Gelderland

The largest Dutch province, Gelderland embraces a lush green landscape of vast heathlands, forests, corn fields and meandering dykes. During WWII, its capital, Arnhem, was heavily bombed and its river bridges destroyed during the disastrous Operation Market Garden, but the town has since risen from the ashes to become a sparky, modern place with appealing museums and parks.

To the north lies the serene Hoge Veluwe National Park, home to one the country's best art museums and sculpture parks, and a myriad of nature-rich cycling and walking trails. In the south of the province, practically within spitting distance of the border with Germany, big city Nijmegen on the banks of the Waal River honours its distant Roman origins and buzzes with creative energy thanks to its notable student population.