De Bijenkorf

Description:

• Amsterdam's answer to New York's Bloomingdale's, De Bijenkorf is the city's best-known department store, and the one with the best variety of goods. The ground floor has the usual ranks of cosmetic counters in the center section, plus a men's department and odds and ends such as socks and stockings, handbags and belts, costume jewelry, and stationery. And umbrellas -- plenty of umbrellas! On upper floors, there's everything from ladies' fashions to dekbedden (down comforters), plus a bookstore, several eating spots, and even a luggage section at which you can pick up an extra suitcase or bag to tote home your purchases. Records, color TVs, shoes, clothing, personal effects, appliances -- it's all here.

  Several worthwhile eateries here include La Ruche, a classy Rietveld-style cafeteria on the second floor (its big windows afford a fine view of the Dam), or the more intimate Literair Café on the fourth floor, where you can have sushi, sandwiches, and light snacks beside the book department.

• © Frommer's 2012

Awards:

Frommer's

•  Highly Recommended 2009
•  Highly Recommended 2010