Netherlands

Netherlands

Netherlands

Canals, tulips, windmills, colorful gabled houses…you are in for a treat. Two weeks allows you to really get a chance to enjoy the country. Any time of year is great, but if you come in April you’re see tulips galore.

Length: 13 days

Transportation: trains, public transportation, car (optional)

Guidebook: Rick Steves Amsterdam and the Netherlands, Lonely Planet The Netherlands

Day 1 – Welcome to the Netherlands

Day 2 – Marken, Edam, Volendam

Day 3 – Keukenhof (Tulips)

  • Drive to Keukenhof (24m drive)
    • Tulip viewing (get online tickets in advance)
  • Drive to Haarlem (24m drive)
  • Explore Haarlem
  • Dinner – try a different place from the night before
  • Lodging – same place (night 3/4)

Day 4 – Alkmaar, Hoorn, Zuidersee Museum

Day 5 – Leiden

Day 6 – Delft

Day 7 – The Hague and / or Rotterdam

Day 8 – Otterlo

Day 9 – Utrecht

Day 10 – Amsterdam

Day 11 – Amsterdam

  • Rijksmuseum (reservations recommended)
    • Lunch – Rijks at Museum
  • Singel canal for the floating flower market
  • Evening canal cruise
  • Lodging – same place (night 3/5)

Day 12 – Amsterdam

Day 13 – More Amsterdam

Day 14 – Fly Home

  • Fly home

In Depth Itinerary

Day 1 – Welcome to the Netherlands

Known for it’s tolerance, water management skills, and practicality, the Netherlands is an easy place to visit. There’s a mix from modern cosmopolitan to cute golden age villages. The roads are great. Biking is the default transportation method for short distances and trains and trams suffice for longer.

In terms of transportation, the Netherlands is great; the trains are frequent and go everywhere. You can do this whole trip pretty easily by train. However, renting a car can make getting to smaller towns easier – so the first part of this trip involves a car (but you can also opt to just take the trains). When you get to Amsterdam, by all means drop the car at the airport as you arrive in town, and use public transit from then on. Amsterdam is NOT a city you want to drive in.

As per usual, depending on what time you arrive you may or may not have much time today. If you arrive in the morning, you could skip to the activities for day two (and reduce a day off your trip). If you arrive in the afternoon or evening, we recommend following this itinerary.

Fly into Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport, get through security, pick up your rental car, and make the short drive to Haarlem. Haarlem is quite close to Amsterdam but makes an easy home base for the first part of your trip as it’s a low key kind of town and easy to drive out of.

Haarlem is an enjoyable town to wander around in with cobbled streets, pretty canals, and a great central square. Pretty much everything is within walking distance. If you get in early enough you’ll have time to orient yourself and see the central square (Grote Markt) and St Bavo’s church. With more time you can add a museum that is listed on other days in the itinerary like the Teyler’s Museum.

For dinner, try ML (which is an excellent Michelin starred restaurant), De Lachende Javaan, Toujours, Metzo, or El Pincho.

We enjoyed staying in Hotel ML, but you could also consider Brasss Hotel Suites. Since you’re here for 4 nights you could also consider an apartment rental enabling you to cook.

St Bavo Church Haarlem

Day 2 – Marken, Edam, Volendam

While in Haarlem, make it a point to see the Corrie ten Boom House which should be booked in advance. The family in this house hid hundreds of jews from the Nazis and is a very interesting museum. Today get an early reservation before heading out to the Waterland villages after.

Edam is a cute little town about 45 minutes by car from Haarlem. Enjoy a stroll of the town and lovely canals. Edam originally had a canal linking it to the open sea, but it was later silted up. Visit the Edam Museum (with Edam’s oldest house) for a view of how a prosperous (and quite large) merchant lived. Stop by the Grote Kerk – surprisingly large for such a small town. There are several cheese stores near the main square with a chance to sample (and purchase). For lunch, make a picnic with cheese, or stop at Hotel de Fortuna or Prisenbar Edam.

Edam

From here hop in the car for a short drive to Volendaam. Park near the Volendam Museum. Inside there are some traditional interiors, costumes, and scenes from village life but the blockbuster site here is the cigar brand house – where a local man glued 11 million cigar brands to his walls to create some amazing scenes. From here wander down to the seaside promenade and shops. Sample freshly made Stroopwaffles.

Next stop is Marken, a traditional fishing village. You can get here either by boat from Vollendam or driving. Once an island with a thriving fishing community, when the Zuidersee river was damned in 1932 (after flooding), the whole place became something of a ghost town. It’s a delightful place to wander and grab a drink at one of the cafes on the harbor. The a small Marker Museum features 16th century costumes (still worn at times) and an interesting cemetery.

