The Netherlands is a beautiful country with famous, gentle canals, one of the world’s livable nations and a destination you should visit when plan a trip to Europe. It’s home to lots of great little souvenirs, like delicious cakes, savory cheeses, colorful flowers, decorations, and other goodies. If you are wondering what to buy in Netherlands as a gift, you should refer to the article below. So, what is the most famous thing in Netherlands, what should I buy in Netherlands and what to buy in the Netherlands. Let’s check out our Netherlands shopping guide with the suggested 15+ best gifts from Netherlands, best souvenirs from Netherlands and best things to buy in Netherlands as well as best places to buy them to find out the answer!
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What to buy in the Netherlands: Klompen (Dutch wooden clogs)
Wooden clogs are a classic Dutch gift dating back to the 1200s. Dutch locals don’t usually wear these traditional shoes, but this is a souvenir you should buy when traveling to the “Land of Tulips and Windmills”. You can easy find these pretty clogs in souvenir shops.
Perhaps wooden clogs are not really comfortable when walking, but you can completely use them for a different purpose. Today, Dutch wooden clogs are viewed mainly as souvenirs and decorations. For example, to decorate your house, use it as a paperweight (because wooden clogs are quite heavy even in mini sizes), more specifically, you can use these clogs to grow small trees or plants for the garden to make it more unique and strange.
Whether you only buy a small clog-shaped keychain or a large pair of clogs to wear around the house, wooden clogs make the perfect souvenir for friends and family. You can find wooden clogs in wooden shoe stores all over Amsterdam, in popular tourist places likeZaanse Schans windmill village or souvenir shops all over the country.
Price: €10 – €25.
What is the most famous thing in Netherlands: Cheese
What should I buy in Netherlands? Dutch cheese? Definitely right. If you enjoy eating cheese, then you should take a walk around the cheese shops in the Netherlands. Gouda and Edam cheeses are the most Netherlands’s famous cheeses. You should definitely must try Leidse Kaas Cheese (Leyden cheese) with ground cumin, Bleu de Wolvega or organic sheep’s milk cheese. Cheese is one of the most special souvenirs that you should buy when visiting Amsterdam and other Netherlands’s cities.
Along with bread and butter, cheese is available at breakfast and lunch in almost every home in the Netherlands. Cheese has been a part of the national heritage for centuries and has grown to become a prized product around the world.
Dutch cheese is simply delicious and there are many variations, textures and flavors to choose from. Your only difficulty when buying cheese as a gift is deciding which one to buy. Gouda and Edam cheeses are the most famous cheeses in the Netherlands. You can buy cheese at supermarkets, cheese shops such as Henri Willig Kaas Delft, Cheese shop Westermarkt, Old Amsterdam Cheese Store…
The lowest price from €6.50.
Must & best things to buy in netherlands: Stroopwafels
The popular stroopwafels (a wafer waffle) are a traditional Dutch snack. This waffle consists of two thin layers of cookie dough with a layer of caramel in the middle. Stroopwafels were first made in the city of Gouda in the late 18th century by a baker named Gerard Kamphuisen. According to the oldest recipe ever found, this waffle is made from crumbs left over from making cookies. The ingredients to make these cakes are so cheap that they are often considered poor man’s cookies. Today, stroopwafels are not just a popular Dutch snack but also loved by many visitors, they often buy them to eat as well as to give as gifts.
Stroopwafels are best gifts from Netherlands, best souvenirs from Netherlands for those who love to eat sweets. Stroopwafels are often served with syrup or honey. This is definitely one of the attractive foods that you must try when visiting the Netherlands. You can buy this cake at food stores, bakeries or roadside eateries along the markets in the Netherlands. In addition, you can also buy this waffle at souvenir shops and at the airport.
Markus Stroopwafel is the most famous bakery in the Netherlands, it has been making stroopwafels for more than 30 years following the original recipe. Their stores are found all over the Netherlands. This store is also where you can buy beautifully and nicely wrapped stroopwafels in vintage tins or Delft pottery jars.
Price: €6 – €12
What to buy in Netherlands: Delft Pottery
Delftware (also known as Delft Blue) is blue and white glazed pottery that originated in the Delft region of the Netherlands around the 16th century. Today, these pottery and porcelain products are not only available in Delft but you can find Delft pottery everywhere in the Netherlands, even throughout Europe. This Dutch pottery are produced in many different shapes and sizes, patterns, designs… from plates, jars, vases to ceramic figurines, paintings, souvenir items… Pottery items will make great souvenirs for those who love pottery.
