Sights in The Randstad
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Binnenhof
Adjoining the Mauritshuis, the Binnenhof is surrounded by parliamentary buildings that have long been at the heart of Dutch politics, though parliament now meets in a modern building on the south side.
The central courtyard looks sterile now but was once used for executions. A highlight of the complex is the 13th-century Ridderzaal (Knights' Hall). The Gothic dining hall has been carefully restored.
The North Wing is still home to the Upper Chamber of the Dutch Parliament, in 17th-century splendour. The Lower Chamber used to meet in the ballroom, in the 19th-century wing. It all looks a bit twee and you can see why the politicians were anxious to decamp to the sleek new ex…
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Scheveningen
The long beach at Scheveningen, pronounced – if possible – as s’CHay-fuh-ninger, attracts nine million visitors per year. It’s horribly developed: architects who lost hospital commissions have designed all manner of modern nightmares overlooking the strand. It’s tacky, but you might just find pleasure in the carnival atmosphere.
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Mauritshuis
For an introduction to Dutch and Flemish Art 101, visit the Mauritshuis, a small museum in a jewel-box of an old palace. Highlights include the Dutch Mona Lisa: Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring. Rembrandts include a wistful self-portrait from the year of his death, 1669, and The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp.
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Naturalis – Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum
A stuffed elephant greets you at Naturalis – Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum, a large, well-funded collection of all the usual dead critters and, notably, the million-year-old Java Man discovered by Dutch anthropologist Eugene Dubois in 1891.
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Willemswerf
Walk alongside the water on Boompjes until you see the striking 1998 Willemswerf, the headquarters of the huge Nedlloyd shipping company. Note the dramatic lines casting shadows on its sleek, white surface.
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Nieuwe Kerk
The 14th-century Nieuwe Kerk houses the crypt of the Dutch royal family and the mausoleum of Willem the Silent. There are exhibitions about the House of Orange and the church.
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Royal Delft
Royal Delft is the only original factory operating since the 1650s.
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Frans Hals Museum
The Frans Hals Museum is a must for anyone interested in the Dutch masters. Kept in an almshouse where Hals spent his final, impoverished years, the collection focuses on the 17th-century Haarlem School, which is regarded as the pinnacle of Dutch mannerist art. Eight group portraits by Hals detailing the companies of the Civic Guard are the museum’s pride and joy, revealing the painter’s exceptional attention to mood and psychological tone. Don’t miss his two paintings known collectively as the Regents & the Regentesses of the Old Men’s Almshouse (1664). Among other treasures are ceiling-high illustrations of the human anatomy with biblical and mythological allusi…
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Hofjes
Haarlem is a peaceful city at the rowdiest of times, but even such a serene place needs its fair share of oases. Collectively known as Hofjes - leafy courtyards enclosed by rows of sweet little homes - these green spaces initially served as monastery gardens in the Middle Ages.
Eventually they took on broader roles for hospitals and inns, or as refuges for orphans, widows and the elderly. These private squares also give clues about Dutch social concerns and the origins of the modern welfare state. Most hofjes date from the 15th to the 18th centuries and are open to viewing on weekends only, but you can usually take a discreet peek any time. Ask the tourist office for its …
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Oudegracht
Scene of many a wedding photo, the photogenic bend in the Oudegracht is illuminated by lamplight in the evening; hundreds sit outside cafés here by day. South of this point is where the canal is at its most evocative, and the streets are quieter, stretching 1km to the southern tip of the old town.
A section of the Singel called the Stadsbuitengracht has its own turn as a lovely canal on the eastern side of the old quarter, where it follows many parks built on the site of the old fortifications. Stroll down beside this canal and back north through Nieuwegracht, a peaceful stretch of plush canal houses and towering, grand old elms.
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Museum Boijmans van Beuningen
Among Europe’s very finest museums, the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen has a permanent collection spanning all eras of Dutch and European art, including superb old masters. Among the highlights are The Marriage at Cana by Hieronymus Bosch, the Three Maries at the Open Sepulchre by Van Eyck, the minutely detailed Tower of Babel by Pieter Brueghel the Elder, and Portrait of Titus and Man in a Red Cap by Rembrandt. Renaissance Italy is well represented; look for The Wise and Foolish Virgins by Tintoretto and Satyr and Nymph by Titian.
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Rietveld-Schröderhuis
The Rietveld-Schröderhuis is a Unesco-protected landmark built in 1924 by Utrecht architect Gerrit Rietveld. Inside and out, the entire structure conforms to the principles of De Stijl architecture – as form really does follow function here. Only six colours are used: red, blue, yellow, white, grey and black. Visits must be booked in advance through the website, by phone or through the Centraal Museum. Visits here are included in the museum admission, but the guided tour (adult/child €16/11, which includes a shuttle from Centraal Museum) is best.
