Oudemanhuispoort book market

A passage lined with books

The Oudemanhuispoort is a covered passage that cuts through a block of university buildings in the old centre. It links two canals, the Oudezijds Achterburgwal and the Kloveniersburgwal. Step inside and the street noise drops. The walls on both sides are lined with stalls of second-hand books.

There is no queue and no ticket line. You walk in, slow down, and start reading spines. Dutch paperbacks, old textbooks, prints and odd volumes sit side by side. Students from the university come through on their way to lectures, and they stop too. That mix is what makes it worth the detour.

Why there are books here

The name gives the origin away. This was once the entrance to the Oudemannenhuis, a home for old men. The passage is the way in to what used to be a charitable institution. Later the buildings passed to the university, and they are part of the University of Amsterdam today.

The book trade is older than most people expect. Books have been sold in this passage since 1757, which makes it one of the longest-running book markets in the city. Amsterdam was a great city for printing and bookselling, and a covered passage was a practical place to sell: dry, out of the wind, and full of passing readers.

The university is the reason it has lasted. Where there are students and teachers, there is always a steady need for cheap used books, and a steady supply of them too.

What to look for

Walk through once without stopping, then turn around and walk back slowly. The second pass is when you notice things. Look at how the stalls are arranged. Some sellers keep neat rows by subject. Others stack volumes in leaning towers and leave you to dig.

Look up at the gateway as you enter and leave. It is the old entrance to the men's home, and it still marks the passage as something more than a shortcut.

Pick things up. Browsing is expected here. Open a few books and look at the typefaces, the bindings and the handwriting on the flyleaf. You may not read Dutch, but old prints and illustrated books are worth a look in any language.

The passage is short, so it is easy to fit into a walk. The Huis aan de Drie Grachten is a two-minute walk away, and the Oost-Indisch Huis courtyard is another university building a few minutes further on. Both belong to the same old, scholarly corner of the centre. Streets here also pass the apothecary Jacob Hooy & Co, whose shop has hardly changed since 1743.

Back in the passage, take your time. The stalls are narrow and people squeeze past each other. Step to the side when you stop, and let students pass. Then go back to the shelves. Someone has been selling books in this spot for more than two and a half centuries, and the best finds still go to the people who look longest.