you can browse second-hand clothing to your heart's content. 'Neef en nicht' means 'Nephew and Niece'. Good brands, even some French and Italian couture.

What To Buy: I bought a suit (jacket, skirt, trousers) of a good brand for 50 euro. And shiny, slick black tight trousers with a mighty split up one leg for only 20 euro :-)

What To Pay: See above

Leave a Comment

Theme: Women's Clothes
Phone: 0203202808
Address: Eerste Bloemdwarsstraat 21-23, 1016 KR Amsterdam

Name of Shop: Antiques, secondhand, fleamarket

The Jordaan neighbourhood in Amsterdam is alive with many unusual little shops with a real Amsterdam atmosphere.

This is the Dutch link:
http://www.moving-online.nl/jordaaninfo/content/nl/framesets/winkelen.html
or click here

Flea markets (also called Rommelmarkt or Vlooienmarkt) in the Jordaan:
- on Saturdays and Mondays on 'Noordermarkt' (that's the name of the street)
- Daily: indoor antique market. See http://www.looier.nl/ (English link available)



Leave a Comment

Theme: Antiques
Phone: +31-20-6249038
Address: Elandsgracht 109 - 1016 TT Amsterdam
Directions: 10 minutes walk west from Leidseplein
Website: www.looier.nl

Name of Shop: HAJENIUS

Even if you don't smoke, you should drop by Hajenius and admire the Art-deco interior from 1915. The Hajenius website says that on entry you are transported to earlier times and this is indeed so, with the original oak panelling, the leather chairs and smell of tobacco. Not tobacco smoke, mind you, but the tobacco itself.

What To Buy: I had a look at the collection of pipes. There were jars of pipe tobacco and I lifted off the lid of a few to have a sniff. Delicious.
The Hajenius brand, founded in 1826, is one of the finest Dutch cigars although personally I prefer Olifant.

What To Pay: Tobacco products have a fixed price. But at Hajenius the range is large as the finest cigars are sold here.

Leave a Comment

Theme: Other
Phone: +31 (0)20-623 74 94
Address: Rokin 92 - 96, 1012 KZ Amsterdam
Directions: From Central Station walk to Dam Square, straight on to Rokin. About halfway.
Website: www.hajenius.com/
Other Contact: info@hajenius.com

Name of Shop: HAJENIUS

The front part of Hajenius is the shop. Walk through and you find yourself in a live museum with a climated smoking room, a library, a smoking chamber, a cigar sampling cabinet where you can see 200 cigars on display.
For Dutch people I think the main attraction is the locker cabinet where the personal stock of many famed customers is kept. From royalty to business people, from politicians to artists and lawyers. It's a mystical fame gallery because you wonder: which cigars do they smoke?



Leave a Comment

Theme: Other
Address: See previous tip

Name of Shop: Coffeeshop

A different kind of smoking altogether. Amsterdam is a favourite destination for the tourists that come here to smoke grass.
Personally I get really tired of people asking only after two things in Amsterdam: the red light districht and coffeeshops. As if there isn't much more to Amsterdam than that.
Nor is it a symbol of what some see as a degenerate society. Just a fact of life, which exists in all countries in more or less public or hidden ways.

What To Buy: Don't know. There are numerous Amsterdam guides that concentrate on coffeeshops.


Leave a Comment

Theme: Other

Name of Shop: Jan Jansen

First thing pieter_jan_v tells me, when we met up for the VT meeting was: ATLC, you need new shoes. Now where did he get that idea?

What To Buy: Jan Jansen (1941) is a premier Dutch shoe designer. Many of his models you see copied for the larger market. He's a trendsetter.

What To Pay: hmmm, it's the kind of shoe that doesn't carry a price tag. I haven't informed lately but I expect from about 2 to 3 times the price of good quality shoes.

Leave a Comment

Theme: Women's Clothes
Address: Rokin
Website: www.ledermuseum.de/jansen/

Name of Shop: Bijenkorf

The Bijenkorf (beehive) are the Dutch version of Gallerie Lafayette.

Have fun shopping!

What To Buy: Fashion, interior, jewelry, kitchenware, books, toys... in the more pricey regions which doesn't mean it has to be expensive.


Leave a Comment

Theme: Department Store
Address: Damrak, Amsterdam
Directions: Walk down Damrak from Central Station direction Dam and you'll find it on your left hand side.
Website: www.bijenkorf.nl

Name of Shop: Puccini

In Staalstraat, during our VT walk I saw this shop crammed with people waiting to be served.
Well, the chocolates are huge and are probably very good or they wouldn't be so popular :-)
I made a picture through the window.

What To Buy: Well, chocolate of course. I saw them made by hand in the next window. It's also a restaurant (see Restaurant tips).


Leave a Comment

Theme: Food and Drink
Phone: 020-6208458
Address: Staalstraat 21, Amsterdam
Directions: Near Waterlooplein
Website: http://www.puccini.nl/index.htm
Other Contact: info@puccini.nl

Name of Shop: Souvenirs

Amsterdam is awash with souvenir shops. This is one shop where there's an overkill of clogs!



Leave a Comment

Theme: Local Craft
Address: Reguliersbreestraat
Directions: Near Rembrantplein

Name of Shop: On the markets

Souvenirs are always very overpriced in my experience. I need them often as gifts when I go abroad. So instead of going to the souvenir shops or Tourist Information, I prefer to go to the Bloemenmarkt (daily flowermarket between Koningsplein and Muntplein) and buy little Delft Blue articles there.
I also saw good bargains on Waterlooplein.



Leave a Comment

Theme: Local Craft
Address: Bloemenmarkt