Delft pottery is one of the traditional souvenirs that you must buy when coming to the Netherlands. Blue and white pottery items are the signature symbol of the city of Delft, in the southern Netherlands. If you buy Delft pottery as a souvenir, remember to ask the seller to pack it carefully so you can bring it home safely.
Best souvenirs from Netherlands: Barts beanies, hats, gloves & bags
Barts is a European brand that specializes in high-quality fashion accessories for men, women and children. Barts products stay cool in summer and stay warm in winter. Barts always knows how to refresh themselves from designs, designs to materials that always bring comfort to users.
Barts products are very diverse from hats, beanies, bags, handkerchiefs or even gloves… giving you many choices of what to buy as gifts.
Price: €20 – €30.
Where to buy:
Address: Moermanskkade 101, 1013 BC Amsterdam, Netherlands
Hours: 9AM–5PM/Saturday; Sunday: Closed
What to buy in the Netherlands: Keychains
No matter where you go to any shopping mall, market or supermarket everywhere in the Netherlands, you will come across a lot of keychains with strange and unique shapes and always have keychains with the symbols of the Netherlands. Unique, strange and beautiful keychains with beautiful and funny shapes you can buy as gifts for friends and relatives or you can also collect a whole set of these keychains only for you.
What should I buy in Netherlands: Kissing Dutch Couple Statues
In souvenir shops in the Netherlands you will find souvenirs featuring a Dutch girl and a Dutch boy kissing. This is a beautiful home decor and one of the most popular souvenirs in the Netherlands.
Best things to buy in Netherlands: Tulips
Tulips are souvenirs you should buy when coming to the Netherlands. Because when referring to the Netherlands, most people think of vast colorful beautiful tulip fields. You can also buy tulip-shaped souvenirs all over the country. Tulip bulbs are a favorite souvenir in the Netherlands. Not only that, you can also buy tulip seeds to grow at home garden and tulip pictures.
In addition to tulips, you can also buy seeds of countless other flowers in the Netherlands, such as daffodils, chrysanthemums, dahlias…
Bloemenmarkt is the only floating flower market in the world established in 1862, on the Singel River in Amsterdam, Netherlands. This market is one of the suppliers of dried tulip bulbs, flower seeds of all kinds, flower planting tools, etc. to tourists visiting Amsterdam.
Best souvenirs from Netherlands: Windmill models
Besides tulips, windmill models are also one of the souvenirs you should buy during your trip here. You will find windmills of different sizes and shapes at souvenir shops in the Netherlands. From tripods and spoons to clocks and garden decorations, you’ll find windmill souvenirs everywhere.
What to buy in Netherlands: Dutch Licorice
Licorice is one of the Dutch people’s most loved herbs. Licorice is a commonly flavored and black confection with the main ingredient being extracted from the root of the licorice plant (Glycyrrhiza glabra). The Netherlands is one of the countries with the highest consumption of licorice in the world.
You can find a wide variety of licorice in Dutch grocery and confectionery stores, from sweet to savory, from honey to mint falovers, from marshmallows to hard candies… There are countless types for you to choose according to your liking.
Among the candy shops in the Netherlands, Het Oud-Hollandsch Snoepwinkeltje (Address: Tweede Egelantiersdwarsstraat 2, 1015 SC Amsterdam, Netherlands/Hours: 11AM–5PM/Monday; Sunday: Closed) is one of the oldest one. If you can’t go to Het Oud-Hollandsch Snoepwinkeltje, try coming to the Jamin candy store chain with locations all over Amsterdam. In addition, Blaak market is also famous for its stalls displaying all kinds of traditional Dutch confectionery.
Price: €1/gram.
Best things to buy in Netherlands: Puccini Bomboni Chocolate
Regarded as the finest chocolate in the world, handcrafted Puccini Bomboni is flavored with lavender, drambuie liquor, vanilla, poppyseed, pepper and plum. If you intend to buy it as a gift, you should immediately give it to the recipient because it will expire within 7 days.
Puccini Bonbons is the shop with the best chocolate in Amsterdam, if you are a lover of handmade chocolate, this shop will be a paradise for you. This store is the place to produce hundreds and thousands of chocolates with all flavors for you to enjoy and buy as gifts. The price of chocolate at this store is not cheap but it’s really worth it for its quality.
Price: €2-3/piece.
Address: Staalstraat 17, 1011 JK Amsterdam, Netherlands
Hours: 11AM–6PM
What to buy in Netherlands: Nijntje Miffy Plush
Nijntje is a popular cartoon bunny from the 1950s series of children’s books by Dutch artist Dick Bruna. Bruna has written more than 100 books, which have now been translated into 40 different languages. A gift is very suitable for your kids.
Price: €15.