From Marken return to Haarlem. For dinner, try a place not tried the night before.

Marken

Day 3 – Keukenhof (Tulips)

If you’re visiting in the spring especially, you are in for a real treat. The Netherlands is the tulip capital of the world and Keukenhof is the most amazing flower garden you will ever see. The Dutch and tulip history is fascinating. Tulips originated in Kazakstan and prized by the Turkish sultans. Some bulbs eventually made it to Leiden via the Austrian ambassador and the bulbs were then given to the botanist Carolus Clusius in the late 1500’s. This started the Netherlands tulip explosion where the tulips thrived in the sandy soil. Between 1634 and 1637 prices skyrocketed in the first recorded speculative bubble – where the price of a single bulb sold for the cost of an entire house. Tulips remain a big deal in Holland.

Get tickets to Keukenhof in advance – millions of people come to view the gardens. We recommend starting early as crowds grow later in the day. From Haarlem it’s only a 24 minute drive to Keukenhof. After arriving, find your way to the whisper boats (electric boats that take you through the tulip fields near the gardens) that provide an explanation of the bulb cultivation business. After your boat trip spend the day wandering the gardens. They are truly spectacular. From here return to Haarlem.

Keukenhof Gardens

There are several good museums in Haarlem. Teylers Museum (audioguide essential) was the first museum in the Netherlands and houses a fascinating collection of fossils, gemstones, scientific instruments, and art. You also tour Peter Teyler’s house – getting a nice glimpse of life for a wealthy merchant in the 1700’s.

If you still have time and energy for another museum walk about 10 minutes to the Frans Hals Museum, where you can see a collection of art by one of the flemish masters, local boy Frans Hals.

For dinner try a different place than the night before.

Day 4 – Alkmaar, Hoorn, Zuidersee Museum

Start your day in Alkmaar, a cute town surrounded by (what else) canals north of Haarlem. In 1573 the town of Alkmaar was besieged by the Spanish army. In a move subsequently repeated successfully, the Dutch breeched the dikes, flooding the Spanish who were forced to withdraw which was a turning point in the 80 years war with Spain. However its real claim to fame is the cheese market, operating effectively the same way since 1365. On Fridays April to September from 10:00-13:00 you can see how cheese is selected, sorted, weighed, and run around on wooden stretchers by colorful cheese guild members – the same way it has been for hundreds of years. If you’re driving, park at Karperton car park early as the little town gets mobbed on cheese market days. After the cheese (or if it’s not Friday), wander around the cute town.

Alkmaar cheese market

From here head through beautiful countryside (passing fields of tulips and many windmills) to Museummolem Schermer – a series of several windmills that offer an opportunity to go inside to see how they work and are constructed.

From here you have an option – you will pass right by Hoorn with the Westfries Museum where you can stop and get a taste of how life was in the golden age (and grab lunch on the lovely square) or continue straight to the the Zuidersee Museum if you’re running short on time. Be sure and allow at least 2-3 hours for Zuidersee Museum.

There is information at Westfries Museum about the Dutch East India Company (VOC), which is worth learning about since this was a company of many firsts. It was among the first publicly traded company amassing enormous wealth – in today’s dollars, worth more than Google, Amazon, Tesla and Apple combined. It was the first multinational company employing over 70,000 people. And yes, it involved many nasty things like slavery and genocide.

On a sunny day the square outside of the museum is a delightful place for lunch at a cafe.

Hoorn

From Hoorn head another 20 minutes north to the outdoor Zuidersee Museum. In 1932 the Zuidersee, the enormous bay that connected Amsterdam and much of north Holland to the sea, was dammed due to repeated flooding and to reclaim more farmland – there is saying that God created the Earth but the Dutch created the Netherlands. When this happened many old Dutch towns and communities were in danger of disappearing and many of the buildings were collected and moved to this open air museum. There is a shuttle boat that leaves from the train station where you can park. The museum is set around 1920 and you will see buildings and crafts as they existed at that time. Pick up a directory of what’s open and poke into those buildings. Allow 2-3 hours.

Return to Haarlem. Have dinner at the Jopenkerk brewery or one of the other recommended Haarlem restaurants.

Museummolem Schermer

Day 5 – Leiden

This morning start your day saying goodbye to Haarlem and driving to Leiden. Before 1600, Leiden was the largest city in the Netherlands and is home to the oldest University in the Netherlands (1575). We suggest coming on Saturday as there is a great outdoor market stretching many blocks along the Rhine River. There are some nice outdoor cafes in the center of town where the Old Rhine meets the New Rhine where you can grab lunch.

