Amsterdam - Amsterdam Bruges and Brussels - page 51

Potterstraat 14, tel. [phone], www.houseof bols.com). If you
like the booze and hang out and talk, this can be a good deal (but
do it after the Van Gogh Museum).
Stedelijk Museum —This modern-art
museum is expected to reopen in 2010 in
its spiffed-up original Stedelijk Museum
building, located near the Rijksmuseum.
Its fun, far-out, and refreshing collection
includes post-1945 experimental and con-
ceptual art and works by Picasso, Chagall,
Cézanne, Kandinsky, and Mondrian
(check www.stedelijk.nl for updates).
Heineken experience —his famous old brewery—modernized
and enlarged—welcomes visitors to a slick and entertaining beer-
appreciation fest (€15, includes two drinks, daily 11:00-19:00,
last entry at 17:30; tram #16, #24, or #25 to Heinekenplein; an
easy walk from Rijksmuseum, tel. [phone], www.heineken
experience.com).
De Pijp District —This former working-class industrial and
residential zone (behind the Heineken Experience, near the
Rijksmuseum) is emerging as a colorful, vibrant district. Its spine
is Albert Cuypstraat, a street taken over by a long, sprawling
produce market packed with interesting people. The centerpiece
is Restaurant Bazar (marked by a roof-capping golden angel), a
church turned into a Middle Eastern food circus (see listing on
page 189).
s Leidseplein —Brimming with cafés, this people-watching
mecca is an impromptu stage for street artists, accordionists, jug-
glers, and unicyclists. Sunny afternoons are liveliest. The Boom
Chicago theater fronts this square (see Nightlife chapter, page
199). Stroll nearby Lange Leidsedwarsstraat (one block north) for a
taste-bud tour of ethnic eateries, from Greek to Indonesian.
ss Vondelpark —This huge
and lively city park is popular
with the Dutch—families with
little k ids, romantic couples,
strolling seniors, and hippies
sharing blankets and beers. It's
a favored venue for free summer
concerts. On a sunny afternoon,
it's a hedonistic scene that seems
to say, “Parents...relax.”
Rembrandtplein and Tuschinski Theater —One of the city's
premier nightlife spots is the leafy Rembrandtplein (the artist's
statue stands here, along with a jaunty new group of statues giving
us The Night Watch in 3-D) and the adjoining Thorbeckeplein.