Fine Shopping in and around Eindhoven

The truth is that the finest shopping in Eindhoven doesn’t really take place in Eindhoven.  Indeed, in the last few years, major higher end and mid-range retail shops such as Laura Ashley and Roche Bobois have closed storefronts in Eindhoven. This doesn’t mean that you can’t find interesting things; it just means you usually have to look hard, and you are unlikely to find that truly unique European gift.

That being said, interesting fine shopping can be done relatively nearby.  The nearest cities for interesting shopping are: den Bosch (aka ‘s Hertogenbosch, approximately 30 mins. north), Breda (approximately 1 hour due northwest), Antwerp (approximately 1 hour due west), Dusseldorf (approximately 1 hour due east), Maastricht (approx. 45 minutes due south), and possibly Liege (approx. 1 hour+ even more due south).

Den Bosch tends to have more trendy, young cool things. There are excellent tie and candle stores in Den Bosch and a wonderful antique clock shop.  Breda specializes more in trendy and classic fashion stores with two or three major antique stores.  Antwerp, being a large city, has a little bit of everything, including good food; check out the area between the train station and the cathedral.  Maastricht is more like Breda, with a combination of classic fashion and antiques.  Dusseldorf has its own miniature version of Fifth Avenue, Koningsallee, with the top design names and prices of New York City, and Germans still wearing animal fur!