This is now the nicest shopping street in Amsterdam

Spuistraat (yes, I'm diving right into the surprise) has always been a bit shabby. You studied in the library or in the Bungehuis, you had the squatted building Vrankrijk where a few troublemakers were often swept out, there was a shop selling erotic toys, male and female, and you had some touristy restaurants like Haesje Claes, where you could order bitterballen, hutspot, and mussels in a pot. Fun and colorful, in short, but not really a street you would like to stroll through on a soft Saturday.

But that has suddenly changed. It all started when the W hotel settled in the street and restaurant Mr Porter opened its doors. Think rooftop and roof pool, and you really have to eat there just for their soft bread with spicy dip.

Across from it, you find The Duchess where you eat fantastically and shop at X BANK, a great multibrand store that only sells Dutch brands, but the coolest ones.

For half a year now, ’we’ have a real Soho House in the former Bungehuis. If you don't have the coveted black credit card yourself and don't know anyone who does, you can always eat on the ground floor at Cecconi's, where, it must be said, it might be a bit less ‘us knowing us’, but the food is honestly a little bit better.

Diagonal to Soho House, Babassu opened a fresh branch. And Babassu is such a great perfumery with niche brands where you always find a perfume or a beauty brand that you won't quickly come across at Douglas. A bit further down is a beautiful salon of L'Oréal hairdresser Rick van het Meer, and if you walk a bit further, you end up at Soap Treatment Store (they were pioneers because they've been there for years), where you can go for your mani, your pedi, your eyebrows, and your wax sessions.

I find Lucius a classic for oysters, and when you're enjoying your walk, you walk to bookstore Athenaeum, where you find the best, most beautiful, and most exclusive magazines in their magazine annex. Take them under your arm and finish your street with a glass and a bitterball at Luxembourg. You won't find better. And oh yes, oh yes, cross over to The American Book Center and take the closed door a bit further down. It gives you access to the most beautiful courtyard in the city: the Begijnhof. Light a candle in one of the two churches (if that's your thing) and oh well, if you're there anyway, you might as well stop by Laundry Industry in the Sint Luciënsteeg. My day is then well spent.