Utrecht Province

Utrecht's most striking medieval landmark, this 112m tower is worth the 465-step climb for unbeatable city views: on a clear day you can see Amsterdam. Visits are by guided tour only, departing at least hourly on the hour. Buy tickets at the tourist office across the square or prebook online (advisable in summer). The tower was originally part of a splendid 14th-/15th-century cathedral complex whose nave was blown down by a freak hurricane in 1674.

The nation's biggest moated castle is a remarkable feast of Gothic spires, turrets and portcullis gates. It has a glorious chapel, and is surrounded by a large English landscaped garden with broad paths, statues and canal-like stretches of pond. The result is supposedly the way the place would have looked in the early 1500s, albeit equipped with all the creature comforts available in the late 19th century, when it was romantically restored from a set of dilapidated ruins.

Delightful Amersfoort grew exceedingly rich from beer, wool and tobacco in the 16th century and retains an egg-shaped old-town core that's full of striking merchants' houses, small canals and a trio of historical gateways. Evocative for random strolling, it's also a hot spot for art and great dining.

Wijk's delightful canal-ringed antique core includes a street of cafes and galleries (Peperstraat) behind the distinctive church (on Markt) and a very romantic castle, shattered into two remnant towers. Though the castle is private and used as a wedding venue, its semiwild wooded park is freely accessible to visitors who can gaze at the structure from various angles across the moat and drawbridge.

At least hourly, Schuttevaer runs fixed-departure canal tours, but there are many alternatives for getting afloat. Locals often bring friends and a picnic then jump aboard an electric-powered open-top boat. Renting one for eight people or less, the cheapest deals are usually SMS-activated boats from Greenjoy. However Sloep Delen provides somewhat bigger boats (up to 12 people) and usually has someone at their departure dock to help if you can't work out how to pilot the craft. Both companies require advance online bookings, prices often dropping to half on weekdays for departures before 4pm. Several outfits including Lekkerbootje (www.lekkerbootjevaren.nl) and Sloephuren (www.sloephurenutrecht.nl) offer piloted vessel charters, which can include catering. Much simpler options include kayaks (kano) from Kanoverhuurutrecht or pedalos – known as canal-bikes - rented on Oudegracht's lower level in front of the municipal library.

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 troops out of bored mischief. Topped by a monolith, it was restored in 2004–5. In the car park, an information centre screens a fascinating free film giving eight minutes of historical context. Walk 400m through woodlands to see the pyramid itself. Viewing is free; climbing it requires a ticket.

Historically known as a rope-making centre, Oudewater's one real attraction is a special set of medieval 'witch-weighing' scales, found in one of several historic houses on the canal-side where you can also take waterborne tours of the patchily attractive old-town core.