Post offices
There are no longer standalone post offices in the Netherlands. Instead, postal services are offered inside certain grocery stores and bookstores. You can also mail letters using the orange mailboxes found on the street. There are two slots in mailboxes: one for local mail, and one for the rest of the country and the world. You can find your nearest PostNL location on the postnl.nl website.
There are two different types of postage available: the Netherlands (within the Netherlands) and international (outside of the Netherlands).
Mailboxes are emptied Monday-Friday after 17:00. Mail within the Netherlands is usually delivered the next day, but not on Sundays. Packages can also be delivered to certain locations, such as grocery stores and other shops.
PostNL has an app you can download to your phone.
Shopping
Eindhoven is known throughout the region as a great place to shop. The Heuvel Galerie, the Piazza Centre, and the de Bijenkorf department store are particularly popular. There are plenty of top-end fashion boutiques in the city center, as well as a range of ethnic and health-food stores for those looking for hard to find ingredients.
In Tilburg, Heuvelstraat (the main shopping street) has a varied range of shops and boutiques. The side streets contain a veritable treasure trove of antique and second-hand dealers, galleries and unique specialist shops. Heuvelstraat leads onto Pieter Vreedeplein, a shopping and entertainment center in the heart of the city. There are also large retail centers in Reeshof (Heyhoef), Tilburg West (Westermarkt) and Tilburg Noord (Wagnerplein).
Shops are generally open from 09:30 to 18:00 on Monday to Saturday, although some shops open later (usually at 11:00 or 13:00) on Mondays and close earlier (at 17:00) on Saturdays. Shops in larger towns have a shopping evening (koopavond) one evening each week when shops are usually open until 21:00. Many shops also open on one Sunday each month for shopping Sunday (koopzondag), and some shops are open every Sunday.
Supermarkets are usually open Monday to Saturday until 20:00 or 22:00, and until 18:00 on Sundays. Many grocery stores also offer home delivery.
Markets
There are several weekly markets in many towns and cities selling a wide range of food and other items at lower prices. Markets are popular and are the place to go if you want to mix with the locals!
Here are just a few examples in Eindhoven:
- Eindhoven city center between the Markt and the 18 Septemberplein - every Tuesday
- Woenselse Markt in Eindhoven – every Saturday
- Wilhelminaplein in Eindhoven – organic market every Friday