A morning at the Albert Cuyp

The Albert Cuyp is a market built for locals that tourists happen to have discovered, and that's still the right way to treat it: come to buy something, not just to look. Nearly a kilometre of stalls runs down Albert Cuypstraat in De Pijp, open Monday to Saturday from around nine to five, closed Sundays, and it's been running in some form since 1905.

Go early

By late morning the street is shoulder to shoulder with a mix of neighbourhood regulars doing their weekly shop and visitors working their way down the stalls one photo at a time, and the two crowds don't move at the same pace. Before ten, it's still mostly the former: fishmongers, cheese stalls, flowers, fabric by the metre, and the fruit and vegetable stands the market was actually built around.

Eat as you go rather than sitting down. A hot stroopwafel pressed in front of you, herring served the traditional way with onion and pickle, a paper cone of kibbeling: this is a market meant to be grazed. Save the sit-down breakfast for after, once you've walked the length of it and doubled back for whatever you missed.

Where to sit down afterwards

• De Wasserette, on First van der Helststraat just off the market. The classic move after an Albert Cuyp walk, and popular enough that weekends mean a short wait.
• Scandinavian Embassy, on Sarphatipark. Norwegian-run, serious about its roasts, and a genuinely different atmosphere from the market's noise a few streets over.
• CT Coffee & Coconuts, on Ceintuurbaan. A three-floor converted 1920s cinema, worth the visit for the room alone, with an all-day brunch menu if you want to sit longer.
• Little Collins, on Eerste Sweelinckstraat. An Australian-style brunch institution with a changing menu; no reservations, so put your name down and wander the market while you wait.
• De Groene Vlinder, right by the market itself. A brown cafe open from ten, straightforward and unhurried, good for regrouping with a coffee before deciding what's next.

What to keep an eye out for

The market itself is the main event on any given morning, but two blocks south, Sarphatipark is worth building into the same walk: a smaller, less manicured green space than the Vondelpark, ringed with more bars and cafes if the market gets too crowded. De Pijp overall runs slightly under the radar compared to the canal belt, which means fewer fixed annual events but a steady stream of smaller neighbourhood happenings through the warmer months. It's worth checking a local listings site like I amsterdam's culture guide closer to your visit for anything specific to De Pijp that week.

How to get there

Out of the door, left, and north across Sarphatipark. Four minutes and you are standing in it. Anything involving a tram to a market this close is a way of arriving later.

The honest version of a morning at the Albert Cuyp: arrive before the crowd does, eat standing up, and let Sarphatipark be where the morning slows down.

Photo: Alf van Beem, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.