Kalverstraat

Just plain busy. Gone are all the eateries to be replaced by chain retail shops. It has steadily gotten worse as the street is dirty and filled with wannabees and pretenders. Our first visit 30+ years ago the street was charming and filled with hidden alleys of adventure. We were here four years ago and saw the change immediately and noted the cheap looking retail stores and it reminded me of the middle of Newark. Now I would be afraid to go down any of the alleys. Kalverstraat translates to cattle street which unfortunately is a more appropriate name today. Sad.

This is one of my favourite places to visit in Amsterdam. It is a very long shopping street leading off Dam Square. It's great - not for it's wonderful architecture or beautiful buildings - but because it's a shoppers paradise! For me, it has everything, with big names such as Swarovski, Geox, Lush, Pandora, Skechers, and Superdry, to name but a few. Then there's other high street brands including The Body Shop, Mango, Claire's, and Sneakers. It also has dozens of places to get refreshments - numerous coffee shops, cafes, ice cream parlours, outlets selling cakes, donuts, pancakes, frozen yogurts, sandwiches, the lot - this street has it all. Later on in the afternoons it can get very crowded, so unless you like extremely busy places, I would recommend a visit earlier in the day. I find that around 12 pm is best. A great bonus is that Kalverstraat is pedestrianised, so at least you can escape from the cars for a while. If you are not a shopaholic and just want to walk along it, the street has abundances of vibrancy, atmosphere and vitality. There is also a street entertainer in the form of an organ player.

It is also worth going a bit off piste and making a detour down some of the many side streets and alleyways as you will find some lovely little cafe/bars or "brown bars" there.

This is equivalent to Santa Monica's 3rd Street Promenade, without the beach. Lots of chain stores and one of the busiest areas.

I don't understand the need for 3 separate H&M stores... on the same street. Granted, they do sell different types of clothes (one is solely for kids, ones for business-wear clothes, ones for casual/trendy clothes). Just.... why?

The intermittent bread stores (cheese bread with onions) and ice cream/dessert shops were delightful. They also have coffee shops on little side streets to drop off the guys while the girls shop.

This is the street that has most of the shops that sell clothing, housewares and specialty items. You'll find plates and cups, pants and shoes, linens and curtains, most everything you'd need to buy. You'll find H&M, Hema, Blokker, T-Mobile and McDonalds here along with a few restaurants and snack places where you can rest from all your shopping and refresh for another go round. Since no cars are allowed on this street it can be difficult to walk at times because of the myriads of shoppers. There is a companion street the same as this one but located on the other side of Dam square also with H&M, Hema and McDonalds. With both streets they run through the center of Amsterdam running parallel with Damrak on the north side and the Rokin to the south.

This is a long shopping street (pedestrian only) that will lead you through the heart of Amsterdam retail space and shops. You'll find all the big brand stores and shops along this street, and accessory stores for scarves and cosmetic jewelry. Think Carnaby Street in London's West End and its' same thing. Around shopping season and holidays, it's gets very busy and people and languages from all over the world. Remember to try it on first and take home something you can't get at the ole Mall back home. There's watch stores here too, which is much different than North America, you'll find a watch is more of a fashion statement here. Enjoy.