Kalverstraat Market In Amsterdam

Kalverstraat is one of the most popular and commercial shopping streets of Amsterdam. It’s a magical place that should not be missed to visit especially by shoppers. Probably the longest and busiest shopping street of Amsterdam, it is famous as a meeting place of half of the Amsterdam and also as an expensive shopping street for extensive range of designer boutiques and perfumeries. It is a long, narrow and busy street that remains crowded especially during weekend. A huge rush of Pedestrian precinct could be observed everyday but on Saturday the view of the mob is frightening when the time to reach Dam from Mount increases from 10 minutes to about half an hour due to the swarm.

It is said that the place got its name due to the calf trade. Although there is no proof of any cattle market held here but the cattle were driven to the calf market through this route only. The business was initiated here by the butchers followed by the craftsman, cobblers and basket makers and then by coffee shops, boarding houses and others. By the mid of 18th century there were around 200 shops besides coffee shops and boarding houses. Now the market is rich with a number of shops and also a three story shopping mall ‘Kalvertoren’. At present one can find almost all the product of their need in this market. These products include clothing, bags, cards, perfume, gift shops, music, sportswear and many more. While walking through the street one can also enjoy numerous boutique, large departmental stores, shoe shops, jewelry shops and souvenir shop coming on the way. Apart from this bookshop, electronic shops also grab the interest of the visitors.

Street stretch from Dam square to Munt Tower and packed with about 200 shops. At the end is present the ‘Kalvertoren’ mall which provides three levels of shopping. This three storey high building has been built out of historical buildings. Visitors can enjoy not only the clothes shops, music shops and the toys shops but also the eatables in the lunchrooms and the restaurant present on the top floor. The mall is open all through the week. Tuesday morning here is less crowded but Saturdays and Sundays are most crowded days.

It’s a pleasurable experience to shop at Kalverstraat. If you want to shop in a quieter environment then it is better to have a trip avoiding weekends as these are extremely busy days. Even if one is not shopping addict it nice to experience the hustle and bustle of the place and to do the window shopping. As one need not to compete with the vehicle traffic it’s comfortable to shop in this pedestrian street. The popularity of this street attracts not only the local people but the international tourists also.