Shopping

If you can't bear the thought of bringing home wooden shoes, consider bringing home a round of Gouda or Edam cheese (make sure it's pasteurized so it can pass through U.S. customs).

Rommelmarkt: An indoor flea market where you can find photographs of nineteenth-century Amsterdam, wooden biscuit molds, tiles from Art Deco buildings, or antique wooden skates. Looiersgracht 38. Closed Fridays.

Kitch Kitchen: Retro 60s housewares to cheer up your Stateside kitchen. Rozengracht 183.

Eating

Good Dutch food exists only in the home. That said, Amsterdam has mastered the art of snacking. In the streets, try the famous French fries with mayonnaise (patat met), fried cod with garlic sauce (kibbeling met sauce), and croquettes.

On the Cheap

The Pancake Bakery has sweet and savory pancakes, a national favorite. Try bacon pancakes and the tiny sugar rush-inducing poffertjes. Prinsengracht 191; telephone: 625-1333.

What's Hot

Right on the city's pulse point is The Supper Club, a lounge where diners loll on mattresses in an Elysian setting. Make reservations before you leave the United States — it's that popular. Jonge Roelensteeg 21; telephone: 638-0513.

For a Splurge

La Rive is renowned as the best restaurant in the country, with exquisite French food, an opulent atmosphere, and two Michelin stars. Prof. Tupplein 1; telephone: 622-6060.

Just for a Drink

By 6 P.M., Amsterdam's "brown cafes" (named for their tobacco-stained walls) fill up with locals relaxing after a day's work. Papeneiland has been in business since a coffin maker began dispensing alcohol to the bereaved in the 17th century. Prinsengracht 2.