Discover the secrets: Amsterdam's great food markets
Amsterdam is one of the most visited cities in the world, so much so that the Dutch government has taken a number of steps this year to reduce the number of tourists coming to the city. But do not let this scare you - Amsterdam is still one of the most enjoyable cities in Europe and it will be very difficult for the Dutch to make the rest of the world love it less.
During the tours we hold in the city, we meet quite a few tourists who return to visit it several times and you can understand why. It is very easy to fall in love with Amsterdam for quite a few reasons. One of them is simply thanks to being a city where life is a bit like the village, everything is close and within walking distance. The first piece of advice before a trip to Amsterdam is that there is no need to plan your vacation with much accuracy, you can just get here and get lost in the beautiful streets of the city and enjoy the local canal view. Despite its bland culinary image, in our opinion it is a baseless defamation. In the previous article we mentioned places where locals like to eat and hang out. This time we will discover the great markets of Amsterdam. Some are likable and fun and some have already become culinary must-sees, and all together give it a rich variety of supply, color and richness.
One can plan an entire vacation that revolves around the markets of Amsterdam and each day visit a different area of the city. However, it is important to know that quite a few markets only operate a few days a week, so it is worth getting up to date in advance on opening hours. Either way, no matter when you arrive, there will surely be a market that will fit your desires.
Here are our favorite markets:
Albert Cuyp Market
The Albert Cuyp Market is the most famous, tourist-friendly and largest market in Amsterdam. It has more than 260 stalls with clothes, flowers, appliances and of course - a lot of food. The market is located in the lively De Pijp neighborhood. The market and the streets that surround it have quite a few excellent street food stalls, bars, restaurants and eateries. The market is open six days a week (closed on Sundays) from 9:00 to 17:00.
In and around the market there are many places that will serve you a wide variety of street food that revolves around the many cultures that came to the Netherlands and brought with them the exotic flavors from home, like Indonesian, Surinamese, Turkish, Moroccan cuisines and this is a partial list. Our recommendation - open your eyes and sharpen your sense of smell and you will be able to reach wonderful places on the streets that surround the market and not only in it.
Address: Albert Cuyp Market, Albert Cuypstraat, Amsterdam
Lindenmarkt
Lindenmarkt is one of the most graceful markets in the city and is located in Jordaan, one of its most beautiful neighborhoods. Apart from visiting the market itself, it is possible and even recommended to walk in the neighborhood and get lost among its beautiful streets. It is one of the oldest markets in the city, operating since the 17th century. Of course over the years its character has changed according to changes around like consumer culture, lifestyle and composition of the population. It is active only on Saturdays. It is an organic market where boutique producers, special raw produce and particularly enjoyable food stalls are set up. It is very difficult to resist the temptation and remain indifferent in the face of the spectacular produce sold in it.
In this market, you'll find amazing cheeses, Dutch sausages, fish and more. We recommend that you do not miss visiting this market, mainly thanks to one specific stand that is worthwhile getting to know, and that is the one that will serve you the most
extravagant smoked ham sandwich you will find in the city and perhaps the simplest. The pork slices are served hot, along with sauerkraut, mustard and mayonnaise in a fresh bun. How simple, how delicious. At the same stall you will find some other goodies like the smoked sausage, Dutch pea soup and a bean and meat stew. It is located almost at the end of the market, but there is no chance that you will miss it, the smell will lead you to it alone.
If you have a little more room in your stomach left for dessert, you should get to know the WINKEL 43 cafe, which is a 2 minute walk from the market. There you can taste the place's famous apple pie, which is well worth a visit, even two. The cafe is a pleasant break during long wanderings in the city. The pie, so rich and comforting, will fill you with just the amount of energy needed to continue touring the city.
Address: Lindenmarkt , 1015 KJ Amsterdam
For more details - http://www.jordaanmarkten.nl/noordermarkt.html
Museum Square Market
This is one of the city's hottest markets. It is only active one day a month - the third Sunday of each month. After a long period in which the National Museum of the Netherlands, the Rijksmuseum was under renovation, in 2013 when it opened its doors to visitors again, it was just an excuse for the Dutch to start the new-old tradition of the museum market. The spacious market, located in the charming Museum Square is filled with masses of visitors and stalls. You will find a very interesting variety of designed products in the market that are made by hand and will be sold to you by the designers themselves; Ranging from home products, clothing, textiles, jewelry and more.
You will also find dozens of food stalls with dishes and flavors from around the world. We always like to buy a few different dishes and thus actually enjoy as many flavors as possible in one visit, a kind of global tasting meal. You can sit and eat in designated places around the stalls themselves or spread a blanket on the square’s endless grass lawns and have a picnic. In winter, the large square with an ornamental pool in the center is converted into an ice skating rink, but it is especially worth visiting on the day when the market takes place. This way you can combine a visit to one of the museums around it and also sample some great dishes on the market. By the way, a short walk from the Museum Square is one of the most beautiful parks in Amsterdam, the Vondelpark, definitely a place worth visiting on a trip to the city.
