Whether by car or campervan - the Netherlands can be explored particularly well with a round trip. Picturesque towns and wide beaches await travelers, which ensure a varied holiday. These stops should be on the list.
In order to get in the holiday mood straight away, it is worth making a first stop on the North Sea coast as a starting point. Domburg is the oldest seaside resort in the province of Zeeland. Above all, it offers wide beaches, which are among the cleanest in the Netherlands. Already at the beginning of the 20th century, they attracted numerous artists to Domburg to be inspired by this place.
In addition to long walks on the beach, past the colorful beach huts, visitors can also stop off at the restaurants on the beach. A landmark building of Domburg is the listed 28 meter high water tower perched on top of the dunes. Small cafés and shops await you in the idyllic town centre.
As the seat of parliament and government of the Netherlands, the capital of the province of South Holland and the third largest city in the Netherlands, The Hague offers visitors a particularly varied experience. In the city center you can explore the Paleis Noordeinde, official residence of the royal family, the Binnenhof as the seat of government and the Peace Palace as the seat of the International Court of Justice. There is also an important collection of Flemish and Dutch painters in the Mauritshuis Museum, and shopping fans will get their money's worth around Noordeinde and the Prinsestraat.
A city trip in The Hague can be combined with a beach holiday: the district of Scheveningen is right by the sea. There are numerous beach bars and a Ferris wheel on the boulevard. To escape the hustle and bustle for a dip in the sea, we recommend a detour to the south beach (Zuiderstrand). The Hague is also a good starting point for excursions to Gouda, known for the cheese of the same name, to the port city of Rotterdam or to the windmills of Kinderdijk, which were declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 1997.
In addition to The Hague, the Randstad conurbation also includes Leiden and Haarlem. Leiden is the birthplace of the Baroque artist Rembrandt (1606-1669) and offers stately mansions, the oldest university in the Netherlands and a number of museums in the city centre. From Leiden, it is also worth taking a trip to Haarlem, around 27 kilometers away, which can be easily reached by train.
From the Great Market Square (Grote Markt) with St. Bavo's Church and the town hall, you can stroll through the alleys, especially the many beautiful side streets such as Breestraat and the many green courtyards are popular photo motifs. Trendy shops and numerous cafés round off the cozy townscape. An ideal last stop in Haarlem, once the most important brewing city in the Netherlands, is the Jopen Brewery, located in Haarlem's former Church of St. James.
The capital of the Netherlands is also not far from Leiden by train: Amsterdam has everything to offer that makes a Dutch city so picturesque. The canals, bridges and narrow historic houses invite you to take long walks and explore. The waterways such as the Prinsengracht can also be explored particularly well by boat. There are various boat tour offers throughout the city, such as directly in front of the Anne Frank House.
The museum dedicated to Jewish Holocaust victim Anne Frank is one of the city's most popular attractions. Culture fans will also get their money's worth in the Van Gogh Museum with the largest collection of works by Vincent van Gogh or the Rijksmuseum with around 8,000 exhibits showing, among other things, painting and art from the Netherlands. In the Jordaan district, there are numerous cafés where you can relax after exploring. There, many shops and boutiques invite you to go shopping, and at the Waterlooplein there is a flea market that offers numerous treasures from Monday to Saturday.
