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'T Klompenhuisje
Reasonably priced and finely crafted, traditional Dutch clogs are just the thing to potter around the garden in, away from prying eyes. Good ones are surprisingly comfortable. There's also handmade leather goods and baby's woollen slippers.
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'T Zonnetje
In a space that's been a teashop since 1642, you can find teas from all over the world, coffees and implements, and be waited on by a commendably cheerful owner. High tea is served upstairs (reserve for large groups).
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3-D Hologrammen
This fascinating (and trippy) collection of holographic pictures, jewellery and stickers will delight even the most jaded peepers.
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Absolute Danny
Named by Dutch Playboy as Amsterdam's classiest sex shop, Absolute Danny specialises in fetish clothing, lingerie and leather, plus hard-core videos and dildos just for fun.
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American Book Center
Recently moved, this excellent five-storey store is the biggest source of English-language books in Amsterdam. Its greatest strengths are in the artsy ground-floor department, but upstairs there's fiction and oodles of special-interest titles, plus a good travel-guidebook section. It also stocks foreign periodicals (eg the New York Times ).
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Amsterdam Photography
Classic and experimental shots of Amsterdam at its most photogenic, especially at night. Photos can be printed up to A2 size, matted and framed. Its congenial owner, Scott from New York, is happy to mail your choice home.
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Amsterdam Watch Company
A husband and wife team of watchmakers and enthusiasts restore old watches (postwar to mid-1970s) and are the exclusive Amsterdam dealers of such brands as Germany's D Dornblüth and the Dutch Christiaan van der Klaauw, who makes fewer than 200 watches a year.
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Antiquariaat Kok
A wide and engaging range of used and antiquarian stock (literature, coffee-table books, old prints etc) is sold here, including biology, art and architecture titles.
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Antonia By Yvette
If Sex in the City was shot in Amsterdam, we bet that the girls would spend half their time in this shop. Shoes, boots, sandals and espadrilles run from supremely classy to just plain fun. There's also a small section for guys.
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Architectura & Natura
This charming canalside shop has art, architecture, design, landscape and coffee-table books. Upstairs, Architectuurantiquariat Opbouw (Architecture Antique Shop; 638 70 18) has a selection of its namesake.
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Arnold Cornelis
Your dinner hosts will think you're in the know if you present them with something from this long-standing shop. Just a sample: marzipan fruits, chocolate bonbons with wasabi (it creeps up on you) and blue spheres made with Malaga wine. At lunch, grab a flaky pastry filled with cheese, meat or vegetables. There is another branch at Van Baerlestraat 93 ( M02E3; 662 12 28).
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Athenaeum Bookshop & Newsagency
This enormous bookstore lures in academics, journalists and students. Athenaeum's strengths are its history, language, classics and psychology titles. The separate news agency has the city's largest selection of international newspapers and magazines.
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Au Bout du Monde
This store makes a nice change from the seamier pursuits on offer in Amsterdam. From angels to Zen, this tranquil two-storey shop stocks books on Eastern and Western philosophy, Tibet, Freud, alternative medicine and pretty much anything else you'll need for your religious, psychological or spiritual needs.
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Aurora Kontakt
If your favourite electronic or computer gizmo has stopped working, this no-nonsense store can sell you a replacement at competitive prices.
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Bazar
If you collect kitsch souvenirs or want to buy the boys on the bucks' night some gifts (so they don't go blabbing back home), then this is the place to head for the widest range of ridiculous tourist trinkets - everything from rude-shape egg fryers to fluffy clog slippers.
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Be Innocent
Style-savvy fashionistas will be familiar with these Victorian Gothic-inspired frilly baby-doll dresses from the elegant Gothic Lolita look of the Japanese Harajuku subculture. Although it took off in Japan in the '90s, its recent appropriation by Gwen Stefani is now popularising it in the West.
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Beadies
Once the funky jewellery in the window draws you in, you'll find yourself here for hours selecting gorgeous beads, gems, charms and trinkets to design your own necklaces and bracelets. Our advice: don't start from scratch, opt for a variation on Beadies' fab designs.
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Beaufort
Exquisite handcrafted contemporary jewellery is created on site; many of the pieces combine silver and gold. The necklaces and rings are particularly beautiful.
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Bebob Design
Lovers of international 20th-century design classics - from Arne Jacobsen Swan chairs to Isamu Noguchi lampshades - should make this their first stop in Amsterdam. While the store arranges shipping, a George Nelson ball clock should fit nicely in the carry-on.
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Bever Zwerfsport
Everything you need for a local hike or a Himalayan expedition: camping equipment, mountaineering gear, clothes and shoes.
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Bloemenmarkt
It's hard to resist the quivering tulips at Amsterdam's signature flower market, near Muntplein. Once you've chosen your 10lb bag of Burning Heart or Queen of Night bulbs, ask the traders if you can take it back home. Ireland and the UK allow an unlimited number of bulbs to be brought back in, as do Canada and the USA (accompanied by a certificate, which will be provided).
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Blond
Actual blondes Femque and Janneke glaze plates and dishes in designs that are hilarious, adorable and very colourful: ladies lunching, beach scenes, chocolates, and cheeses. You can custom order as well.
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Blue Note
This is the place for jazz in Amsterdam. You'll find a wide range of artists - Dutch, European and American - as well as Japanese pressings, lounge music, and a few listening decks.
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Boekie Woekie
While other shops handle art books, here they sell books as art, created by artists specifically for this medium. Some tell stories (elegantly illustrated, naturally), others are riffs on graphic motifs; you may want to browse for a long time.
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Book Exchange
Near the University, this rabbit warren features four rooms of secondhand books, with temptingly priced occult, sci-fi and detective novels, many of them in English.
