Klemio
Albert Cuypmarkt
The Albert Cuyp runs the full length of a long street in De Pijp, hundreds of stalls deep, and it has been doing this since 1905. Come hungry. You can eat your way down it on a couple of warm stroopwafels, a paper cone of fries, a raw herring if you are brave, and a wedge of cheese, then double back for the things you walked past the first time. It is free to wander, busy, occasionally touristy, and still very much a market locals actually shop at.
Photos: Fernando Pereira / Anefo (CC0), Fernando Pereira / Anefo (CC0), eric molina (CC BY 2.0), via Wikimedia Commons
A long, real, daily street market that doubles as the best cheap-eats crawl in the city. Go hungry and with cash.
Worth it for
- A warm fresh stroopwafel and a graze-as-you-walk lunch
- Wanting a working neighborhood over another canal photo
You can skip if
- You are in town only on a Sunday, when it is closed
- Dense, noisy crowds wear you out and you cannot face a weekend afternoon here
Tickets & tours for Albert Cuypmarkt
Which ticket should you buy?
What you will find
Two-hundred-odd stalls sell the lot: fruit and vegetables, fish, cheese, flowers, fabric, cheap clothing, phone cases, and a long line of food stands. The famous ones are the stroopwafel stalls that press the waffles fresh and hand them over warm with the syrup still soft, which is a different thing entirely from the packaged version. Get one of those and eat it on the spot.
Mixed in with the everyday stuff are the snacks that make the place a meal: Dutch herring served with onions and pickles, poffertjes (little puffy pancakes dusted with sugar), fries with mayo, plus Surinamese and other stalls reflecting the neighborhood. Prices on the produce are genuinely good. Some of the souvenir and gadget stalls are tourist-priced, so use a little judgment.
When it runs
The market is open six days a week, Monday through Saturday, from mid-morning to late afternoon, and it is closed on Sundays. That Sunday closure catches people out, so do not build a Sunday around it.
Stalls set up through the morning and start packing down before the posted closing time, so the fullest, liveliest version of the market is roughly late morning to mid-afternoon. Turn up too early and half the stands are still under wraps; turn up at the very end and the food sellers are already counting up.
The neighborhood is the point
De Pijp is one of the better parts of Amsterdam to just be in, and the market is its spine. The side streets off the Albert Cuypstraat are full of cafes, brown bars, and small restaurants, so the easy move is to graze the market and then sit down somewhere nearby for a proper coffee or a beer.
It is a real working district, not a polished tourist set-piece, which is most of its charm. Expect bikes threading through the crowd, delivery vans, and a fair amount of noise. That is the market doing what it has done for over a century.
Practical bits
Bring some cash. Plenty of stalls take cards now, but the smaller food stands and produce sellers are quicker and friendlier with coins, and a warm stroopwafel is not a card-machine kind of purchase. Watch your bag in the densest stretches, as any crowded market draws the odd pickpocket.
It gets shoulder-to-shoulder on Saturdays and sunny afternoons. If you want room to actually look at things, a weekday morning is calmer. Either way, wear shoes you can walk a long street in twice.
Albert Cuypmarkt: FAQs
Yes. Wandering the market costs nothing. You only pay for what you buy, and produce prices are good while some souvenir stalls run high.
Monday through Saturday, mid-morning to late afternoon. It is closed on Sundays, which surprises a lot of visitors.
A fresh-pressed warm stroopwafel first. Then herring with onions if you are game, poffertjes, fries, and a wedge of cheese to take away.
Many stalls take cards, but bring some coins. The small food stands and produce sellers are faster and easier with cash.
Weekday mornings once the stalls are fully up. Saturdays and sunny afternoons get packed and slow to move through.
It is in De Pijp, south of the center, easily reached by tram or a 25-minute walk from the canal belt. The street runs east to west and you can join it anywhere.
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