11 Best Tourist Attractions Destination in Netherland - Netherlands Travel Guide
While most Netherlands visitors focus on Amsterdam,
there are many interesting cities, islands and destinations for resorts. Small
towns and villages in the countryside reveal long - standing traditions and
classic sights in some countries, with flowering fields or windmills of ancient
style.
On arrival by air, travelers usually enter the
country through Amsterdam's capital. This is a great place to start, with
plenty to see and do, from just cycling along the canals and enjoying the
cafes, to visiting the works of the Old Masters and looking at them. Some of
the main attractions are the Royal Palace, the Van Gogh Museum, the Dutch
National Museum, or the Keukenhof, a beautiful park that is especially
beautiful during the spring flower.
Although Amsterdam is the Netherlands ' capital,
Hague is home to the Netherlands government and the Royal Family's residence.
Due to the large number of international offices in the city, many people are
in business here. Mauritshuis' early 17th-century mansion is now one of the
main tourist attractions, along with the Binnenhof, Grote Kerk, Peace Palace
and the Dutch National Dance Theatre. During the summer months, the nearby
Scheveningen resort community is a popular destination with a long stretch of
beach for locals and visitors alike.
Rotterdam and Utrecht are other popular cities in
the Netherlands, showing the contrast between old and new. Rotterdam is a
vibrant port city with a modern metropolitan atmosphere and a beautiful
historic center in Utrecht. Art lovers will want to stop at the Boijmans Van
Beuningen Museum, one of the best museums in the Netherlands, in Rotterdam.
There are a number of traditional 18th-century windmills outside the city at
Kinderdijk, which are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In Utrecht, hike through
the old town and see St Martin's Cathedral. Visit the city of Doorn with Huis
Doorn's former medieval castle for an excursion.
There are many areas to relax and enjoy a little
nature for an escape from the cities. The West Frisian Islands are home to long
stretches of beautiful sandy beaches and dunes along the north and northwest
coast. There are also large numbers of seabirds nesting or spending winter on
the islands.
The Netherlands (also known as Holland) is known
everywhere as a land of windmills, canals and tulips, and visitors today will
certainly find them among its many tourist attractions. But along with the
amazing gardens and picturesque villages, you will also find a vibrant capital
filled with museums that showcase the rich artist heritage of the country
(think Rembrandt and Van Gogh). There are medieval castles and cityscapes, a
national park of 13,800 acres and a tide control system named one of the Seven
Wonders of the Modern World. All these attractions and activities are in a
relatively compact area and the landscape is quite flat (the highest elevation
is barely 1,000 feet above sea level). So at least a little sightseeing in the
Netherlands is easy: by bicycle. Many communities actively promote the use of
pedal power and offer free bikes to explore the sights. You're guaranteed a
great time in one of the most friendly and liberal cultures in Europe, however
you choose to see the Netherlands.
01. Jordaan and
Amsterdam's Canals
Canals are part of Amsterdam's cityscapes-and
charm-as much as they are in Venice, and some of the most enduring memories of
any visit are spent exploring the beautiful waterways of the city. Although
many of Amsterdam's best tourist attractions can be easily reached by boat tour
or water taxi-including most major museums and art galleries-nothing beats
walking along the smaller, quieter streets lining the waterways. The Jordaan, a
neighborhood built in the early 1600s to house workers and immigrants who came
here in search of the religious tolerance of the city, is particularly
charming. Along with its small canal-side houses, look for the neighborhood's
many "hofjes," inner courtyards hidden behind the buildings.
The Grachtengordel, with its many small bridges and
quaint houses from the 17th century, is another photo-worthy neighborhood. As
you explore these 400-year-old streets with beautiful architecture, small
boutique shops, cafes and gardens, you'll be rewarded. Look for canal moored
houseboats.
02. Keukenhof
Think of the Netherlands, and you're bound to think
of tulips, the most popular flower in the country. And one of the most
beautiful places to visit in the Netherlands displays spectacular abundance of
these and other spring bulbs. Keukenhof, also known as the Garden of Europe, is
on the outskirts of Lisse, which is widely regarded as the Netherlands '
"bulb belt." Keukenhof, the world's largest public garden, covering
more than 70 hectares of what was once the former kitchen garden (or "keuken")
of a large country estate, displays more than 700 varieties of tulips, which
are at their height in April and May. But thanks to its massive commercial hot
houses, the display continues almost year-round. In these, you'll see endless
rows of flowering tulips, along with thousands of hyacinths, crocuses, and
daffodils.
03. The
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Since 1809, the spectacular Rijksmuseum (also known
as the Dutch National Museum) collects rare art and antiques. Today, its
extensive collection is almost seven million works of art, including 5,000
paintings in more than 250 rooms, as well as a vast library of some 35,000
books. In addition to its unique collection of old masters, it offers an
exhaustive account of art and culture development in the Netherlands and is
particularly rich in traditional Dutch handicrafts, medieval sculpture and
modern art. Be prepared to spend the best part of a day exploring the endless
treasures of this museum.
04. Anne Frank
Museum, Amsterdam
In Amsterdam, the Anne Frank Museum is a must-see.
