Netherlands Theater Museum. Amsterdam has several Golden Age house museums, but few are as gilded as this one. Currently home to part of the Theater Instituut Nederland (Netherlands Theater Institute), the Bartolotti Huis (No. 170-172) is made up of two spectacular examples of 17th-century Dutch Renaissance houses built by Hendrick de Keyser for a brewer by the name of William van der Huvel (who one day thought to spice up his image by calling himself Guillelmo Bartolotti). The rest of the museum takes up the equally delectable White House (No. 168), built in 1638, and which rates as noted designer Philips Vingboons's first work in Amsterdam (and as such sports the city's oldest neck gable). Its original owner, Michiel Pauw -- as one of the initiators of the West Indies Company and the founder of a small settlement on the Hudson River -- could easily afford its interior of marble-lined corridors, sweeping monumental staircases, densely rendered plasterwork, and ceiling paintings by Jacob de Wit. All of these attributes have been restored to provide a lush backdrop for exhibitions about the history of theater in all its forms: circus, opera, musical, puppetry, and drama. There are costumes, models of stage sets, and other accessories. There is also an extensive library with archives focused on the theatrical scene in The Netherlands. Its stellar back garden -- alone worth the price of admission -- is the perfect place to sip a coffee from the café while imagining it as the setting for Baroque-era barbecues. COST: EUR4.50.