Leiden

After your market fix and lunch join Rondleiding Leiden for The Best of Leiden walking tour (or tour on your own using a guidebook). Be sure and visit a few of the begijnhofs architectural complexes (there are 35 in Leiden). These complexes were created to house beguines, lay religious women who lived in community without taking vows or retiring from the world.

Next visit the university and its botanical garden which dates back to the 1500’s. You can see the plot where the first tulip bulbs were cultivated in the Netherlands. Continuing on you’ll climb a hill (man made, of course) with a fort on top for a view over the town.

Be sure and see the Boerhaave Museum, a very interesting museum of science and medical history which includes an original operating “theater”. Also of potential interest is the American Pilgrim Museum housed in the oldest house in Leiden.

From here make the short drive to Delft where you’ll spend the next three nights. We liked the Bridges House Hotel, but other options include Hotel de Koophandel or Hotel de Emauspoort.

Delft, The Hague, and Rotterdam area all very close by and there are great dining spots in each. For dinner in Delft try Restaurant van der Dussen, Le Vieux Jean, or Steakhouse Buenos Aires. For dinner in The Hague check out Tapisco, Zeezout, Zheng, Basaal, Restaurant ñ, Publique, Sequenza, Oogst, 6&24, De Basiliek, or Calla’s, and in Rotterdam consider Fermin, In Den Rustwat, Kwiezien, Gym & Gin, Huson, Fenix Food Factory, Yama, and The Millen.

Beguinage

Day 6 – Delft

Delft is a seriously delightful town. It’s laced with canals and everything is within easy walking distance. There are several lovely squares and a lot of history is packed into a small area.

Delft town hall

Start your day with a walking tour. You can go on your own with a guidebook or take a great guided tour with Explore Delft. Start in the main square with the impressive town hall on one end and Niewe Kerk (New church) on the other. The statue on the square is of native son Hugo Grotius, a lawyer involved with international maritime rights and the first proponent of individual rights and international law. Niewe Kerk has been though a lot – built over 100 years starting in 1393, it was destroyed by fire in 1536, rebuilt, ransacked by iconoclasts in the 1560’s (as were most churches in the Netherlands), and in 1654 a massive gunpowder explosion leveled a third of the town and damaged the church. Go inside and see the tomb of the William of Orange, the founding father of the Netherlands.

As you walk around town pay attention to the critical nature of water level management (if water rises a few inches a lot of the town floods). As you wander you’ll see the bar where Vermeer was born, the Waag (customs house) where things were weighed for sale (now a nice restaurant but the scales are still on the wall), and the Visbanken (original fishmarket – get your herring sample here). Continue on to see the Oudekerk (only 100 years older than the New Church) and its seriously leaning tower. It leans because it was built on unstable ground. The leaning started before the tower was finished and you can see the attempts to compensate part way up the tower. Inside you’ll see the typical sober clean interior left by the iconoclastic riots of 1566 and 1572 which removed much of the interior ornamentation of the Roman Catholic Churches. You’ll also see tombs of notable local boys including Vermeer and van Leeuwenhoek (inventor of the microscope). As water was not safe to drink, there were a a LOT of breweries in Delft and the large houses along the Oude canal here were a testament to the money earned by brewing. Nearby is the Prisenhof convent where William of Orange was assassinated.

After your tour head back to the Beestenmarkt for lunch. This leafy square with outdoor restaurants was a cattle market until the 1970’s.

The nearby Vermeer center has no actual Vermeer’s (you’ll find these in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and in the Maurithuis museum in The Hague) but the center does a nice job of tracing the career and techniques of this master of light and is worthwhile. Consider rounding out your day with a canal boat tour, you’ll find operators as your wander around the town.

If you feel like driving (or taking the tram) for dinner there are a lot of options nearby in The Hague or Rotterdam or stay in Delft for the evening.

Delft Oude Canal

Day 7 – The Hague and / or Rotterdam

Start you day with some shopping. Delft has been famous for pottery since the 1600’s. The VOC (Dutch East India Company) introduced the world to fine Chinese porcelain and local potters copied it. The blue color was stable in firing and Dutch Blue porcelain was born. 400 years later their descendants are still going strong. There are a couple of options for viewing the process and buying porcelain. The big player is the Royal Dutch Delftware Manufactory just outside of central Delft. You can take a paid tour and purchase some (pricey) items in the gift shop. Alternatively visit the De Candelaer workshop just off the main square. Instead of a slick factory show you’ll chat with the owner / potter and see an artist painting the pottery (prices are also much more reasonable).

