Looking for sneakerhead heaven? Come to Amsterdam. There are so many Amsterdam sneaker shops right in the main shopping area amongst Amsterdam’s famous canals. If you are looking for the best sneaker stores in Amsterdam, you don’t even need to walk far. You’ll find many within a small, walkable radius. And what’s great is they all have a wide selection and lots of stock. I found so many shoes that had not been released in Canada yet, as well as lots of shoes that had been sold out for months.
If you’re new to the blog, we are sneakerheads with a love for travel and food. Every country and every city we travel to, we always make sure to check out the local sneaker scene. So, of course, our latest trip to Amsterdam in December 2022 was no exception. We checked out many sneaker stores in Amsterdam and below is how I’d rank them.
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Best Amsterdam Sneaker Shops, Ranked
There are so many Amsterdam sneaker shops that we obviously were not able to visit all of them. Since we were staying close to Amsterdam Centraal, we stuck to the sneaker stores that were within walking distance, and that alone was enough to satisfy a full day of sole searching. We are ranking these Amsterdam sneaker shops based on the ones we were able to visit and enjoyed.
#9 Best Sneaker Store in Amsterdam: Sneaker District
This Amsterdam shoe store was a little bit difficult to get to and hidden behind lots of street construction at the time we visited. It is very much a mom and pop shop. However, there wasn’t much of a selection for exclusive shoes.
Inventory: I only saw a couple general release colorways in AF1s and Air Max. Most of their stock was Asics, Adidas and New Balance. I didn’t notice any unique colorways in those either, but Asics and New Balance has been more popular in their basic colors. They unfortunately did not have any Jordans.
#8 Best Sneaker Store in Amsterdam: Sidestep
I wasn’t too impressed with this sneaker shop. They had lots of different brands and the common Nike releases. Nothing stood out with this shop in comparison to the other Amsterdam sneaker shops on the same street. However, my wife did find some unique women’s colorways and some good deals.
Inventory: There were all the general release shoes for Nike, Adidas and Converse. They had all the popular AF1 lows, Air Max 90s, 95s, 97s, TWs, and a couple Dunks. They had lots of variety, even Timberlands and Pumas, but just too generic in my opinion.
#7 Best Sneaker Store in Amsterdam: Snipes
I really liked this store in Barcelona too. They get a wide variety of shoes, more of the general releases, but all the colorways and lots of different brands.
However, Snipes Amsterdam sneaker shops don’t always get the best colorways as they stick to basic black, white, and neutral colors. This shop reminds me of Finish Line in the States with the wide selection but common colorways.
Inventory: They stock most of the common Air Max. The 90s, 95s, 97s and Vapor Max came in general release colors. AF1s, Blazers and Dunks were in more common colorways.
And the Air Jordans were mostly Team Jordans. Of course there were AJ1s in lots of colorways, but just one other numbered Jordan, the 11 lows 72-10. Not a popular shoe.
#6 Best Sneaker Store in Amsterdam: JD
I had not been to a JD before, and did not realize it was such a big company from the UK. This retail store felt like Footlocker and Champs with lots of selection, lots of colorways, and variety of sports apparel. It was one of the biggest stores we visited in Amsterdam. We also appreciated that they had a nice selection for women and children, and they section off areas for each brand.
Inventory: The Nike area had all the AF1 colorways, even a couple of the winterized boot versions. Lots of Dunks in simple white or black colorways and university colorways. It was cool to see some 80s/90s shoes like the Flight 89s and Air Flight Lite (Scottie Pippen Shoes).
They also had every Air Max in every colorway. And some Air More Uptempos in purple. We even found them in our daughter’s size, which I really wish I could have gotten her.
#5 Best Sneaker Store in Amsterdam: Nike
No matter where we go, if there is a Nike store, we always have to check it out. The Nike store in Amsterdam did not disappoint.
Most Nike stores have the same floor plan, with shoe stock and selection. It is best to find the section unique to the city or country you are visiting. It was World Cup time while we were there so the Netherlands Football Kits were on display and quite popular.
Note: Check out that waffle iron wall decor. I love it! If you’re not aware of the significance, here’s the backstory. When Phil Knight made the original Nikes in his garage, he poured the rubber into a waffle iron and cut them into soles for his running shoes.
Inventory: As for the men’s selection, they had AF1s in a dozen colors, dunks in all the university colorways, and of course Air Max’s. There were 90s in four or five colorways, 95s in a couple colorways, 97s in a couple colorways, Air Max Plus 3 in OG colorway, and the new Air Max TWs in a couple colorways. I noticed they also had the Nike Fly Easys which have been highly sought after.
