Tourist attractions Netherlands

Lying around the Dam, Amsterdam’s main square, and covering the area of the medieval city as delineated in the 16C (before the cutting of the great canals to the west), the historic centre has numerous important buildings: the New Church, The Royal P..

Cut from 1586 onwards, these nobly-named canals (“Emperor’s”, “Prince’s”, “Patricians’”) have majestic quaysides, bordered by narrow gabled façades, opulent patrician residences, old warehouses and houseboats. Venture into the nearby Jordaan district..

Traditionally the aristocratic district, this southern part of the canal belt, between the Leidsegracht and the Amstel, is more refined than the northern part but also more commercial and animated. Culture and nightlife are centred on two squares, ..

The Museumplain is the focus for the city’s cultural life, boasting three of Amsterdam’s greatest museums: the Rijksmuseum , the Van Gogh Museum , and the Stedelijk Museum (covering 1850 to the present day), drawing tourists from around the globe..

The Rijksmuseum’s jewels are on the first floor: 17C portraits, still-life paintings and landscapes. Numerous works by Rembrandt include The Syndics of the Clothmakers' Guild , and The Jewish Bride ; four Vermeers including Woman in Blue Reading a..

Among its innumerable rooms, look out for the majestic new dining room ; the study of Prince William IV with its Chinese-style ceiling; the library ; or the rooms of William I (fine Empire chairs). In the apartment of Queen Mary II and King Wil..

The most widespread flowers in the Netherlands are tulips, gladioli, narcissus and hyacinths. Nevertheless many other flowers are cultivated like irises, crocuses, dahlias and anemones. The end of April is the best time to explore the region. Cut int..

Begun in 1976, the dam on the eastern Escaut was inaugurated 10 years later. The road passing over the dam opened in 1987. This 3km-long hydraulic masterpiece is unique in the world. The initial dam project, which involved the complete enclosure of t..

This very attractive museum which is found in the centre of the De Hoge Veluwe national park was inaugurated in 1938 and was enlarged in 1960 (the creation of a sculpture garden) and again in 1977 (addition of a new wing). It has a large collection o..

This, the former Het Loo Palace and its gardens were open to the public in 1984, after having been the focus of a major restoration project. A 650 ha Park surrounds the museum complex. Built-in 1685 by Jacob Roman , this palace was lived in by Will..

The Herengracht or Patricians’ Canal is the principal of the four canals along which the wealthy merchants based themselves. The houses rival each other in decorative richness, especially when it comes to their gables.

Established by the French in The Hague in 1798, the original collection was transferred to Amsterdam in 1808 by Louis Bonaparte, who added The Night Watch by Rembrandt. The collection was initially housed in the Royal Palce and then the Trippenhuis, ..

Opened in 1973, this museum contains hundreds of Van Gogh's paintings, drawings and letters, through which his development can be followed from the Nuenen period (1883-1885) to the Auvers-sur-Oise period (1890). There are also some works by artists w..

The Hague's largest museum occupies an elegant residence, and is named after the man who financed its building, Prince John Maurice of Nassau-Siegen. It was built around 1640 in the purest classical style to designs by J. van Campen. The Mauritshuis ..

Situated on the edge of the Museumpark, this museum of fine arts occupies a building dating from 1935, added to with a concrete and glass extension in 2003. The collection has grown considerably since 1958, thanks mainly to the van Beuningen legacy (..

At the centre of a vast region of flower fields, the Keukenhof is in some way the holy grail of tulips, extending over 28ha in an attractive woodland setting. Since 1949, this national collection has drawn on average 600 000 visitors per year. The mo..

Since 1913, this museum has occupied the former hospice for the elderly (1608). Devoted mainly to the work of Frans Hals, paintings of civic guards and regents give visitors a clear idea of his evolution as a painter. The museum also has many work..

These vast expanses of reclaimed land, which until the 1970s were industrial dockyards, were in the early 1990s converted into residential areas. Contemporary interpretations of traditional local housing ( Java-eiland ) border its three vast resident..

A masterpiece by D Marot, the superb wrought-iron gateway formerly granted access to the terrace (flanked by two sandstone statues symbolising the rivers bordering the Veluwe), which has a fine view over the four gardens: the lower garden with flower..

Frequent boat trips offer an opportunity to get an idea of the huge extent of Rotterdam’s port activity. Extending 40km from the city centre to the North Sea, it can deal with vessels up to 360m in length and 35m in width; every day 200 trucks laden ..