De Candelaar “back door” (see why water level management is so important?)

After that drive ro take a tram to The Hague, seat of Netherland’s government and home to the Mauritshuis Gallery.

The Mauritshuis Gallery is housed in a mansion built for a sugar trader and has quite an amazing collection of art including Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring and Rembrandt’s Anatomy Lesson. After seeing the museum visit the Parliament complex right next door. Other potential attractions in The Hague include a prison / torture museum (Gevangepoort) set in a 13th century gatehouse in the parliament complex and Escher in the Palace that houses relics of Escher’s art / illusions set in the former winter palace of Queen Emma.

Maurtishuis Gallery

With additional time you can also visit Rotterdam with modern architecture and urban design in Europe’s largest port. Some sites to visit include Markthal, Laurenskerk, the Cube Houses, and Rotterdam’s Museumpark (Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen and Kunsthal Rotterdam).

Tonight may be the perfect night to eat outside of Delft in either The Hague or Rotterdam – wherever you find yourself around dinner time.

Day 8 – Otterlo

Today start with driving to the National Parque de Hoge Veluwe. This is a 5500 acre former hunting reserve and has ancient forests alive with deer, sand dunes, a lovely country house and a world class museum. Once in the park, there are free white bikes are all over for your use and tons of riding and walking paths. The brochure they give you is not helpful – buy the 2.50 euro map. The highlight of the park is the delightful Kroller – Muller Museum. This museum houses the worlds second largest collection of Van Gogh’s in the world, but many other artists works are featured as well. This is a much more intimate experience than some of the larger Amsterdam museums and is thoroughly enjoyable. Additionally, there is a 60 acre sculpture garden to wander.

At Kroller Mueller Museum

After your visit be sure and get out and explore the National Park. At the northern end is the striking residence of the family (St Hubertus Lodge). You can tour the house with advance online reservations. At the east entrance the Ijs Van Co ice cream parlor is a local legend.

When done touring the park head to your hotel, Hotel de Sterrenberg, for and excellent dinner in the attached restaurant Cepes (make reservations). There is also a spa here if so inclined.

St Hubertus

Day 9 – Utrecht

Half way between Otterlo and Amsterdam is the ancient city of Utrecht. Drive to Utrecht and park at one of the Hoog Catharine lots. From here take a self guided or guided walking tour through the old town center. Utrecht has lovely canals and a unique double decker design. The upper level is where the bikes and pedestrians move and below is where the cafes and restaurants sit (also a great place to grab lunch).

For an alternative to Utrecht there is a large open air museum in Arnhem where historical buildings from all over the Netherlands have been collected and crafts are demonstrated. If you visited the Zuidersee museum you may not want to do another open air museum but this one is quite good as well.

Netherlands Open Air Museum

Departing Utrecht drive to the Schiphol Amsterdam Airport to drop the car and get a train or cab into town. Trains go to the central train station and from there you can walk or tram.

Amsterdam is quite walkable but some of the sights such as the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum are a bit further out. Your life will be easier if you use the efficient and easy tram system. To start, download the GVB app. Here you can enter your destination and the app will direct you to the closest tram stop and tell you which tram you want and which direction to take. You can buy one hour, one day or multiway passes to keep on your phone. Just be aware that the readers for the QR code on the app are not yet functional so show the pass to the driver.

For dinner tonight check out our Amsterdam restaurant recommendations.

For lodging, consider Mr Jordaan , Canal House , The Dylan, The Hoxton, ‘t Hotel, V Nesplein, Radisson Blue. You may also want to consider an apartment rental since you’ll be staying here for the next five nights.

Day 10 – Amsterdam

Start your day with a visit to the Anne Frank House (reservations essential). You will need to reserve far in advance. As the Nazis took control there was a gradual worsening of conditions for the large population of Jews in this tolerant city. Eventually many were forced into hiding to avoid forced deportation to labor and death camps. The Frank family moved into rooms hidden behind a bookshelf in Otto Frank’s former offices where they lived for two years before being captured and shipped off to camps just months before the war eventually ended. Remarkably, the Gestapo headquarters was just around the corner from the Frank offices and the buildings even shared a courtyard.

Grab lunch, consider stopping at Cafe de Prins, De Twee Zwaantjes, or Cafe t’ Smalle, and then either meet your guide or take a self guided walking tour. We highly recommend a tour with Larae of Amsterdamsel Tours. The tour allowed us to see a huge amount and get a great feel for the history and the city. Don’t miss the lavish Tuschinski theater or the peaceful Beginjhof.

