The following is a short list of cities in the Netherlands that can either be visited as day trips from Amsterdam or the Hague (a couple cities -such as Groningen and Maastricht are far enough away to be considered 'overnighters'). Please note that the author has visited in person all of the locations listed below, and would not recommend anything that he himself wouldn't return to if given the opportunity. All of the pictures in this section are the property of Ian Rees.
HAARLEM:
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This old city (with a history that stretches back to the 10th century) is a major trading center for tulips and the capital of North Holland. Only 15 minutes from Amsterdam by train, Haarlem offers several beautiful facades, museums, a pleasant main square dominated by the attractive Grote Kerk, and the elegantly constructed city hall. The Frans Hals museum is worth a visit. Jan Steen also painted here.
HET NATIONALE PARK HOGE VELUWE & THE KRÖLLER MULLER MUSEUM:
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This very attractive national park near the towns of Apeldoorn and Arnham, is a must see during any trip to the Netherlands lasting more than a couple days. Before cycling on your freely provided bicycle through the pines and over the dunes, you must must stop at the world class Kröller Muller Museum inside the park, and gaze at a few of the museums 87 paintings by Vincent Van Gogh!!! Also in the collection: Monet, Manet, Mondrian, Picasso, Gaugin, Sisley, Renoir, Seurat, and more! Also part of the museum is a fantastic large sculpture garden (with a Rodin and several large and weird installations - some very large that one can climb into and over).
UTRECHT:
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This ancient rival of Amsterdam is noted for its stepped canals, an active cultural scene, and its detached cathedral tower (the nave of the town's main church collapsed in 1674, and as a result, the Dom tower today is separated from remaining section of the Dom church). Utrecht is home to the Netherlands' largest university and is currently the see of the Archbishop of Utrecht, the most important Dutch Roman Catholic leader. Location of the signing of the The Union of Utrecht - regarded as the foundation of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands, way back on the 23rd of January, 1579.
LEIDEN:
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Formed on an artificial hill at the confluence of the rivers Oude and Nieuwe Rijn (Old and New Rhine), this quiet university town (University of Leiden - founded by William I of Orange in 1575) offers yet another nice church (Hooglandsche Kerk), but also several tree lined canals and a quiet option to the hustle and bustle of Amsterdam. Be sure to check out the view from De Burcht, a circular tower built on the previously mentioned artificial hill (earthen mound) in the center of town, it offers a very nice elevated view of the surrounding city (elevated views being a rarity in Holland).
HOORN and ENKHUIZEN:
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45 minutes and an hour away from Amsterdam, respectively, these very attractive sea port towns rest on the Zuider Zee, and offer a great getaway from Amsterdam. Old and attractive step gables are commonly found here. Enkhuizen's Zuider Zee museum, in particular, with its hands-on experience of life in the 1600s, offers a wonderful place to bring the kids. I was lucky enough to visit on a clear warm day, if you are too, you will love these towns. Both towns (only 15 minutes away from each other) can be visited in a single day, but I would recommend spending a whole day in each.
VOLENDAM and EDAM:
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One of the most popular tourist attractions in the Netherlands, Volendam is famous for its old fishing boats and the traditional clothing still worn by some residents to this day. Edam (in the 16th century
one of the more important maritime cities of North Holland, vying with
Enkhuisen, Hoorn, and Amsterdam) is today a very small and very attractive town, known for its famous cheese (of the same name). The cheese market is held each Wednesdays from 10:30 to 12:30, July through August. These towns are worth visiting by bike from Amsterdam.
NAARDEN and WEESP:
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The fort town of Naarden, site of a horrific massacre in 1572, after the local inhabitants has surrendered to the Spanish, offers an excellent glimpse into the star-shaped fort villages of the age of the musket, complete with fortified walls and a moat. The restored walls and the moat are in a very good state. Weesp is famous for its chocolate, windmills, Weesper porcelain, and the Weesper Mop cookie (whatever that is). The never-needed bastion and fortifications are also famous, because they are a part of the Defense line of Amsterdam and the Dutch Water Line. There is also a pleasant historical center with canals. Also worth a bike trip from Amsterdam.
MAASTRICHT:
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Not really a day trip (though I guess you could make it one), Maastricht offers a different kind of the Netherlands, with a little taste of Belgium, maybe even France thrown into the local culture. Lots of great architecture with an attractive main square, and several remnants of the old city walls and battlements.
ALKMAAR:
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This attractive town (only 35 minutes - and 12.60 euros - round-trip by train from Amsterdam central station) is worth a visit... especially if you can get there for the cheese market (held every Friday - from the first Friday in April to the first Friday in September), where the buyers and sellers still get dressed up in their traditional costume and clap while making the deal. Don't miss the attractive Waagebouw (overlooking the cheese market) and lookout for the house on the Meint whose facade has two lions with their backsides pointed towards the city coat of arms (an insult directed at the city's council members as a sweet revenge for several bureaucratically motivated building delays).
DELFT:
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Site of the first asassination of a head of state by a handgun (William the Silent), home of famous porcelain Delftware, home and burial site of the artist Johannes Vermeer and father of microbiology Antoni Van Leeuwenhoek (as well as the past Orange kings and queens of the Netherlands), this picturesque city (not far from Den Haag) is well worth a visit. Highlights include: the view from the Nieuwkerk tower, as well as its stained glass windows. One can also view the bullet holes left in the wall behind where William I was shot in the Prinsenhof.
GOUDA:
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Famous for its cheese, smoking pipes, stained glass Gouda Windows, and syrup waffles, Gouda is a very attractive city with a pleasant main square dominated by a rather attractive (and old by Dutch standards) city hall. The Saint Janskerk just off the main square houses several famous stained glass windows that, unique in the Netherlands, not only survived the iconoclastic fury of 1566, but contain the works of both catholics and protestants (depictions of William the Silent AND his enemies Philip II of Spain and Bloody Mary are to be found here). The church also happens to be the longest in the Netherlands. Other highlights: the several almshouses that dot the city, the weigh-house, and the prerequisite windmills.
KEUKENHOF:
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This exquisite flower garden is best visited in late April. Open from the end of March until the end of May - the rest of the year the gardens are closed. But if you need your flower fix after May (yet in the summer only), you could head to nearby Rijnsburg for a tour of the flower auction. Rijnsburg also has a Spinoza museum.
GRONINGEN, DORDRECHT, ZIERIKZEE, MIDDLEBURG, ZUTPHEN, ZWOLLE, ETC.:
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I plan on writing about these Netherlands cities when I get there in a few days, months, years??? Any other places in the Netherlands you think I should know about? Please feel free to contact me here.
