Bloemenmarkt

Stretched along the Singel canal, this flower market has operated since the nineteenth century and is often described as the world's only floating market of its kind, with stalls built on barges moored to the quay. Traders sell cut flowers, bulbs, seeds and gardening goods, with the famous tulip bulbs the biggest draw for visitors. The blooms spill out onto the walkway in a wall of colour that shifts with the seasons. It offers a compact, lively slice of Dutch horticultural tradition in the middle of the shopping district.