THE NETHERLANDS - Best of Europe 2014 - page 1313

Cost and Hours: €15, Tue-Wed 11:00-17:00, Thu 11:00-22:00, Fri-Sun 10:00-18:00,
closed Mon, café with outdoor seating, top-notch shop, Paulus Potterstraat 13/Museumplein
10, tel. [phone], www.stedelijk.nl .
▲ Museumplein
BorderedbytheRijks,VanGogh,andStedelijkmuseums,andtheConcertgebouw(classical
musichall),thispark-likesquareisinterestingeventoart-haters.Amsterdam'sbestacoustics
are found underneath the Rijksmuseum, where street musicians perform everything from
chamber music to Mongolian throat singing. Mimes, human statues, and crafts booths dot
the square. Skateboarders careen across a concrete tube, while locals enjoy a park bench or
a coffee at the Cobra Café.
Nearbyis CosterDiamonds, ahandyplacetoseeadiamond-cuttingandpolishingdemo
(free, frequent, and interesting 30-minute tours followed by sales pitch, popular for dec-
ades with tour groups, prices marked up to include tour guide kickbacks, daily 9:00-17:00,
Paulus Potterstraat 2, tel. [phone], www.costerdiamonds.com ) . The end of the tour
leadsyoustraightintotheirDiamondMuseum,whichisworthwhileonlyforthosewhohave
a Museumkaart (which covers entry) or feel the need to see even more diamonds (€7.50,
daily 9:00-17:00, tel. [phone], www.diamantmuseumamsterdam.nl ) . The tour at Gas-
san Diamonds is free and better (see here ) , but Coster is convenient to the Museumplein
scene.
House of Bols: Cocktail & Genever Experience
ThisleadingDutchdistilleryrunsapriceyandpolishedlittlemuseum/marketingopportunity
across the street from the Van Gogh Museum. The “experience” is a self-guided walk
throughwhatisessentiallyanadforBols—“fourhundredyearsofworkingontheartofmix-
ingandblending...a celebration ofgin”—with some funsniffingopportunities andadrinkat
a modern, mirrored-out cocktail bar for a finale. (It's essentially the gin-flavored version of
the Heineken Experience, listed next.) The highlight is a chance to taste up to five different
local gins with a talkative expert guiding you. Then have your barista mix up the cocktail of
your dreams—based on what you learned during your sniffing.
Cost and Hours: €12.50, not covered by Museumkaart, daily 12:00-17:30, Fri until
21:00, Sat until 19:00, last entry 45 minutes before closing, must be 18, Paulus Potterstraat
14, tel. [phone], www.houseofbols.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).
Heineken Experience
This famous brewery, having moved its operations to the suburbs, has converted its original
headquarters into a slick, Disneyesque beerfest—complete with a beer-making simulation