Coffeeshops in De Wallen

De Wallen is the oldest part of Amsterdam and the most heavily visited few streets in the Netherlands. The coffeeshops here sit along Oudezijds Achterburgwal, Oudezijds Voorburgwal and Warmoesstraat, in canal houses that predate the tolerance policy by three or four centuries — two of the oldest shops in the city are in this district, still trading from the addresses they opened at in the seventies.

It's also where the gap between the best and worst shops in Amsterdam is widest. A handful here are institutions. Others exist because five and a half million people walk past their door every year and some fraction of them will buy anything. The listings below say which is which.

Before you go, the one rule that catches people out: since 25 May 2023 it has been illegal to smoke cannabis on the street anywhere in De Wallen, along with Dam Square, Damrak and Nieuwmarkt. The fine is €100, it's enforced by plainclothes officers, and it's issued on the spot. Buy inside, smoke inside — the shops here are small, but every one of them expects you to stay. Drinking on the street carries a separate €95 fine.

Worth remembering that around 9,000 people live inside the 1012 postcode. Keep the noise down after dark, don't sit on doorsteps, and never photograph the windows or the people working in them.