This inimitable organic market happens on Saturdays from 9:00 through the afternoon (earlier or later depending on weather and the crowd). You’ll find it on Prinsengracht between the Westerstraat and the Brouwersgracht here. While many goods are available, the best part is easily the food.  The mushroom stall is redolent with several dozen wild and cultivated fungi. If you buy their mixture, you can separate out the components and taste until you find something you love.

Almost everything they offer is delicious, some are spectacular, and a few are slimy when cooked (probably my fault). Much of the cheese will be new to people from North America. Look for hard, aged goat cheeses, and creamy new Gouda with fenugreek seeds scattered throughout. The vendors will let you taste anything, but be mindful that most customers are Dutch people doing their weekly shopping. Try several stalls for the widest variety.

Browse through all the bread places before you make up your mind. I’m a connoisseur of hearty loaves from Vermont’s excellent bakeries, but I’ve never eaten better chewy, multigrain bread than this market’s. Depending on your choice, they are full of hazelnuts and huge raisins, or of sundried tomatoes, or of nothing but first rate white flour and the skill of centuries.

Fruits and vegetables abound, usually of high quality. It’s great fun to see where they come. You can learn a little Dutch by guessing the country names. If it’s summer, most items will be local. While there are lots of excellent stalls, my own favorites are the “Star Garden” near the entrance of the church, the cheese place nearest the entrance by the Westerstraat, and the stall with the world’s best crepes outside France (see below).  Do not miss them even if you don’t want to buy anything else at the market!

Once you’ve loaded up on food, check out the bee table. Beeswax candles and a greater range of honey than most of us dream of are appreciated as gifts. They are the ultimate local product, sustaining the bees and the environment they require, apart from not cluttering up the house.

If you miss the Saturday market but want organic food (“bio” in Dutch), here’s a great list of where to find it.

Time for a snack  Are you hungry yet? Unless it’s pouring with a whipping wind, find the crêpe stand. There’s only one; no one would compete with the skilled and gregarious chef Letif Moses. She and her mother Corrie started the business together decades ago. Expect to wait a while before you win one of the stools at their counter. Every year, Letif and Corrie travel to France to the mill which grinds their two organic flours, one for savory crêpes (ham, cheese) and another for sweet (lemon, chestnut, chocolate and banana, etc.). As long as apples can be stored in their basement in Edam, they make their own apple conserve, which to me is the most delicious of all. Perch on a low stool and watch the two crêpe pans sizzle away. Important culinary note: these are NOT the fabled Dutch pannekoeken, which are also delicious but very different – eggier, and usually with the “filling” cooked into the pancake. To eat those, go to a different neighborhood and eat here at The Carrousel. It is my absolute favorite Dutch pancake house in the city.

If it’s too wet or cold to eat outside, you can cram yourself into one of the cafés that border one side of the market. The Winkel, on the corner with the Westerstraat, is alleged to have the best apple tart in the city, and I don’t disagree. At the other end of the block is a more authentic “brown café.” It sports rugs on the tables just as if you were in a 17^th century painting. If the crowds at those two places are too dense, try the T junction of Prinsengracht and Brouwersgracht. You’ll find the legendary Papeneiland from 1642, with classic and witty Dutch tiles. On the other side of Prinsengracht is the Café Tabac, which has never charmed me but is often less crowded. If you’re still looking, head back on Prinsengracht toward the Westerkerk and see what you can find, mostly on the same side as the market. If a water view isn’t important to you, the Westerstraat also has good options.

If it’s too wet or cold, you can cram yourself into one of the cafés that border one side of the market. The Winkel, on the corner with the Westerstraat, is alleged to have the best apple tart in the city, and I don’t disagree. At the other end of the block is a more authentic “brown café.” It sports rugs on the tables just as if you were in a 17^th century painting. If the crowds at those two places are too dense, try the T junction of Prinsengracht and Brouwersgracht. You’ll find the legendary Papeneiland from 1642, with classic and witty Dutch tiles. On the other side of Prinsengracht is the Café Tabac, which has never charmed me but is often less crowded. If you’re still looking, head back on Prinsengracht toward the Westerkerk and see what you can find, mostly on the same side as the market. If a water view isn’t important to you, the Westerstraat also has good options.

Something to notice: Come early and see the stalls set up in the Noordermarkt, or stay late and watch them torn down. The city provides the framework, picks up the trash and actually vacuums and/or scrubs the pavement! Don’t get me started on the superior cleanliness of Dutch streets, or what it takes to make it that way. Just keep watching and you’ll be amazed.

The Flea Market and Fabric    In addition to the food market and plants you see to your right, the Noordermarkt hosts a flea market that is open well into the afternoon. The vintage clothing stands are full of treasures, like my antique white nightshirt.  You can spend hours looking at old post cards or record albums or chandelier bits or blue china or books. There’s even a small assortment of furniture and garden plants. Some artists sell contemporary cards, prints and jewelry. In the center of all this is a playground with a rubber surface, so kids can be well occupied.

For fabric, come back on Monday morning, especially for decorating textiles. Lots of bolts are available as well as remnants. If the timing doesn’t work for you, go instead to the stores in the Albert Cuyp market, on the same side as the golden angels you’ll see overhead (I’m not kidding) when you walk in from the tram on Cuypstraat. Yes, the link is in Dutch, but you can find it.

Wonderful Music near the Noordermarkt Amsterdam is replete with glorious classical music. Some of the most thrilling happens from September to May, timed at 2:00 just after the food market. You can hear accomplished young musicians who are establishing themselves. Often, they perform unfamiliar works or composers who will dazzle you. The combination of technical accomplishment and the verve and enthusiasm sweeps the listener away. Prices are reasonable, and the hall does sell out, so buy your tickets as soon as they go on sale at 1:00. (You can also buy them from Amsterdam Uitburo at 0900-0191, the Stichting Noorderkerkconcerten at 020 6203119 or [email protected].). Occasionally, special concerts are held at times other than Saturday afternoons, usually at a higher price yet worth every penny. While you are listening to the concert, you can contemplate the only cruciform church in the city. It was built in 1623 by Hendrick de Keyser, one of the most imaginative architects of his time.

Pianola Museum near the Market   Music lovers also shouldn’t miss the Pianola Museum, open only on Sunday afternoons and for concerts. If you think the player piano is an unsophisticated instrument, think again! They have more than 30,000 rolls of music that we have no other way of hearing.   They sometimes do silent film nights with of course pianola accompaniment, or play the work of 19th century classical pianists (often women) which is otherwise unrecorded. Here’s a report on a marvelous concert I heard in May 2019.