Address – Museumplein, Amsterdam
For more details - http://www.museummarket.nl/
PureMarkt Market
This is perhaps the youngest market in Amsterdam, yet one of the most special in the city. The PureMarkt is a special and different market in the cityscape of Amsterdam and tourists are usually unfamiliar with it, so most of the people that visit it consists of a local crowd. As such, something in its energies is different from the rest of the markets in the city. It operates only on Sundays and takes place in three places in the city, a kind of "wayfaring" market, when every Sunday it takes place in a different park in the city. In January and February, it goes out for a light winter nap and returns to activity fresh and happy in March. The agenda of the market is Farm to Table and not just from a culinary point of view; There are dozens of very diverse stalls in it, with 70 percent of the stalls being various food stalls. The rest of the stalls sell souvenirs and handmade products. When it comes to agricultural produce, you can meet the farmers themselves here and buy the produce harvested that morning directly from them. Also, there are many wonderful stalls of cooked food, those who will sell it to you are usually the ones who prepared it.
Beyond all these, there are also alcohol and drink stalls and artists who have come to sell their works, but above all it is mostly a place of entertainment for the locals. When it takes place in the neighborhood park, it is definitely the favorite pastime for a sunny Sunday. As city dwellers, this is a wonderful opportunity to purchase fresh produce directly from the producers and on the way to hang out with friends and family, eat well and maybe even find some handmade rug that is probably not found anywhere else. If you are a geek for food markets, this is definitely your market.
For more details - https://puremarkt.nl
Sunday Market
The Sunday Market started operating in 2007 and was inspired by London’s markets such as the Portobello Market and Camden Market which combine art, inspiration and consumerism.
The Sunday market operates and takes place only on Sundays, here too it is a traveling market that takes place every week in a different location in the city. To know where it takes place during your visit to Amsterdam, you may want to check out the market website.
The fact that every Sunday there is some market active somewhere in the city, provides free entertainment options for the city residents on the one hand and diverse livelihood options for merchants and artisans, on the other hand. In general, a Sunday market is a type of entertainment venue, combining fashion stalls, accessories, jewelry, vintage and second-hand items, art and of course food stalls. The goal in these markets is for people visiting to make "unplanned" purchases that happen while they are having fun, and sometimes these are the best purchases. Since this is a type of entertainment venue, of course it should always be accompanied by food and therefore, there are various stalls in the market that will offer interesting and very tasty ways to fill your stomach.
For more details - http://www.sundaymarket.nl/about
Food Hallen
Food Hallen is an indoor food complex founded in 2014. Since then, two more of its complexes have opened outside Amsterdam (Rotterdam and The Hague). The concept is very simple and very suitable for a city where it rains all year round. The compound itself sits on the ruins of an Amsterdam electric train garage and evidence of this is the railway track on the floor of the compound that tells of the roots and not-so-distant past of the place. The market is within walking distance outside the tourist center in the Oud West neighborhood, one of the trendiest neighborhoods in the city. In the complex you will find dozens of food stalls from different cuisines in the world, so that everyone who comes here can find something to eat. In the center of the complex is a wide variety of seating areas that allow for large groups to gather, while in the center of the extension is a large alcohol bar that indicates the nature of the place and the atmosphere that changes at night. During the day it is a bit sleepy here, but in the evening the place comes to life and provides a meeting place for large and small groups looking for a place to have dinner together in a light atmosphere, especially when it is cold outside. In addition, there are occasional live performances (the schedule appears on the website). Please note that the food stalls close at 22:00 at night, so it is recommended to arrive here at 21:00, at the latest.
For more details - https://foodhallen.nl/amsterdam
Ten Katemarkt Market
One of the city's most liked neighborhood markets is also in the Oud West neighborhood, a short walk from the Food Hallen, so if you've already decided you want to explore the streets outside the city's touristy center, we recommend combining the Ten Katemarkt market and Food Hallen that day. This is a neighborhood market and as befits its location, it is relatively small and contains about 100 different stalls. You will find fruit and vegetable stalls, clothes, flowers, Dutch cheeses, fish, fine sausages and more. On Saturdays, some very interesting food stalls are added to the regular stalls.
This is a market that is open six days a week, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; On Sundays the market is closed. It is very easy to reach by public transport from the city center and if you have a free morning without special plans, this is a great opportunity to spend time in the market and see what the local neighborhoods look like. Beyond that, real foodies, those who like to discover other markets on their visit, will find it of great interest. On the other hand, if your time is limited and you have a time limit for a trip to only one market, you may want to choose a larger market from the other markets we mentioned above.
Address – Ten Katestraat 34, 1053 CC Amsterdam
The food court floor in the Magna Plaza mall
The Magna Plaza is a small mall located in the city center, right next to the Royal Palace in Dam Square. The structure itself is very impressive, inside and out; It was built in the 19th century and was originally used as the building of the Amsterdam post offices. The Magna Plaza was chosen as one of the ten most beautiful buildings in the city and rightly so. It is very difficult to ignore its spectacular size and beauty and it is amusing to imagine that all this splendor was built to serve the post offices. Today, as mentioned, the building serves as a small mall located right in the tourist-friendly center of the city. Apart from shops, last year a food complex was also opened on the second floor overlooking the lower floor of the mall. You will find 14 different food stalls, including a stall of The Butcher, the well-known burger restaurant with several branches in the city. The complex also has two different alcohol bars, with one serving specialty beers and the other being a cocktail bar. In a city like Amsterdam, where there can be cold and rainy days all year round, it is always nice to get to know places to eat and drink while being under a roof :), especially those that are in the city center and provide shelter, plenty of delicious options and light rest for your feet.
For more details - https://thefooddepartment.nl