One thing about Nike stores is they have an exclusive women’s section where you can find great colorways. They had two Jordan 1s in particular, a Velvet Purple Mid and Pink Velvet Low, which I only saw at Nike. The men’s Jordan selection had lots more colorways in the AJ1s, 3s, 5s, 6s, and 11s. Always stocked with the latest release.
#4 Best Sneaker Store in Amsterdam: Foot Locker
Foot Locker is always a reliable store for me, and it did not disappoint. They usually have the largest stock, with the most inventory and colorways for all brands and each gender.
Inventory: Their Nike selection had all the Air Max’s in all the colorways. From 90s, 95s, 97s, Air Max Plus, Air Max Plus 3s, Air Max TW, 270s, to Vapor Max, there were lots of choices. Dunks, AF1s, Blazers and Huaraches came in lots of colorways.
For their Jordan selection, they had 1s, Concord 5s, Chrome 6s, Navy 6s, Fire Red 9s, Cool Grey 11s IEs, and Stealth 12s. They also had Cardinal 7s available though they weren’t going to be released until the following week in North America. Very tempting to buy, but not enough luggage space to carry back, unfortunately.
#3 Best Sneaker Store in Amsterdam: 2nd Culture
The only reason I don’t have this Amsterdam sneaker shop ranked higher based off the shoes they’re selling is that it is a pricier consignment shop.
I love seeing old shoes that I haven’t seen before, but paying way over retail to hype beasts is not my old-school style. Just like at Flight Club, you’ll find one shoe, plastic wrapped, with a high price tag on the bottom.
However, the decor inside this sneaker store was very well-done. They have an old-school Mortal Kombat arcade game and shoe-themed benches and tables.
Inventory: On the wall of Jordans, they were nicely arranged by number. Lots of AJ1s in every OG colorway, new school colorway, and in both high and low. Most of them were no older than 3-5 years. Not too many Jordan 2s, though they did have a pair of Union LA’s, which I like. Jordan 3s through 7s had your familiar releases. It was sparing in higher numbers, like 9s, 11s, 13s and 14s.
The best shoe they had was the Foamposite Comme de Garcons Homme Plus in black. I had never seen them before in person. They also had a pair of Foamposite Supremes that I didn’t dare look at the price.
#2 Best Sneaker Store in Amsterdam: SoleBox
This store reminded me of Complex and Livestock, which are sneaker stores we have back home in Canada. A mom and pop store for limited releases and trendy apparel. Their displays are cool, as if you are in a science lab, with test tubes and beakers as decoration.
Inventory: They had lots of dunks available. Jordan 6 Chromes that were still sitting. And Jordan 7 Cardinals, which again weren’t available yet in Canada.
There were lots of other Nikes, Adidas and Converse from limited release still available. Air Max 97 Silver Bullets, Air Force 1 Lows University Blue, Women’s Jordan 5 Gore-tex, Women’s Jordan 11 Suede Navy, and Fire Red 9s.
#1 Best Sneaker Store in Amsterdam: size?
I really enjoyed size? It was my favorite of all the Amsterdam sneaker shops we went to. It’s a retail shop that has some cool displays and some of the best inventory of shoes.
The wall in the very back of the store had the best selection. It was quite busy in there for obvious reasons. Size? also has a mom and pop store feel with most limited releases available.
Inventory: Of all the Amsterdam sneaker shops we went to, Size? had the best selection. There were about 7 different Dunk colorways, including the Lebron Fruity Pebble Dunks, and premium material colorways like corduroy and suede.
Penny 1 All Stars in All Black were also available, but yet to be released in North America. They also had another Penny 1 colorway I had not seen before, Flight 89s, More Uptempos, Blazers and Lebron 9 Regal Pinks.
I saw children’s Hello Kitty Prestos that I got for our daughter.
There were about half a dozen colorways of the Huaraches, a few Air Kukinis, Air Max Trainers in Clorophyl and Travis Scotts and two colorways of the Air Max Scorpions! Not for me, but still a very interesting shoe.
As for Jordans, they had the usual suspects with AJ1s in all the colorways for the newbies. A few 3s, one of which was the black cement and gold colorway. I really like these. The Jordan 5s they had were in Green Bean, Concord and Gore-Tex black.
Black and Chrome 6s were still sitting, as were the women’s Black and Orange 8s. One of my all-time favorite shoes, the Jordan 11 IEs, were also available in cool grey and breds. The 12s and 13s they had were not the most popular colorways.
Map of Amsterdam Sneaker Shops
I hope this roundup of Amsterdam sneaker shops is helpful! Let me know which shop is your favourite in the comments below.
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