If shopping is your favorite sport, then Amsterdam, Netherlands is the place for you!

There is always a good deal to be found, especially in the weekend markets. You can find just about everything that tickles your fancy, but it can get a little confusing, so here are some tips to make your shopping experience more enjoyable!

1. Clothes, art, and flowers

• De Negen Straatjes or 9 little streets can be found in the central canal ring and make for a quaint shopping experience.

• For a more bohemian experience, De Jordaan is great for small boutiques, junk and art shops.

• Dam Square is in the center of the city and is the sight where the original dam was built across the Amstel River. The streets surrounding Dam Square are great for shopping.

• The one kilometer stretch from Nieuwedijk-Kalverstraat (Nieuwedijik is close to Central Station) is also a great credit card exercise area, particularly if you are looking for clothes. At the end of the Kalverstraat on the Muntplein, lies the always beautiful and colorful flower market. Here you can buy all manner of bulbs and, of course, tulips as well cut flowers. The prices are higher than at the markets, but the quality is good and the bulbs are ready for export and make great gifts.

3. Books and antiques

• If its books you are looking for, head for Spuiplein. There are also about five bookshops in Leliegracht, but the big daddy of book stores is Scheltema (Koningsplein 20) which has four huge floors of books (mostly English).

• Amsterdam is also famous for its antiques and if you go to Spiegelgracht and Nieuwe Spiegelstraat, you can shop in over 70 stores! You can also find antiques at one of the numerous outdoor markets where you can buy everything including the kitchen sink. The best of these is the Albert Cuyp market which has over 300 stalls and has been in operation for over 100 years. My favorite feature at this market is the stroopwafel man – which brings us to the next topic… Things you absolutely have to eat while shopping.

4. Food

• Stroopwafels: wafer thin waffles filled with syrup are sublime. The stroopwafel man at the Albert Cuyp market makes them fresh, but you can get them from most grocery stores.

• Cheese! Cheese! Cheese! Amsterdam is famous for its cheese for good reason. You could eat cheese every day for the next 5 years and not taste all of them, but I suggest you try! Although cheese makes a great gift, you can’t take it on international flights, so get eat while you can! OK, fries and mayo – don’t knock it until you have tried it. The fries are made from fresh cut potatoes and smothered in thick, creamy home-made mayo – it will change your life. Enjoy!

Opening Hours: Remember that the shops are closed on Sundays and often on Monday mornings. The only exceptions to this rule are Kalverstraat, Damrak, Leidsestraat, and the area near the Noorderkerk. Some supermarkets (like Albert Heijn) stay open until 8 or 9 pm.

Hotel Okura Amsterdam, the perfect Amsterdam hotel for shopping addicts :

The Hotel Okura is the perfect place to stay for shopaholics. This 5-star hotel in Amsterdam has a lower-level shopping gallery where guests can purchase diamond jewellery, Chinese and Dutch gift accessories, leather goods, Japanese food and Godiva chocolates.

Photo of Amsterdam flower market originally posted by jimderda

And, of course, when in Amsterdam… do as the Amsterdammers do! This means BICYCLES!

The very first thing anyone should do upon arriving anywhere is to get a map and (being a tourist friendly city) you can pick up a map of Amsterdam from shops, stations and tourist information centers. The next best thing is to take a half day boat cruise as it will give you a chance to orient yourself and get a feel for the city. It’s a great way to find things which you would like to see, especially if you have a limited amount of time. Once you have your bearings, its time to get a bike!

1. Find a bike rental shop in Amsterdam

You can rent the bikes and buggies from a rental shop. You won’t walk far to find a bike rental shop and it’s the easiest, healthiest and jolliest way to get around town. You can also try Bike City – Bloengracht 68-70 (take trams 13, 14, 10 or 17), Damstraat Rent-A-Bike in Damstraat 20-22, MacBike Amsterdam at the Central Station or Mikes Bike Tours at Kerkstraat 134 (Trams 1, 2 and 5).

Be careful of dodgy characters offering bikes for sale – they are usually stolen and you can incur a hefty fine for buying one.

2. Make your bicycle ride comfortable

The locals make bike riding look effortless and often fit entire family units on a single bike with the help of buggies, carts and baby seats. They may say riding a bike is something you never forget but the red plague (as the endless waves of tourists on their red rentals are called) is often behind the many fender benders which pepper the city. Before you boldly sally forth, take a few minutes to make friends with your bicycle. A bit Wonky? Take a few trips around the block until you feel comfortable. If you are riding on the back of someone’s bike, take some cushioning to avoid bruising your derrière.

3. Respect road signs and avoid getting stuck in tram tracks

Remember to obey all the road signs and stop at red lights as the local police will give you an on-the-spot fine. Avoid (at all cost) getting your wheel stuck in the tram track – it will never end well.

4. Always lock your bike

The first rule of bike club is always lock your bike. The second rule of bike club is always lock your bike to something. There are more bike thefts in Amsterdam daily than you can shake a fairly sharp stick at. Bikes which are not locked to something may find themselves unwilling participants in the national sport of canal tossing. In fact, so many of the poor little things end up in the drink that they have a special claw boat to fish them out!

Biking is a healthy, exciting and fun way to see your city, so saddle up and enjoy yourself!

Photo of Amsterdam originally posted by ms.Tea