Few markets compare with Amsterdam's Waterlooplein flea market, which surrounds the perimeter of the Stopera (Muziektheater/Town Hall complex) building. It's a descendant of the haphazard pushcart trade that gave this part of the city its distinct and lively character in the early part of the century. It can be fun to visit, and if you think your own attic is a mess, you'll be gratified to see the piles of similar stuff dumped here. It's amusing to see the old telephones, typewriters, and other arcana all haphazardly displayed -- but it's even more amusing to see shoppers scrambling and vying with each other to buy it. Professional dealers set up here also, selling secondhand clothing, hats, and purses, often from the past 40 years. New fashions are mostly for the rock music set. The flea market is open Monday-Saturday 9:30-5.
The Bloemenmarkt, (along the Singel canal, between Koningsplein and Muntplein) is another of Amsterdam's must-see markets, where flowers and plants are sold from permanently moored barges. The market is open Monday-Sunday 8:30-6.
On Saturday 9-4, the Noordermarkt (which winds around Noorderkerk and along Lindengracht) hosts a fabric market; on Monday mornings, a flea market evocative of the old world takes over. It's a sprawling affair, mostly full of used clothing, books, and toys, but you can also find antique silverware and pottery as well as wartime and advertising memorabilia. Collectors browse here for old pearl buttons and sewing notions, dolls, used sewing machines, and books.
Nieuwmarkt (at northern end of Kloverniersburgwal) hosts an organic farmers' market, with specialist stalls selling essential oils and other New Age fare alongside the oats, legumes, and vegetables.
Sunday art markets are held in good weather from April to October in the Rembrandtplein area on Thorbeckeplein (10:30-6), and from April to November in the Dam area at Spui square (10-6), which also hosts a boeken market on Friday (10-6) that's a used and antiquarian book-browsing paradise.
The Postzegelmarkt stamp market is held twice a week (Wednesday and Saturday, 1-4) by the Spui on Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal.
A favorite with locals is the Albert Cuypmarkt, on Albert Cuypstraat between Ferdinand Bolstraat and Van Woustraat, in the heart of the De Pijp district, and considered the best open-air street market in Amsterdam. It's open Monday-Saturday 9-5. Among the colorful and noisy crowd, vendors sell food, clothing, fabrics, houseplants, and household goods from all over the world. Just about every ethnic culture is represented here (vendors, goods, and buyers), and if you take time out for people-watching, you'll hear a musical mélange of spoken languages. Be sure to try some of the exotic street food, or just order the Dutchman's favorite fast food -- frites met mayonnaise (fries with mayonnaise) served piping hot in a paper cone. Simply delicious. Look for Belgian frites, as these are the tastiest.
Fabric lovers will think they've gone to heaven when they visit the Monday Lapjesmarkt. Go early in the morning via the No. 3 or 10 tram to the stop for the Marnixbad. Follow the crowd -- most people on the tram will be headed for the market. All along the Westerstraat, you'll find stalls with every possible kind of fabric -- beautiful rainbow-colored Asian silks embedded with mirrors and embroidery, batiks from Indonesia, Suriname, and Africa, fabulous faux furs, lace curtains, velvet drapery materials, calicos, and vinyl coverings, all being admired and stroked by eager shoppers. Couturiers rub elbows with housewives, vendors measure out meters, and the crowds keep getting denser. The fabric market continues down the Westerstraat and then merges with a fruit, vegetable, and clothing market; then, at the end of the street, near the Noorderkerk (Northern Church), there is the large Noordermarkt flea market. The Lapjesmarket closes at noon.
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