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Teylers Museum
It’s shocking, but depending on your tastes, the Teylers Museum may top Frans Hals. It’s the oldest museum in the country (1778) and contains an array of whiz-bang inventions, such as an 18th-century electrostatic machine that conjures up visions of mad scientists. The eclectic collection also has paintings from the Dutch and French schools and numerous temporary exhibitions. The interiors are as good as the displays: the magnificent, sky-lighted Ovale Zaal (Oval Room) contains natural history specimens in elegant glass cases on two levels.
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Oude Kerk
One of Rotterdam's few districts to survive the war, Delfshaven was once the official seaport for the city of Delft. A reconstructed 18th-century windmill overlooks the water at Voorhaven 210. One of the area's claims to fame is that it was where the Pilgrims left Holland for America aboard the Speedwell. They could barely keep the leaky boat afloat and, in England, eventually transferred to the Mayflower - the rest is history.
The Oude Kerk on Voorhaven is where the Pilgrims prayed for the last time before leaving on 22 July 1620.
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Leiden American Pilgrim Museum
In Leiden today, traces of the Pilgrims are elusive. The best place to start is the tiny Leiden American Pilgrim Museum, a fascinating restoration of a house occupied around 1610 by the soon-to-be Pilgrims. The house itself dates from 1375, but the furnishings are from the Pilgrims’ period. Note the tiles on the floor, originals from the 14th century. Pick up a walking-tour brochure, which helps you explore the surviving parts of 17th-century Leiden.
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Dick Bruna Huis
One of Utrecht’s favourite sons, Dick Bruna, is honoured at Dick Bruna Huis. Bruna is the creator of beloved cartoon rabbit Miffy, and she naturally takes pride of place, along with an extensive overview of Bruna’s career: from the book covers he designed for his family’s publishing company to multimedia demonstrations of his technique and philosophy. Kids love this place, as do adults who find their inner kid again.
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Centraal Museum
The Centraal Museum has a wide-ranging collection. It displays applied arts dating back to the 17th century, as well as paintings by some of the Utrecht School artists and a bit of De Stijl to boot – including the world’s most extensive Gerrit Rietveld collection, a wet dream for all minimalists. There’s even a 12th-century Viking longboat that was dug out of the local mud, plus a sumptuous 17th-century dollhouse.
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Escher in het Paleis Museum
The Lange Voorhout Palace was once Queen Emma’s residence. Now it’s home to the work of Dutch graphic artist MC Escher. Escher in het Paleis Museum is a permanent exhibition featuring notes, letters, drafts, photos and fully mature works covering Escher’s entire career, from his early realism to the later phantasmagoria. There are some imaginative displays, including a virtual reality reconstruction of Escher’s impossible buildings.
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Domkerk
Finished in the 14th century, the cathedral and its tower (Domtoren) are the most striking medieval landmarks in a city that once had 40 cathedrals. In 1674 the North Sea winds reached hurricane force and blew down the cathedral's nave, leaving the tower and transept behind. There is a row of paving stones that mark the extents of the nave - across this extent is the Domkerk, the surviving chancel of the cathedral, with a few tombs within.
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Corrie Ten Boom House
Also known as ‘the hiding place’, the Corrie Ten Boom House is named for the matriarch of a family that lived in the house during WWII. Using a secret compartment in her bedroom, she hid hundreds of Jews and Dutch resistors until they could be spirited to safety. In 1944 the family was betrayed and sent to concentration camps where three died. Later, Corrie Ten Boom toured the world preaching peace.
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Grote Kerk van St Bavo
The Grote Kerk van St Bavo is a Gothic cathedral with a towering 50m-high steeple. It contains some fine Renaissance artworks, but the star attraction is its stunning Müller organ – one of the most magnificent in the world, standing 30m high with about 5000 pipes. It was played by Handel and Mozart, the latter when he was just 10. Free organ recitals take place at 8.15pm Tuesday and Thursday, May to October.
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New Town Hall
The huge new town hall is the hotly debated work by US architect Richard Meier. The ‘official’ nickname of the building is the ‘white swan’, but locals prefer the ‘ice palace’. If allowed, take the elevator to the town hall’s 11th floor and look at the complex that has two pointed towers at one end and a dome-topped round tower at the other.
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Museum Catharijneconvent
The Museum Catharijneconvent, has the finest collection of medieval religious art in the Netherlands – virtually the history of Christianity, in fact – is housed in a Gothic former convent and a 18th-century canal-side house. Marvel at the many beautiful illuminated manuscripts, carvings and robes and then contemplate it all in the old cloisters.
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De Hallen
On Grote Markt, the Vleeshal holds contemporary art exhibitions; the Verweyhal next door, in a fancy Renaissance building designed by Lieven de Key, houses the Frans Hals Museum’s collection of modern art, including works by Dutch impressionists and the CoBrA movement. The museums are known collectively as De Hallen.
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Huis Sonneveld
Huis Sonneveld, designed by Brinkman and Van der Vlugt is an outstanding example of the Dutch New Building architectural strain (also known as Dutch functionalism). This 1933 villa has been lovingly restored, with furniture, wallpaper and fixtures present and correct – it is an astonishing experience, almost like virtual reality.
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