Get your butt out of the red-lit, tourist-laden, commercialised, canal-loving city centre and into the pretty area around Haarlemmerdijk, where you can shop till you drop or, better yet, spend an evening at Vesper, a tiny corner bar with a wide range of spirits and cocktails. Named after the only girl James Bond ever loved, it's no surprise that the speciality of the house is a martini. During the day Vesper does high teas and workshops and although it might not be big, it sure is pretty.