The main central shopping streets run in a line from near Central Station to the Leidseplein: Nieuwendijk, Kalverstraat, Heiligeweg, Leidsestraat. The emphasis is on clothes & fashion, but there are plenty of other shops. Amsterdam’s only upmarket shopping street is the P.C. Hooftstraat (near the Rijksmuseum).

Other concentrations of shops in the centre are Haarlemmerstraat / Haarlemmerdijk, Utrechtsestraat, Spiegelstraat (art/antiques), and around Nieuwmarkt. There is a concentration of Chinese shops at Zeedijk / Nieuwmarkt, but it is not a real Chinatown.

There is a large diversity of restaurants in Amsterdam, with something for every appetite. There are hundreds of restaurants and cafes throughout the city, and chances are you won't have to walk far to find a good one.

Avoid at all costs any steak house in the centre - they are well known tourist traps.