This remarkable girl wrote her famous diary on Prinsengracht, in the home where
Anne's family hid for much of the Second World War (they were Jewish refugees
from Frankfurt). Although she died two months before the end of the war, her
legacy continues with her words, which have been translated into 51 languages
since then. The back of the fully restored house where the Frank family was
hiding was kept as much as possible in its original state and is a poignant
monument to a tragic slice of world history and a brave little girl who
continues to inspire people all over the world.
05. Van Gogh
Museum, Amsterdam
The spectacular Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, which
is one of the world's greatest artists, ranks 35th in the world's top art
museums, attracting nearly 1.5 million visitors each year. Home to the world's
largest collection of paintings by Van Gogh-many of which have been donated by
the artist's family-this impressive gallery and museum was specially built to
show more than 200 paintings, 500 drawings and 700 letters in its extensive
collection. His contemporaries ' works are also on display.
06. The Windmills
of Kinderdijk
The famous village of Kinderdijk ("Children's
Dike") is located on the Noord River between Rotterdam and Dordrecht,
which takes its name from an incident during the flood of St. Elizabeth's Day
in 1421 following the stranding of a child's cradle on the dike. The big draw
these days are the superbly preserved windmills of the 18th century. The 19
Kinderdijk windmills, built between 1722 and 1761, are now the UNESCO World
Heritage Sites in the Netherlands ' largest surviving concentration of
windmills. These majestic buildings, originally used to drain the fenlands, are
open to the public from April to October with their impressive 92-foot sails,
including special Mill Days when the sails are in motion.
07. Hoge Veluwe
National Park
You may be surprised to learn that the Netherlands
has one of the most diverse national park programs in the world, a relatively
small country. The largest park between Arnhem and Apeldoorn is Hoge Veluwe
National Park. This national park, which covers almost 13,800 acres, is the
country's largest continuous nature reserve and one of the most popular day
trip destinations for locals and visitors alike. With dense woodlands in the
north and a fascinating sculpture park, the area was once a country estate and
a hunting reserve, and many red and roe deers are still home to this day. The
best-preserved part of the park encompasses an area of dramatic dunes
interspersed with heath and woodland and interrupted in the south and east by
moraines up to 100 meters high. It's also a popular area for birdwatching, as
well as hiking and biking (use of bikes is free to visitors).
For many-and many people choose to come here - the
highlight of this beautiful park is the outstanding Kröller-Müller Museum
(Rijksmuseum Kröller-Müller), which houses the second largest collection of Van
Gogh's works in the world. Cézanne, Manet, Monet and Renoir's impressionist and
expressionist paintings are also included in the collections. Outside, one of
the largest sculpture gardens in Europe shows works by Rodin, Hepworth,
Dubuffet and others.
08. Towns of the
Ijsselmeer (Zuiderzee)
The small hamlets along the Ijsselmeer, the
freshwater lake resulting from the closure of the sea entrance to the Zuider
Zee, are among the most beautiful villages in the Netherlands. During the
Golden Age of Amsterdam, these towns flourished when they had access to the
Atlantic and prospered as fishing and trading centres, but lost importance when
the ports were silenced. Time seems to have stood still for the fishing village
of Marken and Volendam and Enkhuizen seaports, where many colorful houses have
become museums and shops. In the open-air Zuiderzee Museum, where the cultural
heritage and maritime history of the ancient Zuiderzee region is preserved, Enkhuizen
has preserved many of its buildings and maritime industries. You can see
artisans learning old maritime skills at work here. You can see a collection of
colorful old wooden boats in Volendam's harbour.
09. Zeeland's
Spectacular Dikes
Zeeland, which includes the deltas of the Rhine, the
Maas and the Schelde Rivers, includes the numerous islands and peninsulas of
the Netherlands ' southwest section. Much of this newly formed area of land is
below sea level and therefore depends on impressive dikes and modern flood
prevention techniques. You will see evidence of the engineering project known
as the Delta Works as you travel through the area. These massive structures
-mainly high-tech dams -can control how much water comes from the North Sea into
the main estuaries of the area. Consisting of dams, sluices, locks, dikes, and
storm-surge barriers, this awe-inspiring project has been declared one of the
Seven Wonders of the Modern World.
10. Historic
Valkenburg
The Netherlands is not without its own medieval (and
earlier) attractions for those who are looking for a little ancient history. In
the picturesque Geul Valley, the romantic little Valkenburg boasts the only
hilltop castle in the country. The other major attractions of the city are its
many caves and spa facilities at Thermae 2000, one of the largest such
establishments in the Netherlands, long a popular holiday resort. In addition
to the ruins of the castle on Dwingelrots (Castle Rock) from the 12th century,
there is an interesting St. Nicolaaskerk basilica from the 14th century. Another
highlight is the town's famous Christmas Market (mid-November to December 23rd)
held in the Velvet Caves, the maze of old passageways leading to and from the
castle.
11. Kasteel De Haar
Kasteel De Haar is the country's largest
fortification near the beautiful old town of Utrecht, the fourth largest in the
Netherlands. This spectacular castle, built by the famous Dutch architect, PJH
Cuypers, required so much land (it is situated on a spectacular 250-acre park)
that the entire village of Haarzuilens had to be relocated. While the original
site of the castle was founded in the 14th century, this new structure dates
back to 1892 and is well worth exploring. You'll be rewarded inside with
impressive collections of antiques, furniture, paintings and tapestries, but
it's the gardens that really attract the crowds-along with the fairytale looks
of the castle.
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