Just a short ride South of Central Station, between the Boerenwetering in the West and Amstel in the East, takes you into one of the most cosmopolitan and vibrant districts of Amsterdam.

In early times the De Pijp area used to be an autonomous part of the city. These days it is a section of the Oud Zuid area, easy to reach by tram (3,4,12,16,24,25) and soon by the North-South subway, which is presently getting build and will enable everyone to step off the train between the Ferdinand Bolstraat and the Albert Cuypstraat.

Formerly a working class quarter built to ease the overpopulated Jordaan in the 19th century and to house labourers, De Pijp has turned into a bohemian district. When strolling along the streets you will recognize that most of roads are named after famous Dutch painters and built in the world-renowned style of the Dutch School originating from the early 20th Century.

The Ceintuurbaan is seperating the Oude- or Noord-Pijp (13.616 inhabitants) from the newer Nieuwe- or Zuid-Pijp (11.348 inhabitants) resulting in a mixture of cultures and population with a total of 33.185 (2006) residents. De Pijp is an extremely lively district for the young and the young at heart and with students and artists all over the place. The area is often referred to as the Latin Quarter of Amsterdam and is named after the narrow, long and straight streets that run parallel to each other creating the shape of a pipe.

With a history of over 100 years the Albert Cuyp Market belongs to one of the biggest and most famous day street markets in Europe. Beginning as an ad hoc collection of street traders and pushcarts in 1904 it expanded over the years to meanwhile more than 300 vendors lining both sides of the Albert Cuyp street.

The market is located between the Ferdinand Bolstraat and Van Woustraat in the neighborhood of the De Pijp area and has an estimated length of 1 mile. At first only held Saturday evenings it is now opening its doors from Monday to Saturday from 9 am to about 5 pm to everyone, who is interested in everything!

Everything? might one of you ask yourself, but that is the outstanding USP making the market as popular as it is. The stalls sell all kind of products a customer heart could beat for: fruits, vegetables, cheese, fish, spices, flowers, clothes, cosmetics, bedding and a good deal more. Beside the variety of offered goods the origins of the vendors, f.e. Surinamese, Antillean, Kurds, Serbs and Cambodians give the market and neighborhood a strong multicultural nature.

Other than the stalls mentioned you can also find a good choice of restaurants and trendy cafes to sit down and enjoy a nice cup of tea. Going shopping at the Albert Cuyp Market, which was named after the painter living in the 17th century, is reasonable for everybody and easy to get to by taking the tram or bicycle.

Originally the street was accessible while the market was taking place, but for years now the street has been completely closed off to traffic during market hours. Leaving the car at home is recommented anyway, since Amsterdam is having less parking slots. furthermore the market is very crowded especially on sunny days and Saturdays, so leave your agoraphobia at home and bring your wallet when attending one of Amsterdam´s most interesting and exciting sights!

Other sights

The De Pijp area is known for its variety of cafés, bars and coffee shops. Exotic Syrian, Moroccan and Surinamese restaurants as well as Spanish, Indian and Turkish delicatessens are a must for food lovers! The famous Albert Cuyp Market invites you to linger along a variety of stalls lining the street and if you want to relax after a tough shopping day lay or sit down in the Sarphatipark, which is just a minute away.

For those who are interested in museums the former Heineken brewery located at the Stadhouderskade would be worth to have a look at. Other well known buildings are the diamond cutter Asscher and the Okura hotel. Furthermore the Ostade theater and the movie theatre Rialto are luring just as beautiful church architecture represented by the Oranjekerk (Orange church), Vredeskerk (Peace church) and the Afrikahuis (Afrika House).