Night shops in Amsterdam are called avondwinkels: small grocery shops with a city exemption to stay open after 22:00, up to 02:00 on weeknights and up to 03:00 on Friday and Saturday nights.
Ordinary shops in Amsterdam may open from 06:00 to 22:00, so after ten at night an avondwinkel is usually your best bet for milk, snacks, toiletries or a forgotten ingredient.
Below are the rules the city sets, which shops our directory shows open after midnight, and what you can and cannot buy late at night.
What is an avondwinkel?
An avondwinkel, literally an evening shop, is a shop with a varied range of food, drinks and household products that has been given an exemption from the normal closing time.
In English they are called night shops, and you will also hear the Dutch word nachtwinkel, but in Amsterdam’s rules the shop type is the avondwinkel.
The rules on opening hours in Amsterdam
The City of Amsterdam says shops may be open from 06:00 to 22:00.
On Sundays and public holidays the city’s shop hours regulation also allows shops to open between 06:00 and 22:00.
On Good Friday, 4 May and 24 December all shops must close at 19:00, and the city gives no exemption for those days.
To stay open later, a shop needs an exemption (ontheffing).
For an avondwinkel, the regulation allows an exemption from 22:00 until at most 02:00, and on the nights from Friday to Saturday and from Saturday to Sunday until at most 03:00.
Some other shops can get an exemption to open between 22:00 and 06:00, such as shops at hospitals or stations, according to amsterdam.nl.
A shop can also ask for a one-off late opening for a special occasion, such as an anniversary or an event, and the city charges 132.90 euro for that request.
Conditions for an avondwinkel exemption
The city lists these conditions for an avondwinkel:
- the shop is in a designated shopping area;
- the zoning plan allows retail in the building;
- it sells only food, drinks and other daily groceries;
- its sales floor is between 50 and 300 square metres;
- it is not in an alcohol ban area or a nuisance area.
The city also lists what an avondwinkel may not do: sell drinks with more than 15% alcohol, run food service such as preparing meals, sell tobacco products, or cause nuisance.
And one line on amsterdam.nl matters a lot for visitors: no new avondwinkel exemption is given in stadsdeel Centrum.
A shop owner applies through the permits department of the borough where the shop is, by calling 14 020.
Alcohol at night
Because of those conditions, an avondwinkel can sell beer and wine but not spirits.
In the city centre the rules are stricter: the city’s page on extra measures against nuisance in the centre says shops there may no longer sell alcohol after 22:00.
For the Wallen area, the city has published plans for stricter limits on shop sales of alcohol, with no sales from Thursday to Sunday from 16:00, and it says it is watching the situation there, so do not count on buying alcohol in central shops in the evening.
Night shops open after midnight
Of the 483 supermarket listings in our directory, 418 publish opening hours, and on those hours nine shops with an Amsterdam address stay open after midnight.
The hours below are the hours on each shop’s own listing, and some are longer than the avondwinkel maximum described above, so check before you set out.
Centre and canal belt
- De Pinguin Avondverkoop, Berenstraat 5: listed until 02:00 every day.
- Supermarked, Wolvenstraat 28: listed until 02:00 every day.
- SPAR express Sarphatistraat, Sarphatistraat 225: listed as open 24 hours.
De Pijp and Zuid
- Supermarkt Avondwinkel, Ceintuurbaan 270: listed until 02:00, and until 03:00 on Friday and Saturday nights. The same shop also appears under the name Royal XL Night Shop.
- Avondwinkel De Schelde, Scheldestraat 2: listed as open 24 hours.
- Avondwinkel Super Marathon, Marathonweg 54-H: listed from mid-afternoon until 02:00, closed on Mondays.
Oost and Nieuw-West
- SPAR express Utrechtsebrug, Nieuwe Utrechtsebrug 10: listed as open 24 hours.
- Avondwinkel UNO, Pieter Calandlaan 17: listed from 15:00 until 06:00.
SPAR International describes SPAR express as its shop format at Texaco service stations in the Netherlands.
The ninth, Viva City on Nieuw-Zeelandweg, is also listed as open 24 hours.
Late supermarkets that close at midnight
If you only need something before midnight, several bigger shops in our directory list closing times of 24:00.
The AH to go on Burgemeester Rendorpstraat lists hours until midnight, as does the SPAR on Orlyplein.
The Bantammer Supermarket on Binnen Bantammerstraat in the centre also lists closing at midnight, and is closed on Tuesdays.
For the big chains and how their hours and prices compare, see our guide to Amsterdam supermarkets, and for all listed shops see the Amsterdam supermarkets directory.
Tips for late-night shopping
Hours change, and a listing can be out of date, so look at the shop’s current hours before a long walk.
If you would rather not go out at all, our guide to food delivery in Amsterdam covers grocery delivery too.
Need to send a parcel tomorrow morning?
Our guide to post offices in Amsterdam explains how PostNL points work.
Frequently Asked Questions
How late can night shops stay open in Amsterdam?
An avondwinkel exemption allows opening from 22:00 until at most 02:00, and until at most 03:00 on the nights from Friday to Saturday and from Saturday to Sunday.
Can night shops in Amsterdam sell alcohol?
An avondwinkel may not sell drinks with more than 15% alcohol, so no spirits.
In the city centre, the city says shops may no longer sell alcohol after 22:00.
Are there 24-hour shops in Amsterdam?
Some shops in our directory list 24-hour opening, including Avondwinkel De Schelde on Scheldestraat and the SPAR express shops on Sarphatistraat and the Utrechtsebrug.
Hours on listings can be out of date, so check before going.
What time do normal shops close in Amsterdam?
Shops in Amsterdam may be open from 06:00 to 22:00.
Most close earlier, so check the individual shop.
Why are there no new night shops in the city centre?
The City of Amsterdam says it gives no avondwinkel exemption in stadsdeel Centrum.
Sources
- Gemeente Amsterdam: Ontheffing avondwinkel aanvragen
- Gemeente Amsterdam: Winkel langer open houden
- Verordening winkeltijden Amsterdam 2017 (overheid.nl)
- Gemeente Amsterdam: Extra maatregelen tegen overlast in het centrum
- Gemeente Amsterdam: Aanscherping alcoholverkoop op de Wallen
- SPAR International: SPAR express at Texaco forecourts
Photo: A small grocery shop in Amsterdam by Jonas Horsch, Pexels licence, via Pexels.
