While names like Rembrandt and van Gogh may be very popular outside of the Netherlands, lots of tourists still struggle to mention the field where Albert Cuyp shone like the brightest morning star. Albert Cuyp is known for his many colorful Dutch landscape paintings in the Dutch Golden Age. His landscapes bathed in a sunny, Mediterranean light, were the works of a master painter and genius.
Albert Cuyp died in 1691 and was buried in the Augustijnenkerk in Dordrecht, the same city where he was born. The Albert Cuyp market is named after him and is known to have started as a market with special collections of street windows and handcarts. The Amsterdam municipality decided to establish this free market in 1905 and was known to have taken place only on Saturday evenings. Seven years later, in 1912, the market became a daily market, which was open six days a week. The Albert Cuyp market is the busiest market in the Netherlands and one of the biggest day markets in Europe!
Around the turn of the century, new districts such as Oud-West and De Pijp formed an attractive market for the many Amsterdam Street vendors. Wandering through the city, looking for customers and often being stopped from vending by the police, but because of the width of the Albert Cuypstraat they kept gathering there with their wooden carts. Just like that, the first batch of Albert Cuyp sellers was born as these vendors soon discovered that the corner of the Ferdinand Bolstraat and the Albert Cuypstraat offered quite a bit of patronage. In the economic crisis of the 1930s, there was a lot of poverty among vendors who were mostly Jews. The same Jews were not allowed to be sell their wares in the market during the war and the market suffered greatly because of that.
The municipality – always busy managing the unregulated street vendors — decided in 1905 to allow a market every Saturday evenings in the Albert Cuypstraat. Later in October 1912 the city council formalised plans to officially make Albert Cuyp market a daily market. When it became a daily market in 1912, it was the smallest market in Amsterdam, but it grew into “the biggest day market in Europe.”
In the course of time, the supply had become a lot more varied.
“The philosophy of the market is,” explains a market man, “you have to have what your audience demands.” And that audience also increasingly came from abroad. For example, Italian and Spanish guest workers asked for sardines and Surinamese wanted garter and dried fish.
The Albert Cuyp market is the largest day market in Amsterdam. Amsterdammers do their daily shopping here, some snoopers come looking for bargains while others simply enjoy the atmosphere. Albert Cuyp is a colorful, fragrant street market with wares so versatile and diverse that vendors and customers alike agree that – ‘if what you’re looking for isn’t at the Albert Cuyp market, then it does not exist or has not been invented yet’. The market is probably the most exciting market in Amsterdam, and perhaps the whole of the Netherlands. Customers are able to even discover new wares they didn’t know existed in the market. From flowers and herring to XXXL bras and from reading glasses to Amsterdam onions, Dutch croquettes the list of wares is endless. There are also shiny and glittery jewelry, reading glasses in all shapes, shoes, T-shirts, vegetables, fruits, fabrics, textiles, bags, flowers, plants, etc. With more than 260 stalls, the Albert Cuyp market is the largest daily market in Amsterdam and Europe.
Albert Cuyp is definitely where you have to be for your fresh fish. The fish sellers claim to have more than fifty different fish varieties on offer. Of course this isn’t only fish from the North Sea but also fish from the Mediterranean and distant oceans.
It isn’t possible to visit the Netherlands without tasting some of the country’s cheese or other dairy products. Albert Cuyp market boasts off some cheese stalls that sell some of the best cheese in Europe. The Albert Cuyp cheese stalls are known for their good price and quality products. They are also known for their delicious flavors of both Dutch cheese and foreign cheeses.
For those tailors, sewers and everyone who makes their own clothes, the Albert Cuyp is a paradise on earth with seven stalls full of different kinds of fabric. The Kniphal is famous for selling carefully selected range of fashion, interior and curtain fabrics.
For fresh nuts, make a quick stop at the walnut farmer’s. The choice of mouth-watering chocolate seems inexhaustible and irresistible. Then you also have Wally waffles, freshly made waffles with a layer of chocolate on top. There’s a bakery stand called the De Amsterdamse Bakker. They have the largest organic assortment and you can buy freshly-baked bread, croissants and even cakes. There are also restaurants where you can sit for a while, order hamburgers, pancakes and even snacks with coffee and hot chocolate while you enjoy the view of the street and all the sounds and colour that come with the market.
Albert Cuyp is home to some of the country’s freshest vegetables and tastiest fruits. Visitors flock the market every year in search of unique fruits and healthy veggies. Amsterdammers also aren’t missing out on all the freshness. They come here to buy their vegetables everyday and this section of the market remains a hotspot for vegetarians and vegans. Don’t forget to check out the stands, you might even find some new vegetables and fruits you’ve probably never seen before or don’t have in your home country.
