/ Bloemenmarkt

Bloemenmarkt

The world's only floating flower market, moored on Amsterdam's Singel canal since 1862.

🛍️ Shopping🏛️ Sights & Landmarks🌿 Nature & Outdoors

👨‍👩‍👧 Family-friendly🎭 Cultural🌹 Romantic

The Bloemenmarkt is Amsterdam's famous floating flower market, a row of about fifteen stalls and shops built on barges permanently moored along the southern bank of the Singel canal, between Koningsplein and Muntplein. It's been here in some form since 1862, when flower growers would sail in from the countryside and sell directly from their boats. Today the barges are fixed in place and the stalls are enclosed, but the romance of the concept still holds — and the location, with the canal on one side and Amsterdam's historic centre on the other, is genuinely beautiful.

Local Tips

1
If you want to bring tulip bulbs home, check that the packaging is marked as phytosanitary certified — most stalls selling to tourists have this sorted, but it's worth confirming before you buy, especially for travel to the US or Australia where import rules are strict.
2
The market is busiest between about 11am and 3pm; arriving just after opening at 9am (or on a Sunday when it opens at 11am but crowds arrive later) makes the whole experience noticeably calmer.
3
The stalls toward the Muntplein end tend to be slightly less tourist-focused and can have better prices — walk the whole length before buying anything.
4
Combine the visit with Spui square and the Begijnhof courtyard just a few minutes' walk away — it makes for a lovely morning loop through this part of the old city.

When to Go

✓Best times

Spring (March–May)

Peak tulip season — the stalls are at their most colourful and fully stocked, and the canal setting looks its best in spring light.

Winter (December–February)

Crowds thin dramatically and the market takes on a quieter, more atmospheric feel, though bulb selection is more limited than in spring.

✕Try to avoid

Summer weekends

The market gets genuinely packed with tourists in July and August, making the narrow barge walkways uncomfortably crowded.

Why Visit

The only floating flower market in the world — a genuinely unique piece of Amsterdam's history that has survived on the same spot for over 160 years.

The place to buy Dutch tulip bulbs to take home, with vendors selling packaged bulbs certified for international export — far better than airport souvenir shops.

A short, colourful stroll through an iconic slice of the city centre, positioned right where several of Amsterdam's key neighbourhoods and canal rings converge.

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