Page 125 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide 2016 - Amsterdam

Museum Quarter ❮❮ 123

crown that contains it – incorporating A DAY IN THE MUSEUM QUARTER
a copy of the fabulous blue-white
stone – is displayed in the entrance De Hollandsche P C
hall. There are diamonds and Manege Hooftstraat
jewellery for sale here as well as Vondel- Rijks-
park
museum
at the Diamond Museum next door. Coster
Diamonds
Het Blauwe
P C Hooftstraat
9 Theehuis Van Gogh Museumplein
Museum
MAP C5 • Tram 1, 2, 3, 5, 12
This elegant shopping street is to Concertgebouw
Amsterdam what Bond Street is
to London. All the names in interna- Brasserie van Baerle
tional fashion are here – Tommy MORNING
Hilfiger, Hugo Boss, DKNY, Mulberry,
Emporio Armani – although well- Depending on your taste in art,
heeled locals tend to favour friendlier start the day either in the
Cornelis Schuytstraat nearby. Rijksmuseum (see pp16–19) or
the Van Gogh Museum (see pp20–
23). If you choose the former, be
selective as the collection is
extensive and is spread over
four floors of the museum (see
p16). Whichever museum you
visit, you should aim to spend the
whole morning there. The Van
Gogh Museum has a ground floor
café, and you can end your visit
with a browse in the museum
shop next to the main entrance.
Next, cross Museumplein to the
Concertgebouw and pop in for
a look. Make your way to Art
De Hollandsche Manege Deco Brasserie van Baerle
(see p124) for lunch. It has a
De Hollandsche Manege
0 lovely shady garden and is
popular, so it’s worth booking a
MAP B5 • Vondelstraat 140
• Tram 1 • 020 618 0942 • Open 10am– table before you set off.
5pm Mon–Sun • Admission charge
• www.dehollandschemange.nl AFTERNOON
Magnificent and quite unexpected, Head back to Paulus Potterstraat
concealed behind an unexceptional and Coster Diamonds, where
façade, A L van Gendt’s Hollandsche you could take one of the half-
Manege is a vast Neo-Classical hour tours. Afterwards, walk
indoor riding school, built in 1881. along Hobbemastraat until you
(It was commissioned to replace reach the elegant shops of
P C Hooftstraat. Turn left and
the original Dutch Riding School window-shop your way along
building, which was situated on the boutique-lined street.
Leidsegracht.) Based on the Spanish
Riding School in Vienna, it sports If your feet are up to it, spend
an hour or so strolling around
elegant plasterwork, sculpted the Vondelpark, finishing at Het
horses’ heads, and a stunning open Blauwe Theehuis (see p66). Or
ironwork roof rising high above the you could end with a visit to
sand arena. The school was the oldest riding school in the
threatened with demolition in the Netherlands, De Hollandsche
1980s but public outcry saved it. If Manege, where young and old
there is a lesson in progress, you can can enjoy horse riding. It is
stay and watch. There is also a open until 5pm everyday.
decent café for high tea.
See map on p120
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