If there is one thing tourists (and Amsterdam locals) never seem to get enough of whenever they’re in Amsterdam, it’s flowers! Albert Cuyp markt is the perfect place to buy some of the Netherland’s best flowers. The markets boasts of seasoned flower vendors with enough savvy and experience in the flower sector to offer some of the best flowers to their customers.
At Budget Souvenirs you buy all your gifts for your (foreign) friends, for half the price of what they cost in the city center. For all kinds of teas, herbs and sweets, you can step inside the De Peperbol – nice, fresh and tasty. Also important to mention is that the teas and herbs are all 100% pure.
Note: Need to withdraw money?
The wares on offer at the Albert Cuyp market can be so tempting that you might buy more than initially intended. Good to know that there are three cash machines in close proximity to the market: There’s one on the Albert Cuypstraat 165, one next to Eetcafe Moos and another inside the Kniphal.
The Albert Cuyp market is very easy to find. Public transport is the best way to get to the Albert Cuyp market.
Address
Albert Cuypmarkt
Albert Cuypstraat
1072 CN Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Opening hours
Monday till Saturday: 10.00-17.00
The market is closed on Sundays.
Can close earlier in winter due to bad weather.
Subway 52 in the direction of “Station Zuid”: at central station, make your way to the subway, right in front of Central Station. Find your way to line 52, but make sure to take subway in the direction of “Station Zuid”, not the opposite “Noord”.
Tram 4: exit at the stop “Stadhouderskade”. You enter the Van Woustraat in the direction of tram 4. After 50 metres, you will find the Albert Cuyp market on your right.
Trams 16 and 24: in the direction of the Ferdinand Bolstraat.
Exit at the stop “Albertcuypstraat”.
You are now standing in front of the Albert Cuyp market.
Trams 3 and 12: These trams go in east-west direction. Exit at the Ceintuurbaan, which are respectively the stops “Ferdinand Bolstraat” or “Van Woustraat”. Continue in northern direction to the Albert Cuyp market.
From the A10, S110, take a right turn on the Nieuwe Utrechtseweg to the President Kennedylaan, continue to the Amsteldijk, take a left turn to the Govert Flinckstraat, and a right turn to the Van Woustraat.
You’ll find the Albert Cuypstraat on the left, where the Albert Cuyp market is located.
Tram 4 or 25: get off at Stadhouderskade
Tram 16 of 24: get off at Albert Cuypstraat
Tram 3 of 12: get off at Ceintuurbaan, walk-in northern direction Albert Cuyp.
For real-time travel information from wherever you are to Albert Cuyp, please check out this link;
Public transport still remains the best way to visit Albert Cuyp. Parking can be very expensive in Amsterdam and while visiting with a car could be more convenient, in the sense that you don’t need to carry a lot of wares while jumping from one bus or tram to the other, public transportation is more cheaper.
For a short visit to the Albert Cuyp, you can park in the Van Woustraat. Parking in the Van Woustraat is only 10 cents per hour between 09.00 and 16.00!
You can find the P+R in Amsterdam at the following locations:
The market in the popular Albert Cuypstraat dates back to 1904, when De Pijp area was completed and initially intended for the working class. The broad street, which offers space to the many market stalls, because a hotspot for vendors who soon started gathering there to sell their wares. At first they were chased away but later, a market was commissioned to only take place on Saturday evenings. A wonderful atmosphere, geniality and Amsterdam humour can be found in the Albert Cuyp market as well as diverse goods – both edible and inedible. The market attracts an average of 20,000 visitors on working days and twice as many people on Saturdays, watching and buying or just enjoying the market atmosphere while asking vendors questions about their wares and taking pictures. The three hundred stalls mainly sell fish, poultry, cheese, vegetables, fruit and clothing and the prices are among the cheapest in Amsterdam. The market is surrounded by numerous exotic shops, studios and cozy cafes and restaurants all adding to the pomp and festive market atmosphere. Hotels in the area include Hotel Linda and Van Ostade Bicycle Hotel. A day in Amsterdam isn’t complete without a visit to the Albert Cuyp market!
Are you interested to take a look at other places for a day trip in the Netherlands? We made an overview of the very best places for a day trip while you’re visiting Holland.
It was my first time Amsterdam and I decided to go to the Albert Cuyp Market. And I fell in love. It is such a beautiful place with a lot of lovely people, lovely food and a lot of different cuisines. A place that you must visit is Vishandel Siem Schilder & Zonen. They sell beautiful fresh fish and delicious oysters. I recommend the guilardaus. Special shout out to Henk who helped me with choosing the oysters. He was very kind and funny and he’s knowledge is insane.
Get to know what moment of the year you should visit Amsterdam. Prepare yourself in advance.
Discover world-famous museums, but also get to know the more less-known museums
The public transport is one of the most organized ones in the world. Learn how it works.