The Haagse Markt

This is a market for the weekly shop rather than for visitors: several hundred stalls in long covered rows, four days a week, in a district most tourists never reach. The Hague has one of the most mixed populations in the country and the market is where that is most obvious. Turkish bakers work next to Moroccan spice and olive stalls, Surinamese and Indonesian counters, Chinese greengrocers, halal butchers, fishmongers and traders selling fabric by the metre. Prices are low, quantities are built for families, and the shouting is real rather than performed. It is scruffy and loud and shows what Dutch food actually looks like now.

What you actually see

• The spice and olive rows - open sacks and tubs, sold by weight and haggled over.
• The fish stalls - the widest choice and the sharpest prices in the city.
• Surinamese and Indonesian counters - roti, bami, sambal and ready-made components.
• The fabric section - bolts sold by the metre, and the tailors who work off it.

When to go

Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, roughly nine to five. Saturday is the fullest and the hardest to move through. Mid-morning gives the best choice; the last hour gives the price drops, as traders clear fish and vegetables rather than carry them home. Bring cash, since not every stall takes cards.

Honest expectations

It is not picturesque and makes no effort to be. The aisles are tight and slow, seating is essentially nonexistent and toilets are scarce. Quality swings hard from stall to stall, and a bad one will sell you tired vegetables at a good price. The surrounding district offers a visitor nothing else, so this is a single-purpose trip.

Nearby

The Hague's centre and the Binnenhof are ten minutes by tram.