LEGO® is one of the most enduring toy brands, capturing young imaginations over the years, as wildly popular today as it was more than five decades ago. After all, many IamExpat readers have grown up with Lego!

Those interlocking bricks have come a long way since the 1950s, from simple squares and rectangles to whole themed worlds. Think Harry Potter, Marvel, Disney, Star Wars, Stranger Things and beyond!

Lego flagship store in Amsterdam

Lego chose Kalverstraat in Amsterdam as the location for its Dutch-based flagship store. With its close proximity to Dam Square and other important landmarks, Kalverstraat is one of the busiest shopping streets in the Netherlands.

On November 29, 2019, Black Friday, the Lego flagship store celebrated its official launch in Amsterdam. The store was opened in a grandiose ceremony, with crowds of families with kids - and quite a few older people as well! - queueing outside to wait for their allotted 45-minute shopping appointments.

Lego sculptures on quintessential Dutch themes 

Astounding Lego sculptures were created especially for the opening of the Amsterdam store, many of which are still there on display, including canals full of boats, bicycles, Lego versions of Dutch Masters paintings like Van Gogh, Rembrandt and Vermeer, and a 3,3-metre-tall windmill that weighs over 1.820 kilos.

There’s even a 3D version of Amsterdam city's iconic XXX flag. Inventions by Dutch people were also honoured by the presence of their Lego-based replicas: telescopes, microscopes, CDs and cassette tapes!

Take home a personalised Lego souvenir

At the store, you'll be impressed with the different ways to personalise your experience! One of them is the Lego Minifigure Factory, where Lego fans can personalise their own Lego figures by selecting and printing unique outfits, and choosing hairstyles, hair colours, hats, helmets and other accessories. Take home a mini version of yourself in Lego form!

There’s also a photo booth called the Lego Mosaic Maker. Enter as you would a normal photo booth, but come away with a portrait of you that looks like it was made from Lego blocks acting as large pixels. There are in-store play areas where Lego fans can let their creativity run wild and immerse themselves in the true escapism of building Lego models.

The LEGO® stores in the Netherlands

Let's not forget that The LEGO® Store in Kalverstraat, Amsterdam is not the only official Lego store in the country! A few weeks before the grand opening in Amsterdam, a Lego store opened in the massive Hoog Catharijne shopping mall in Utrecht. More stores may be likely to open in the future.

Here’s an overview of the official Lego stores in the Netherlands to date:

The LEGO® Store Amsterdam

Kalverstraat 57
1012 NZ Amsterdam

The LEGO® Store Utrecht

Hoog Catharijne Mall
Hoog Catharijnepassage 7
3511 WP Utrecht

Other Lego shops in the Netherlands

As well as the aforementioned official The LEGO® Stores, there are also a handful of toy shops in different Dutch cities around the Netherlands that stock a wide selection of Lego products. These include:

• Play Today in Gouda
• Brick Shop Holland BV in Gorinchem
• Brick King in Nieuwekerk aan de Ijssel
• A-Tembo in Delft
• Speldorado in Delft
• 2T Toys in Den Bosch
• Bouwstenen Shop in Apeldoorn
• Bouwsteenwinkel in Bussum
• Bricks Direct in Bergerijk
• Jan Steen’s Lego Shop in Woerden

Check out the official The LEGO® Store websites

Check out The LEGO® Store Amsterdam and The LEGO® Store Utrecht. For more information about Lego in general, go to the main LEGO® website.