A Luxury Shopping Guide to Amsterdam

Haarlemmerstraat and Haarlemmerdijk mark the northern limits of de Jordaan, a charming neighbourhood in central Amsterdam. The sheer number of high quality fashion stores, boutiques, salons and bars on these two conjoined streets is utterly astounding and it is worth taking a whole day exploring the area. Apart from shopping, several other attractions can be found on, or nearby, Haarlemmerstraat and Haarlemmerdijk, including an Art-Deco Cinema, Westerpark and a weekly farmer’s market.

Utretchsestraat trails through the southern quarter of Amsterdam’s canal belt and runs from Rembrandtplein to the border of de Pijp. Despite its centrality, Utrechtsestraat usually moves at a noticeably slower pace than the rest of inner Amsterdam, making it perfect for relaxed shopping excursions. Besides its fashion retailers, Utrechtsestraat also features numerous furniture and design stores including Zenza, Jan and Bolia.

Named after the revered Dutch playwright Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft, this charming street runs behind Vondelpark and is renowned for its high-end fashion retailers. In fact, P.C. Hoofstraat is regularly cited as the best shopping street in the world due to its welcoming ambience, premium brands and inviting layout. Big names such as Ralph Lauren, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton all have stores on P.C. Hoofstraat and it is easy to spend whole afternoons browsing through the street’s diverse roster of classy showrooms.

De Bijenkorf is a chain of luxury Dutch department stores that have several locations throughout the Netherlands. Their flagship store on Dam Square was designed to resemble other prominent historical buildings in Amsterdam and looks onto the Royal Palace. Like Selfridges in London or Le Bon Marché in Paris, De Bijenkorf features a diverse range of high-end retailers and has entire floors dedicated to cosmetics and fashion.

The narrow lanes that wind between the western quarter of Amsterdam’s canal belt are colloquially known as de Negen Straatjes (the Nine Streets) and possess a distinctive boutique economy. Many local and international designers have set up shop in the charming townhouses that line these streets and sell their wares from personalised and often delightful showrooms.

As Nieuwe Speigelstraat has the largest concentration of antique dealers and private art galleries in Amsterdam, it is undoubtedly the best place in the city to find rare or exclusive jewellery, paintings and interior products. Many of its wonderfully curated stores specialise in Dutch design, and there is always an impressive selection of Delftware pottery on sale inside the showrooms on Nieuwe Spiegelstraat.