markt

Trade is in Amsterdam's DNA. The city literally began as a dam with a market — the Dam on the Amstel river, where merchants gathered to sell herring, timber, and beer. That market square is now Dam Square, the heart of the city.

The Albert Cuyp Market in De Pijp has been running since 1905, stretching for over a kilometre with 300+ stalls. Stroopwafels made fresh, raw herring with onions, Gouda and Edam cheeses, Surinamese roti, Turkish bread, flowers by the armful — the Cuyp is Amsterdam's stomach.

But the most revolutionary markt in Amsterdam's history was the stock market. Founded in 1602 to trade VOC shares, the Amsterdam Stock Exchange was the world's first. The building on the Rokin (now a shopping arcade) is where modern capitalism was born — for better and worse.

Other notable Amsterdam markets: the Bloemenmarkt (floating flower market on the Singel, since 1862), the Waterlooplein flea market (since 1886), and the Noordermarkt (organic and vintage, every Saturday since 1627).