Amsterdam Gift Guide

Shopping for someone who's about to go to Amsterdam, or who hasn't stopped talking about it since they got back? Skip the plastic clog keyring. The best Amsterdam gifts either make the trip better or bring a real piece of the Netherlands home: the book that explains why the city looks the way it does, the cocoa the Dutch figured out how to make, the sprinkles they eat for breakfast.

Every pick below comes with the reason it's on the list. If you're the Amsterdam fan in question, feel free to forward this to your family a few weeks before your birthday.

Disclosure: the product links below go to Amazon, and BootsnAll earns a commission if you buy through them, at no extra cost to you.

For the person planning a trip

Lonely Planet Amsterdam (2026 edition)

Lonely Planet Amsterdam came out in a new edition in June 2026, which matters in a city where ticket rules and prices keep changing. It's organised by neighbourhood, from the medieval centre to the Jordaan and Vondelpark, so it's good for someone who wants to understand the layout before they land. Check the edition when you buy: older copies are still on sale.

Rick Steves Amsterdam & the Netherlands

Rick Steves Amsterdam & the Netherlands (2025) is the one for first-timers who like a plan. The self-guided walks and museum tours are the strong point, and it covers day trips beyond the city, which suits anyone following our 10-day Netherlands itinerary.

Lonely Planet Amsterdam City Map

Phones die and data runs out. The Lonely Planet Amsterdam City Map is waterproof and folds small, which counts for a lot in a city where it rains often and the canal rings look confusingly alike.

A European plug adapter

The Netherlands uses the European two-pin plugs (types C and F), so anyone coming from North America needs an adapter. It's a dull gift that gets used every single day of the trip. This TESSAN two-pack of Type C adapters covers a phone and a camera at the same time.

A packable rain jacket

Amsterdam weather changes by the hour, and locals cycle through the rain rather than wait it out. A light jacket that folds into its own pocket earns its place in any bag. Search for a packable waterproof rain jacket in their size, and see our Amsterdam weather page for what to expect by season.

Books that explain the city

Amsterdam: A History of the World's Most Liberal City, by Russell Shorto

If you give one book, make it this one. Shorto, an American who lived in Amsterdam, traces how a town built on reclaimed swamp became a byword for tolerance, and he makes the canals, the trading companies and the city's famous open-mindedness make sense together. It reads like a good long conversation, not a textbook.

Amsterdam: A Brief Life of the City, by Geert Mak

Dutch journalist Geert Mak tells the city's story street by street in A Brief Life of the City. It's a better fit for someone who has already been and wants the stories behind the buildings they walked past.

The Diary of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank

Anne Frank wrote her diary in the Secret Annex on the Prinsengracht, now the Anne Frank House. The Definitive Edition includes passages left out of the earliest versions. Reading it before a visit changes how the rooms feel. Pair the book with a reminder that museum tickets are sold online only and go fast.

The Miniaturist, by Jessie Burton

The Miniaturist is a page-turner set in Amsterdam in 1686, inspired by Petronella Oortman's dollhouse, which you can see in the Rijksmuseum. Give it together with a museum visit and the reader gets a very different afternoon out of that display case.

Girl with a Pearl Earring, by Tracy Chevalier

Tracy Chevalier's novel imagines the story behind Vermeer's painting and is set in Delft. The painting itself hangs in the Mauritshuis in The Hague, and Delft and The Hague are both an easy train ride from Amsterdam, so it's a good nudge toward a day trip.

The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt

The painting at the centre of The Goldfinch also belongs to the Mauritshuis, and the novel's final stretch plays out in a wintry Amsterdam. It's long, so save it for the reader who likes to settle in.

Amsterdam Stories, by Nescio

Nescio's short stories about young men drifting around early 20th-century Amsterdam are Dutch classics, and the New York Review Books translation brought them to English readers. This is the pick for the literary friend who has read everything else. Buying for someone who's in the city now? Point them to our guide to English-language bookstores in Amsterdam.

Movies set in Amsterdam

Two easy ones for a movie night before the trip:

• The Fault in Our Stars (DVD): the Amsterdam chapter, including a visit to the Anne Frank House, is the emotional centre of the story.
• Ocean's Twelve: a big part of the heist plays out in Amsterdam, canals and all. Not deep, but fun.

A taste of the Netherlands

Food gifts work best for people who have already been, because taste brings a trip back faster than a photo. For what to eat once you're there, see what to eat in Amsterdam.

Daelmans stroopwafels

Two thin waffles glued together with caramel syrup. Daelmans caramel stroopwafels are made by Daelmans, a Dutch bakery. Tell the recipient the local trick: rest one on top of a hot cup of coffee for a minute so the syrup softens.

Droste cocoa

You've seen "Dutch-process cocoa" on labels. The method was developed in Amsterdam by Coenraad van Houten in the 1820s, and Droste cocoa is the real Dutch article. The picture on its tin, a nurse carrying a tray with the same tin on it, gave its name to the "Droste effect."

De Ruijter chocolate sprinkles

The Dutch put chocolate sprinkles, hagelslag, on buttered bread and call it breakfast. A box of De Ruijter milk chocolate sprinkles is a cheap, funny gift that anyone who has stayed in a Dutch B&B will recognise at once.

Dutch licorice

Drop is a national obsession, and the salty kinds are an acquired taste. Start with something sweet: this bag of Venco Limburgse Katjes, cat-shaped soft licorice, is a gentle introduction.

Aged Gouda

Look for cheese labelled "Gouda Holland," the EU-protected name for Gouda made in the Netherlands from Dutch milk. Aged versions have the crunchy crystals that make it worth the price. Shipping cheese is tricky, so a search for aged Gouda Holland is a better starting point than any single listing, and a good local cheese shop may beat it.

For the home and for kids

A Night Watch jigsaw puzzle

Rembrandt's Night Watch is the Rijksmuseum's most famous painting, and a 1,000-piece Night Watch puzzle means studying every face in it. A good winter project for the art lover, before or after seeing the real thing.

Miffy

Miffy (Nijntje in Dutch) is a Dutch rabbit, created by Utrecht illustrator Dick Bruna in 1955, and still everywhere in the Netherlands. This 8-inch Miffy plush suits small kids, and there's a baby version for newborns. Planning a family trip? See things to do in Amsterdam with kids.

Tulip bulbs

Tulips arrived in the Netherlands from the Ottoman Empire in the late 1500s and caused one of history's first speculative bubbles in the 1630s. A bag of tulip bulbs planted in autumn gives the gardener on your list a spring reminder of Amsterdam. Check the planting zone and timing for where they live.

The biggest gift: the trip itself

If you want to go all in, give the flight. AirTreks, BootsnAll's sister company, has built multi-stop and round-the-world tickets since 1987, so Amsterdam can be one stop on a longer journey:

Pair it with the I amsterdam City Card if the traveller is a museum person, or with a booking at one of our unique Amsterdam hotels.

How to choose

• Going soon, first trip: the Rick Steves guide, the map and a plug adapter.
• Just got back and missing it: stroopwafels, Droste cocoa and the Shorto book.
• Art lover: The Miniaturist or Girl with a Pearl Earring, plus the Night Watch puzzle.
• Family with young kids: Miffy and a box of hagelslag.
• Hard to shop for: Nescio's Amsterdam Stories. They probably haven't read it.

Shopping in the city itself? Our Amsterdam shopping guide covers the markets and streets worth your time.

clog photo at the top by sweethaa