Bloemenmarkt, Amsterdam

Bloemenmarkt is a floating flower market on the Singel canal, with its trading spaces set directly over the water. It is described as the world’s only market of this kind. The market reached its present location in 1862, along the canal between Muntplein and Koningsplein.

From the water, the stalls form a nearly continuous frontage, with buildings shaped to resemble small greenhouses. That appearance reflects an older way of trading: plants and flowers once arrived by boat from growers outside Amsterdam. Today, the market has 15 souvenir and gift shops, while only a few still offer fresh flowers.

Its business is now aimed largely at visitors buying bulbs and tulip-themed souvenirs. A 2019 survey found that bulbs purchased here rarely or never flower, giving this famous stop an unexpectedly cautionary ending.