Where to buy:
De Winkel Van Nijntje
Address: Scheldestraat 61, 1078 GH Amsterdam, Netherlands
Hours: 10AM–5PM/Sunday: Closed
What should I buy in Netherlands: Primark Fashion
Primark is a low-priced fashion brand in the Netherlands, with a wide range of clothing for all genders and all ages, jewelry, cosmetics, accessories… You will probably be immersed in the 5-storey Primark store in the street Damrak.
Best things to buy in Netherlands: Cosmetics
The Netherlands is a country quite famous for its famous cosmetic brands Made In Hollands. Such as Kruidvat, Zwitsal cosmetics… In which, Zwitsal cosmetics is a cosmetic product line for children that mothers when traveling to the Netherlands will never forget to buy for their beloved children, and this cosmetic line is very safe for children.
Address: Damrak 77, 1012 LM Amsterdam, Netherlands
Hours: 9AM–5PM
Household goods at Hema Department Store
Besides Primark, Hema is a popular chain of stores in the Netherlands and Belgium, specializing in selling stationery, confectionery, cosmetics, travel supplies, household goods … The prices in Hema are very affordable, the items are extremely rich for you to choose from.
Address: Nieuwendijk 174 – 176, 1012 MT Amsterdam, Netherlands
Hours: 8AM–5PM/Sunday: 10AM–5PM
Best gifts from Netherlands: Bicycle bell
Amsterdam is a city of bicycles. Bicycles everywhere. Therefore, there are also many shops that only specializing in sell bicycle accessories on the streets. If you also own an “iron horse”, buy a bicycle bell from Amsterdam as a souvenir!
What should I buy in Netherlands: Items from the Ajax Amsterdam Football Club
If you are a die hard fan of Ajax Amsterdam, you definitely cannot miss the opportunity to shop for souvenirs related to your football team such as T-shirts, headbands, porcelain coffee cups, etc.
Netherlands shopping guide: Where to shop and best shopping places in Netherlands
I would like to suggest you some shopping places in the Netherlands below:
- Stores belonging to the Kruidvat or Etos chain, shopping spots for you to shop for cosmetics and hair and facial care products … of famous brands such as: Bourjois, Dove, L’Oreal, Maybelline, Nivea, Olaz.
- To buy typical souvenirs, you can go to Bloemenmarkt Market in Amsterdam. Or Albert Cuyp flea market is considered the busiest in Europe, with more than 300 stalls selling clothes and fresh fruits.
- Damrak and Beurstraverse streets in Amsterdam are two famous shopping streets with household products, fashion, furniture, souvenirs…
- To buy traditional items such as personal items, clothes, wooden clogs, dried tulips, tulips bulbs… you can go to the Hague market in the city of The Hague – a busy outdoor shopping area.
A few small notes when buying gifts in the Netherlands
- If you intend to shop, buy between 10am and 5-6pm. Most of the shops here close before 6pm.
- Credit cards are not very common in the Netherlands and most people rarely use them. That means you should be prepared with cash, there are plenty of outdoor ATMs.
- The Dutch tourist peak season is from mid-April to mid-October. If you come between April and mid-May, you will be able to admire the fields of tulips in full bloom.
- Another thing is that the Netherlands has a tax on each product, you should find out before buying. The tax rate of 6% applies to familiar items such as food and medicine. The 19% tax rate is a standard tax rate that applies to most commodities. Besides, the Netherlands also has a number of specific tax-exempt items such as: cigarettes, perfume (50g), coffee (500g), tea (100g), other items priced at €430 (if bought outside Europe).
Some best day tours, trips, activities and transfer services, tickets in and from Amsterdam you can refer to
- Keukenhof Skip-the-Line Ticket and Direct Transport from Amsterdam
- Keukenhof Gardens Fast Track Entry Ticket with Round Trip Bus Transfers from Amsterdam
- Brussels Day Tour from Amsterdam
- Amsterdam Guided Half Day Tour
- Bruges Day Trip From Amsterdam
- Volendam, Edam & Zaanse Schans Windmill Village Day Tour from Amsterdam
- Giethoorn and Enclosing Dike Day Tour
- Amsterdam City Sightseeing Hop-On Hop-Off Bus & Boat Pass
- The Rijksmuseum Skip-the-Line Ticket and Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Pass in Amsterdam
- Red Light Secrets Museum and Hop-on Hop-off Bus Pass in Amsterdam
- Amsterdam Public Transport 1-7 Day Ticket
Are you looking for more Amsterdam travel guide and top things to do in Amsterdam? Read more: Amsterdam travel blog — The fullest Amsterdam city guide for a great trip to Amsterdam on a budget for the first-timers.