Souvenirs from Amsterdam

Blue-and-white earthenware made in Delft since the 17th century, as tiles, plates, vases and little canal houses. Most souvenir pieces are printed copies from abroad. Hand-painted Royal Delft carries the Porceleyne Fles mark (a bottle, 'JT' and 'Delft') plus the painter's initials and a date code on the bottom.

• 🛍️ Where to buy it: Heinen Delfts Blauw, an official Royal Delft dealer, in the Munttoren (Muntplein 12) and at Prinsengracht 440.

Two thin waffle layers glued together with caramel syrup, a Dutch biscuit from Gouda. A tin or packet travels well; fresh ones from a bakery taste of butter and keep about a week. The loaded versions with toppings sold on the Kalverstraat are a snack for on the spot, not a souvenir.

• 🛍️ Where to buy it: Banketbakkerij Lanskroon (Singel 385) bakes its own; packets are in every supermarket, such as Albert Heijn.

Dutch cheese ripened for months or years until it turns firm, sweet and crunchy with salt crystals. Look for 'Gouda Holland' or 'Noord-Hollandse Gouda' on the rind label; the green pesto and lavender wheels in the souvenir chains are mostly for tourists. Ask for it vacuum-packed for the flight.

• 🛍️ Where to buy it: De Kaaskamer (Runstraat 7) in the Nine Streets, or Reypenaer (Singel 182), which ages its own cheese and runs tastings.

Dutch bulbs to plant at home in autumn, sold in bags and mixed packs. Inside the EU you can take them freely; for the US, Canada and most other countries buy only packs with an official export certificate (phytosanitary sticker), or customs may seize them. Wooden and plastic tulips at the same stalls are imported.

• 🛍️ Where to buy it: The Bloemenmarkt stalls on the Singel, the shop of the Amsterdam Tulip Museum (Prinsengracht 116), or the certified packs at Schiphol.

Carved from poplar or willow, klompen were everyday work shoes in the countryside and are still worn by some farmers. Most souvenir pairs are machine-made and painted for display; a pair to wear is fitted to your size by a clog maker. Miniature clogs make a lighter keepsake.

• 🛍️ Where to buy it: Souvenir stalls on the Bloemenmarkt and the Damrak; to see them carved, the free clog workshop at the Zaanse Schans (Kraaienest 4, Zaandam).

The Dutch juniper spirit that came before gin: 'young' (jonge) and lighter, or 'old' (oude) and maltier. Amsterdam still has distillers' tasting rooms where it is served in a tulip glass filled to the brim. Pick a bottle from a local distiller rather than a supermarket brand, and pack it in your checked bag.

• 🏷️ Price: young jenever from €22.50 a bottle
• 🛍️ Where to buy it: Wynand Fockink, the distillery's tasting room and liquor shop in the Pijlsteeg (no. 31) behind Dam Square, or the shop of the House of Bols on Paulus Potterstraat.

The Dutch eat more liquorice than almost anyone: soft or hard, sweet or salty, as coins, cats and diamonds. Salty 'zoute drop' and double-salt (dubbelzout) are an acquired taste, so start with a mixed bag. It keeps for months and weighs little.

• 🛍️ Where to buy it: Het Oud-Hollandsch Snoepwinkeltje (Tweede Egelantiersdwarsstraat 2) in the Jordaan sells it from glass jars; supermarkets and HEMA have the everyday brands.

Prints, scarves, mugs and stroopwafel tins with Almond Blossom, Sunflowers, Vermeer's Milkmaid or Rembrandt's Night Watch. The museums' own shops have better print quality than the street stalls selling the same paintings, and part of the money goes to the museum.

• 🛍️ Where to buy it: The Van Gogh Museum shop on Museumplein (no museum ticket needed); the Rijksmuseum shop is open to all from 17:00 to 18:00, and the small shop in its Teekenschool all day.

Since the 1990s Dutch designers such as Droog, Piet Hein Eek and Marcel Wanders have been known for witty, practical objects: lamps, vases, kitchen tools and textiles. On a small budget, HEMA, the Dutch department-store chain, sells its own simple homeware and is a local favourite.

• 🛍️ Where to buy it: The Frozen Fountain (Prinsengracht 645), Droog (Staalstraat 7B), or any HEMA branch, for example on the Kalverstraat.

Miniature canal houses filled with jenever that KLM gives to intercontinental business-class passengers; there are over a hundred, one new model each October, many copying real Amsterdam houses. They are not sold new, so collectors buy them second-hand: check the number on the base, and know that some were made without gin.

• 🛍️ Where to buy it: Only second-hand: antique and curiosity shops, flea markets and auction sites; the printed canal houses in souvenir shops are a different product.

The three white St Andrew's crosses come from the city's coat of arms and appear on its flag and red street bollards; they have nothing to do with adult entertainment. T-shirts, mugs and magnets carry them everywhere. Cannabis-leaf souvenirs are fine, but cannabis itself cannot be taken across any border.

• 🛍️ Where to buy it: Souvenir shops along the Damrak, Kalverstraat and Nieuwendijk.