By AMFI

Check out who the next hot Dutch fashion designer might be, and pick up an affordable something to wear home. By AMFI is the showcase store for the Amsterdam Fashion Institute, with clothes, accessories and some interiors pieces by teachers and alumni, as well as by current students: from hip T-shirts and suede leather coats to recycled-fabric bags and eyebrow-raising evening dresses. Look for the 'Individuals' label – an annual collaboration by all the students on concept, design and fabrics – which has come up with some really cool clothes over the years.

Website: amfi.nl/byamfi
Contact: 00 31 (0)20 525 8133 
Opening times: Mon-Fri, 1pm-6pm
Prices: €€

Oudemanhuispoort Book Market

Slip through an arched, 18th-century portal in a wall beside the Kloveniersburgwal canal for a second-hand book-buying experience from another era. Men unlock wooden shutters along the bare brick wall of a dim passageway. The shutters flap down as foldable tables, on which are spread collectible books, nondescript dusty tomes, old prints and engravings, and piles of sheet music. Students pass in surges as classes end; the arcade was built as the entrance to an almshouse which now forms part of the University of Amsterdam.

Opening times: Mon-Sat, 9am-5pm
Prices: €

Chocolátl

Billing itself as a 'chocolate gallery' with artisanal, single-origin chocolates so beautifully displayed, and in such alluring packaging, that it seems a pity to pick one off the shelf. But take the plunge. You’ll be rewarded with exquisite bursts of flavour: from the makers El Rey in Venezuela, perhaps, or Marou from Vietnam. Smaller, craft makers are a speciality, and there are various choccie treats made in-house, as well as bonbons from the Belgian chocolatier extraordinaire, Geert Vercruysse. You’ll find excellent coffee and gloriously indulgent hot chocolate here too, an ideal hot drink treat after traipsing round the Jordaan.

Website: chocolatl.nl
Opening times: Tues-Fri, noon-6.30pm; Sat, 11am-6.30pm; Sun, 1pm-5pm
Prices: €€

De Looier Antiques Market

Nondescript doors lead off the street to a warren of walkways lined with stalls selling antiques and curios. The Antiekcentrum Amsterdam (to give it its official name) offers nearly everything from bric-a-brac to cherishable collector rarities. Cheaper stuff – books, DVDs, old china and jewellery – is laid out on tables; deeper into the market come kiosks and vitrines with silver, Art Deco rarities, icons, paintings and more. This is one of the few markets in Amsterdam that remains open on a Sunday, and it is an enticing place to while away an hour or two on a rainy afternoon.

Website: www.antiekcentrumamsterdam.nl
Contact: 00 31 (0)20 624 9038
Opening times: Mon, Wed-Fri, 11am-6pm; Sat-Sun, 11am-5pm
Prices: € - €€