Den Haag
Designed by US architect Richard Meier and completed in 1995, this often-maligned, huge, blindingly white building is usually referred to as the 'Ice…
Must-see attractions in The Netherlands
North Holland
Local culture is covered at Volendam's history museum with traditional costumes, prints, paintings of harbour scenes and even a cramped ship’s sleeping…
South Holland
It was in this evocative courtyard that the states of Holland and Zeeland met in 1572 to declare independence from Spain. The Het Hof van Nederland Museum…
Medieval Centre & Red Light District
An intriguing place to view the Red Light action is Trompettersteeg, a teeny alley where the women in the windows charge some of the highest prices…
Haarlem
At the western end of the Grote Markt is the florid 14th-century town hall, which sprouted many extensions, including a balcony where judgements from the…
Amsterdam Noord
'Craneway' is an extraordinary piece of architecture, built above a repurposed (you've guessed it) craneway, by OTH Architecten in 2007. The glass box…
Groningen
Groningen's synagogue is one of the few working synagogues left in the country. Sporting Moorish adornments, the century-old structure now houses a school…
Utrecht
The cathedral's eastern end survived the 1674 hurricane and now forms a curiously truncated – if still impressive – place of prayer.
Leiden
This 11th-century citadel on a motte (raised earthwork) surrendered its protective function as the city grew around it and subsequently fell into…
Leiden
This museum houses the first T-Rex skeleton in Europe. Its sections span botany, geology, entomology (insects), invertebrates, vertebrates and…
South Holland
This staged cheese market on the Markt draws plenty of local and international day trippers, as do the stalls selling other dairy goods and souvenirs. A…
North Holland
On the town's central canal, the Waag (weigh house) was the focal point of local economic life. In 1905 it was given grand Tuscan columns, a common trick…
Friesland
Next to the train station, in part of the train station building, this indispensable attraction for train buffs includes some incredibly detailed model…
Haarlem
The striking Bakenesserkerk is a late-15th-century church with a lamplit tower of sandstone. The stone was employed here when the Grote Kerk proved too…
Haarlem
On the main square north of the Grote Kerk is the bronze Laurens Coster statue, installed in 1856. Haarlemmers believe that Coster has a claim, along with…
Rotterdam
Dating from 1897–98, Europe's first 'skyscraper', the 11-storey, 45m-high Witte Huis, was designed by Willem Molenbroek in art-nouveau style using load…
Overijssel
Shows a woman descending the wall while hanging by a sheet, a reminder of its former use as a women's prison. Nearby are murals from the novels of Charles…
South Holland
The small Museum de Zwarte Tulp displays everything you might want to know about bulbs, including why there’s no such thing as a black tulip, a mythical…
Leiden
The Netherlands' oldest university was a gift to Leiden from Willem the Silent in 1575 for withstanding two Spanish sieges in 1573 and 1574. The campus…
Leiden
One of two still-standing historic city gates (there were originally eight), the Morspoort was built in 1669 to a design by Willem van der Helm, who also…
Amsterdam
This tranquil square sits on the edge of 17th-century canals at the point before they widen out to the docklands. It has several laid-back cafés (pubs and…
Amsterdam
Slavery was abolished in the Dutch colonies of Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles in 1863, and Surinamese sculptor Erwin de Vries was commissioned to…
Medieval Centre & Red Light District
It's often said that this house – which at 1.1m appears to be no wider than its door – has the narrowest facade in the city. But don't be deceived: the…
North Holland
Housed in the former weigh house the Waaggebouw, the Dutch Cheese Museum has a reverential display of cheese-making utensils, photos and paintings…
Leiden
Leiden's most famous son is celebrated at this 17th-century house where he learned his craft between 1606 and 1630, studying in the studio of Jacob van…
Den Bosch
In the main market square where he was once thought to have lived, this 1929 bronze statue of 15th-century painter Hieronymous Bosch is based on drawings…
Jordaan & the West
A converted apartment living room now houses this art gallery displaying contemporary underground (aka North European low-brow or pop surrealism)…
Den Haag
The king's and queen's official quarters at Paleis Noordeinde is not open to the public. The Renaissance formality of the structure is fittingly regal,…
Nijmegen
Just east of Grote Markt, the town hall is a much-restored fairy tale in stone that dates to the 16th century. Rich and ornate, wooden carvings ornament…
Frisian Islands
An extensive natural reserve at the eastern end of the island, De Boschplaat was a separate island until 1880, when the channel between the two silted up…
Prostitution Information Centre
Medieval Centre & Red Light District
Established by a former sex worker, the PIC provides frank information about the industry to those in the trade, their customers and curious tourists. It…
Gelderland
Row upon row of white gravestones of 1691 Allied troops, mostly British, troops killed during Operation Market Garden in September 1944 are buried in this…
Amsterdam
A wavy profile shouting into the sky, this tall silver sculpture in Oosterpark honours free speech – it's also a tribute to controversial filmmaker Theo…
North Holland & Flevoland
The supports of the village church are made entirely out of masts of VOC (Dutch East India Company) ships that brought back exotic goods from the East…
Rotterdam
Inside the 19th-century Royal Yacht Club building, this ethnographic museum celebrates multiculturalism. Mainly closed for renovation when we last visited…
Zeeland
This late-Gothic-style building on the Markt was built in the late 15th century. Its tower is still stuffed with bells – 48 at last count. The building…
Leiden
The Gravensteen dates to the 13th century and was once a prison. Judges once watched executions from the gallery facing the plaza, which was known as…
Medieval Centre & Red Light District
Bearing the inscription 'Respect sex workers all over the world', the 2007-built bronze statue of Belle stands on a granite pedestal on the square outside…
Groningen
This urinoir was designed by no less than Rem Koolhaas, with an arresting photo collage. For once it also includes a female facility. It's two blocks west…
Amsterdam
Children can interact with donkeys, geese, goats, pigs, sheep, ponies and other friendly critters at this petting zoo in the northwestern corner of…
