THE NETHERLANDS - Best of Europe 2014 - page 1369

guest book, which goes back to before Napoleon's visit here. The freshly renovated oval
room—a temple of science and learning—is the core of the museum; in the art salons paint-
ings are hung in the old style.
▲ De Adriaan Windmill
Haarlem's old-time windmill, located just a 10-minute walk from the station and Teylers
Museum, welcomes visitors with a short video, a little museum, and fine town views.
Cost and Hours: €3; April-Oct Mon and Wed-Fri 13:00-17:00, Sat-Sun 10:30-17:00,
closed Tue; same hours in winter except only open Fri-Sun, Papentorenvest 1, tel. 023/
545-0259, www.molenadriaan.nl .
Canal Cruise
Making a scenic 50-minute loop through and around Haarlem with a live guide who speaks
Dutch and sometimes English, Post Verkade Cruise 's little trips are more relaxing than in-
formative (€11; April-Oct daily departures at the top of the hour 12:00-16:00; Nov-March
same hours Wed-Sun, reservations required; also evening cruises, across canal from Teylers
Museum at Spaarne 11a, tel. [phone], www.postverkadecruises.nl ) . For a similar ex-
perience in an open boat, find Haarlem Canal Tours, farther down Spaarne, across from
#17 (€13.50, reservations smart, 70-75 minutes, leaves every 1.5 hours daily 10:00-19:00,
may not run in bad weather and off-season, www.haarlemcanaltours.com ) .
▲ Red Light District
WanderthroughalittleRedLightDistrictthat'saspreciousasaBarbiedoll—andlegalsince
the 1980s (2 blocks northeast of Grote Markt, off Lange Begijnestraat, no senior or student
discounts).Don'tmissthemallonBegijnesteegmarkedbytheredneonsignreading 'tStee-
gje (“free”). Just beyond that, the nearby 't Poortje (“office park”) costs €6 to enter. Jog to
the right to pop into the much more inviting “Red Lantern” (window-shopping welcome, at
Korte Begijnestraat 27). As you wander through this area, remember that the people here
don't condone prostitution any more than your own community back home probably does;
they just find it practical not to criminalize it and drive it underground, but instead to regu-
late it and keep the practice as safe as possible.
Nightlife in Haarlem
Haarlem's evening scene is great. Consider four basic zones: Grote Markt in the shadow of
the Grote Kerk; Lange Veerstraat; Boter Grote Markt; and Vijfhoek (Five Corners).
Grote Markt is lined with trendy bars that seem made for nursing a drink— Café Studio
is generally the hot spot for a drink here (at Grote Markt 25); I'd also duck into the dark