Overijssel
Designed to pique and inspire curious minds of all ages, this unusual gallery mixes history-related exhibits with applied arts, local traditional crafts,…
Must-see attractions in The Netherlands
Utrecht
More than half the museum's 10 gallery-rooms feature temporary exhibitions (so check the schedules). Meanwhile the core collection takes a thought…
Amsterdam
This area was rolling countryside several centuries ago. In the 18th century, wealthy Amsterdammers would pass their summers and weekends in large country…
Utrecht Province
Stepping on to the 'witch-weighing' scales is the main attraction of Oudewater's little Heksenwaag (Witches’ Weighing House), though it's also worth…
Maastricht
Set within a deep-cut dry moat, this hefty five-sided brick fort once formed the city's southern defence and is linked to a network of underground tunnels…
Rotterdam
This design-driven cultural hub houses the Netherlands Architecture Institute, e-culture institute Virtueel Platform and the Netherlands Institute for…
Gelderland
The modern and busy replacement for the infamous 'bridge too far' may not look too dramatic, but its symbolic value is immense. This would have been the…
Amsterdam
The multi-turreted Waag was built as a gate in the city walls in 1488. In 1601 the walls were destroyed to allow the city to expand, and the building was…
Medieval Centre & Red Light District
This square is the very spot where Amsterdam was founded around 1270. Today pigeons, tourists, buskers and the occasional funfair (complete with Ferris…
Den Bosch
Housed in the 18th-century former governor's residence, this modern museum uses art and several immersive experiences to give interesting if sometimes…
Utrecht
Designed to delight young children (age two to six), this bold, touch-everything play-museum celebrates beloved cartoon rabbit Miffy (or Nijntje as she's…
Amsterdam
Even if you don't catch a performance here, the cool contemporary architecture makes the magnificent 'Music Building on the IJ' worth swinging by for a…
Limburg
These modest 11th- and 12th-century ruins sit on a small knoll directly above central Valkenburg giving the little town its visual focus, especially when…
Sonnenborgh Museum & Observatory
Utrecht
The Sonnenborgh is actually two museums in one: upstairs has an exhibit on the history of astronomy in an 1850 building that was once among the foremost…
Utrechtse Heuvelrug National Park
Utrecht Province
Cycling and hiking is ideal in this 65km green arc east of Utrecht city. The national park has the Netherlands' second-largest sweep of wildlife-rich…
Gelderland
The village-sized open-air museum, 7km north of the train station, showcases a nationwide collection of buildings and artefacts, with everything from…
Limburg
Prolific Roermond-born architect Pierre Cuypers (1827–1921) is best known for building Amsterdam's Centraal Station and Rijksmuseum but he also restored…
Rotterdam
Children adore this museum overlooking Leuvehaven, whose permanent exhibits are emphatically kid-focused. The best of these is the 'Offshore Experience',…
Northeastern Netherlands
Devoted to the rescue and rehabilitation of sick and injured seals, this centre houses 20 to 30 sea mammals, which can be seen lounging and swimming in…
Utrecht Province
One of the oddest rural landmarks south of Amersfoort is a 36m-high pyramid-shaped hill that was originally built in 1804 to keep some 18,000 French…
Netherlands American Cemetery & Memorial
Limburg
Set amid beautiful lawns, oak trees and azalea bushes 9km southeast of Maastricht, this thought-provokingly vast WWII cemetery has 8301 white gravestones…
Nijmegen
Thankfully, Nijmegen's sweeping market square was among the few parts of the old town to survive WWII. Open-air markets are still held here each week on…
Frisian Islands
Hidden in woods east of West-Terschelling is an extraordinary subterranean network of 85 bunkers used as a military radar station during WWII…
Maastricht
This gigantic network of quarry-tunnels date back centuries but are most intriguing for their occasional charcoal murals and the stories linked to their…
Overijssel
Only a fraction of the 9000-piece art collection of Twente's fine arts museum is exhibited at any one time at this attractive villa, arranged in two wings…
Northeastern Netherlands
The tiniest harbour in the Netherlands is 29km north of Groningen and 4.5km northwest of the village of Usquert. Its desolate beauty is striking and is…
Utrecht Province
Set in beautifully tended parkland in otherwise forgettable Doorn, this refined, art-filled manor house had numerous owners, but none more infamous than…
South Holland
Located near the tiny, beautiful little walled town of Woudrichem, this evocative 14th-century keep has functioned as a prison, residence and toll castle;…
Gelderland
Some 2km north of the National Liberation Museum lies this peaceful, exemplary-tended cemetery of 2598 known and 20 unknown soldiers – predominantly…
Limburg
Built in 1218 as the abbey church of a long-gone Cistertian convent, the impressive pale-stone Munsterkerk retains some features of its original late…
Utrecht Province
Wijk's delightful canal-ringed antique core includes a street of cafes and galleries (Peperstraat) behind the distinctive church (on Markt) and a very…
North Holland
Off the coast of Muiden lies a derelict fort on the island of Pampus. This massive 19th-century bunker was a key member of the Stelling van Amsterdam …
Middelburg
Dominating the Markt, the town hall certainly grabs the eye. It's ornately beautiful, and displays a pastiche of styles: the Gothic side facing the Markt…
Northeastern Netherlands
Excavated artefacts and information displays evoking the many stories behind Drenthe's remarkable collection of hunebedden (prehistoric burial chambers)…
Haarlem
The Frans Hals Museum's modern and contemporary-art branch occupies two historic ‘halls’: the 17th-century Dutch Renaissance Vleeshal, a former meat…
Western Canal Ring
Large-scale temporary exhibitions from its own collection are staged at this well-curated photography museum, which also hosts travelling shows. Themes…
Rotterdam
One of the highest windmills in the world, the 'Mill of the Whale' dates from 1794 and was rebuilt in 1996 after a fire. Built to grind malt for the gin…
Groningen
This huge 16th-century church commands the northeast corner of Grote Markt. The iconic church and its tower, Martinitoren, are among the few remnants of…
Amsterdam
Pastoral haven Amstelpark has particularly creative garden layouts and many different species of flowers – it was originally created in 1972 for the bloom…
Overijssel
The 15th-century Sassenpoort, built in 1409 at the southern end of Sassenstraat, is one of the remaining town gates and must surely be one of the country…
