Albert Cuyp Market

The Albert Cuyp is the biggest outdoor street market in Amsterdam and it has been running in De Pijp since 1905. Five days a week, the Albert Cuypstraat fills with over two hundred and fifty stalls selling everything from fresh stroopwafels to cheap socks to flowers to exotic fruit to kibbeling (fried fish) to things you did not know existed until you walked past them.

The food is the main draw for visitors and it should be. The fresh stroopwafels are made right in front of you — hot, gooey, caramel dripping — and cost about two euros. Eat them immediately while they are warm because that is the whole point. The kibbeling stands sell crispy chunks of fried white fish with garlic sauce that is one of the great cheap eats of Amsterdam. The Surinamese stalls do roti and bami that are the real thing, not a watered-down tourist version.

Beyond food, the market is a functioning daily market for the neighborhood. Locals buy their vegetables here, their cheese, their bread, their flowers. The produce is fresher and often cheaper than the supermarket. The cheese stalls let you taste before you buy, which is both generous and dangerous because you will end up buying three kinds of Gouda you did not plan on.

The market runs Monday through Saturday, roughly nine AM to five PM. There is no Sunday market. The busiest days are Saturday and any day with good weather. For a calmer experience, go Tuesday or Wednesday morning when the neighborhood is shopping and the tourist crowd has not arrived yet. The stalls are the same but the pace is completely different.

Bring cash. Many stalls take cards now but not all of them, and the older vendors especially prefer cash. Also bring a bag because you will buy things you did not plan on buying.

The market sits in the middle of De Pijp, which is one of the best neighborhoods for walking around. After the market, head south toward Sarphatipark for a quiet sit in a beautiful small park, or go north toward the Heineken Experience if that is your thing, or just wander the side streets where you will find bars and restaurants that cater to the neighborhood rather than tourists.

The downside is that it can get overwhelming. Two hundred and fifty stalls stretched over a long street means a lot of stimulation. It is loud, it is crowded on popular days, and the quality of goods varies — some stalls sell genuinely good stuff and some sell cheap junk. Use your judgment. If it looks too good to be true for three euros, it probably is.

Also, watch your belongings. It is a crowded market in a big city and pickpockets are a reality. Keep your phone in your front pocket and your bag zipped.

But for the food alone it is worth the visit. Come hungry, bring cash, and eat your way through it.