A visit to Amsterdam isn't complete without a trip to the bustling Albert Cuypmarkt, the biggest open-stall market in the Netherlands. The 'Cuyp' has been catering to Amsterdam residents, restaurant chefs, many a discerning visitor and pretty much anyone looking for a bargain for longer than a century. What started as an ad-hoc assortment of street traders and pushcarts in 1904, now includes more than 300 businesses lining both sides of the Albert Cuyp as well as side streets. The market is approximately a mile long, flanked by Ferdinand Bolstraat to the west and Van Woustraat to the east and is closed to bicycle and motorized traffic. Albert CuypstraatStreet, however, continues past the above two markers and is open to traffic beyond the ends of the market.
The market and the adjoining streets are not only home to the open-stall vendors, but also feature the greatest variety of ethnic food in the city, from Syrian, to Moroccan, to Indian, to Surinamese to name but a few. Among the numerous trendy bars, a few of Amsterdam's authentic 'bruin cafes' (literally, brown cafes) may still be found along the Albert Cuyp by night. An abundance of Islamic butchers, Indonesian, Spanish, Kurdish, Serbian, Indian and Turkish bakeries, delicatessens and grocery stores are also open along the market or in the side alleys. The stalls, open Monday through Saturday from 9:00 to 17:00 selleverything from socks to vegetables, from cheese to perfume, from fresh fish to textiles, from nuts to blue jeans, from suitcases to exotic fruit. In addition, the Albert Cuyp market, like no other place in the city, is something of a performance stage for Amsterdam’s most authentic characters haggling for a bargain, exhibiting their dry humor or chatting up out-of-towners in English.