For dinner select a place not tried the night before.

Amsterdam

Day 11 – Riksmuseum

Start with a tram ride out to the fantastic Rijksmuseum (reservations recommended). This great museum offers a very pleasant journey through the best of the old masters/golden age art. Even if you don’t think this is your style, you’ll likely enjoy this museum. One thing they offer is a personal guide (available when you buy tickets). We tried this and found it to be very good. Allow at least three hours for the museum. In addition to paintings, there’s interiors, ship models, medieval art, and even an art library.

Rijksmuseum

Right next door (head out the door toward the Van Gogh museum and look to the right) is the Michelin starred Rijks restaurant. Treat yourself to a fantastic meal if you have the time for lunch here (allow three hours) for a multi course meal (reservations essential, even for lunch).

Head to Singel canal to enjoy seeing a floating flower market, filled with vibrant flowers and fragrances every Monday to Saturday.

There are a lot of options for canal cruises in Amsterdam and you really should take one. We enjoyed an evening canal cruise with Pure Boats Amsterdam that also offered wine, craft beer, and cheese as you sailed.

Amsterdam by Canal

Day 12 – Van Gogh Museum / Red Light District

The Van Gogh Museum is very near the Rijksmuseum from the day before, and sure, you could see both of them in the same day but it might too much. Instead split them up and start today here. For this museum advance reservations are even more important. You work your way up chronologically through Van Gogh’s life and work in the largest collection of Van Gogh’s anywhere. Allow a couple of hours.

Van Gogh Museum

After the museum it’s easy to grab a tram to Dam Square and see the lavish city hall (Royal Palace) with rooms from when Amsterdam was the richest city in the world. From here head over to the red light district and spend some time “window shopping” (prostitution is legal and regulated here – no pictures allowed). When men returned from their 8 month journey from the Far East they tied up their ships at the wharfs on the waterway (now in front of the train station), unloaded their goods in the warehouses and then headed to the entertainments of the red light district. This is actually the oldest part of town, and was set up by a bishop who figured it was better to control and regulate the prostitution (a very Dutch approach). Note that the Oude Kerk is basically right in the middle of the area. Next head a few blocks to the Our Lord in the Attic Museum – Liev Het op Soldier. In tolerant Amsterdam after the Catholic church was illegal a wealthy merchant built this three story 150 seat church in his attic to serve the Catholic faithful. You start by touring the merchant’s house before climbing up to the church space (audioguide recommended).

If you have more time in the afternoon head to the lovely Vondelpark for a walk around the grounds or walk or bike along the main canals of Amsterdam that form a ring in the inner city (the Prinsengracht, Keijzersgracht, Herengracht and Jordaan). The canal ring is actually on the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites. Enjoy the pretty old buildings and stop for a canal-adjacent café.

Grab beer at a local brewery at Cafe t’ Smalle, a distillery set up in 1780 along a canal, or In De Wildeman with both Dutch and Belgian Beers.

Day 13 – More Amsterdam

There’s a lot more to Amsterdam and your last day is a great opportunity to check out some things you’ve missed.

Consider which sounds most interesting to you:

  • Rembrandt House – House where Rembrandt had his studio and lived. There are no actual paintings here, but it is furnished the way it would have looked during his time and includes his studio (audioguide recommended)
  • Dutch resistance museum (Verzetsmuseum)– Offering an interesting walk through explaining the Dutch resistance (or cooperation for some) with the Nazis
  • Stedelijk Museum – Modern art museum very near the Van Gogh museum.
  • Hermitage Amsterdam – A branch of the Hermitage in St Petersburg with rotating exhibits for the main collection
  • Netherlands Maritime Museum – An impressive museum of ships and all things seafaring including a full size replica of a Dutch East India ship from the 1600’s
  • Houseboat Museum – In the 1930’s there were a lot of old wooden boats that became obsolete and were converted into houseboats (2500 in the canals of Amsterdam) and here you can step inside and see what life in one of these would be like
  • Willer- Holthuysen Museum – An elegant furnished townhouse with furnishings from the 19th century
  • Hash, Marihuana, and Hemp Museum – Explore the world of cannabis in the city where it’s famous
  • Zoological Garden (Artis) – Europe’s oldest zoo
  • Vondelpark – Amsterdam’s main leafy park
  • Shopping – Head to the shopping haven of Negen Straatjes or “nine streets” around the canal area which is filled with pretty boutiques, art galleries and vintage stores

Day 14 – Fly Home

Bid goodbye to Amsterdam and fly home.

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