Spotlights

Spotlight

Amsterdam

Shopping

Shopping might not be the first activity you think of when you think of Amsterdam, but you'll enjoy window shopping the city's boutiques. Besides looking for souvenirs (wooden clogs, anyone?), Amsterdam's best bets are in unique design pieces, antiques, and diamonds. Visitors looking to take a home a piece of Amsterdam might consider a piece of traditional pottery called Delft. Though many places sell it, Delftshop (Spiegelgracht 13; 020/421-8360; www.delftshop.com) is an official dealer of Royal Delft and Makkum pottery.

Most stores close at 6pm except on Thursdays when they stay open a few hours later, and many are closed on Sundays. Below we've rounded up some of the not-to-miss neighborhoods and shops to get you started.

You won't be able to avoid Leidsestraat, Nieuwendijk, and Kalverstraat, the go-to streets for souvenir shops, clothing chain stores, and a few of the cities biggest department stores: Hema (Kalverstraat 212; 020/626-8720), a Dutch institution that sells just about everything, and Metz & Co (Leidsestraat 34-36; 020/520-7020), which is as upscale as Barney's New York are two of the best.

If you're tired of the big stores and long for a quirky neighborhood of specialty shops, check out 9 Straatjes, or the Nine Streets. Look out for Analik (Hartenstraat 36; 020/420-6938; www.analik.com), an up-and-coming women's fashion designer, De Beeldenwinkel (Berenstraat 29; 020/676-4903) for funky sculpture, Famous (Huidenstraat 17; 020/528-6706; www.famous.nl ) a unique celebrity culture shop, and Laura Dols (Wolvenstraat 7; 020/624-9066; www.lauradols.nl) for second-hand clothing bargains.

As if there weren't enough shopping streets in Amsterdam, there are also a number of outdoor markets worth scouting, open Monday through Saturday. Waterlooplein, behind the Stadhuis/Muziektheater, is the oldest market in the city, full of clothes, jewelry, and food stalls; however, Albert Cuypmarkt, in the culturally diverse De Pijp neighborhood, is the city's largest market and has good, affordable ethnic restaurants nearby. If you're looking for tulip bulbs or fresh flowers, the Bloemenmarkt along the southern side of the Singel is the place for you, but check to make sure bulbs are packaged with a certificate saying it's been hermetically sealed so you can get them through U.S. customs.