The planetarium is great. Definitely worth the trip!
If there’s plenty of time, a tour along all eleven Frisian towns is worthwhile. Sloten is small but lovely, Sneek has lots of “terrasjes”, Bolsward a nice city hall, Leeuwarden has a nice market on Fridays etc.etc. All of Friesland is fine.
A trip from Enkhuizen to Stavoren v.v. is fun. On Flevoland, there’s the replica of the Batavia ship. For shoppers, there’s an outlet nearby. Groningen is great, a walking tour with a guide is interesting.
Its not really a hidden gem I guess, but my family almost always goes to Texel on summer holiday. While it's one of the busiest of the islands it's very chill nonetheless. Nice and clean air, nature to hike through and beaches a plenty when the weather is suitable.
Also a variety of activities across the island, from skydiving at the airfield to Karting and inside pools when the weather sucks.
Also if you hire a bike you can bike to Vlieland as well to explore that.
I second this! And if you want an absolute blast - stay in Hoorn after 18:00 and have dinner in the restaurant on top of the Hoofdtoren in the old harbour - it’s fantastically preserved old tower with authentic beams and the floor that has seen far over 300 years :)
Do the 'historiche driehoek'! Take the Stoomtrein from Hoorn to Medemblik, take the boat from Medemblik to Enkhuizen en visit the Zuiderzeemuseum. You can take the regular train from Enkhuizen to Hoorn back.
Enkhuizen is small but lovely, and the harbour is beautiful and has lot's of cafés and restaurants.
You can stay in the old jail in the harbour. It's a good place to explore the town from
Edit if you're not clausthrophobic and want to save money or have a fun experience, you can actually sleep in a cell.
There's actually a very nice bnb close by at the harbour, its an old voc building dating 1624. All original. Great place to stay!
https://www.monumentenbed.nl/nl/huis-bonck-hoorn
If you like your history try some of the Hanseatic league towns or historic places like Elburg, Zwolle, Zupthen, Amersfoort and so on.
And dont forget the lovely little https://www.planetarium-friesland.nl/en/
More in general, visit the smaller cities hanze or not. Delft, leiden, den briel, veere, haarlem, alkmaar, hoorn, naarden, hilversum, amersfoort, barneveld, zuthpen, deventer, den bosch, etc.
Agree on all of these, all well worth a visit. Hoorn can also be combined with Enkhuizen of course. I do love Naarden too, my tip is to walk along the grassy paths on the inside of the moat/water around the fort. There is a path around the outside too which is nice, but the inside one has better views for me.
Yup! I live in Deventer for my studies and often think man I really wouldn't want to live anywhere else right now. The combination of old and new is perfect. The people (most ) are so kind. There are so many sweet specialty shops. Definitely worth a visit.
Absolutely agree, its great!
During the last two years when we werent allowed to travel I made a point of visiting a load of Dutch cities instead, one day I will make a list and post it :) I was surprised how many lovely towns there are here.
But Deventer indeed, super place.
Valkenburg!, went there a few weeks ago. Caves, ruins, castles and much more. Although its a small city/village it felt like I was out of The Netherlands :)
Arguably the best hidden gem imo is "de Hooge Veluwe" with on its premises the second largest van gogh collection in the netherlands. Great nature to walk in and art to boot. And if you want to get a little history I'd advice on the openluchtmuseum in arnhem
Absolutely second this! If you (or anyone else reading this thread in the future) have kids, I can also really recommend the GeoFort near Herwijnen, its another fort from the Waterlinie that is now also used as a very fun kids museum about geography, cartography and the climate! Its really kid friendly, and from what I've heard its always a fun afternoon to visit (free with Museumjaarkaart).
Yes, 100% if you like castles. The volunteers inside are eager to tell you about the castle and all of its rooms. Very beautiful & interesting place. And on a nice day you can hike around the area (look up ‘rondje haarzuilens, or ‘rondje de haar’ I think it’s a 6km round walk).
The volunteers were so nice here! It really surprised me. Very knowledgable and enthousiastic as well.
The grounds around the castle are also lovely, so you are set for a full day when it's sunny!
Nijmegen. It has the Betuwe at the west, with the cherry and other fruit trees, the Waal beach and the Ooipolder at the north, forest at the south and hills on the east (Berg en Dal, Groesbeek, Germany). Nijmegen center has a sad history, but at the north you have beautiful buildings (St. Steven, Waag and a city brewery De Hemel with delicious beer.
And if you like festivities you should visit Nijmegen between 16 - 22 July. The whole city is one big festival with most of the stuff throughout the day and evening free to visit for a week at night while they walk the 4 days march at day.
Ever went to the Dutch Sahara? Sand for miles and miles? Go check it out on Vlieland with the Vliehors Exspress. If you like beer, you should try the beer tasting at Fortuna on Vlieland, they make great beers which are made with ingredients from the island. At night you can hit the beach and watch the sea spark with gold!
What I'm going to suggest isn't the Netherlands, and depends on where you are located and have access to a car.
I live near Maastricht, and the Belgium border is a short drive. I love to hike in the Wallonië region of Belgium. While it's abroad because Belgium, I still get that vacation feeling that reminds me of my childhood vacations in France. The change is big enough for me to feel like home is far away while it's only a 30 minute drive.
The areas around Theux, Pepinster, Val dieu and Aubel are gorgeous. Lot's of nature, hills, rock walls, castle Franchimont, the fortified positions belt around Liege puts a 5 gorgeous forts on your route. The Hoëgne river is also a gorgeous hiking place. The ardennes are also in that region.
The Belgium city of Kanne, 10 minutes drive from Maastricht's centre, is a great starting position to hike around the plateau of Caestert (Belgium side of the Sint Pietersberg), into great parts and nature of Wallonië towards the town Eben-Emael and the its famous WW2 fort. You can also get to Caestert from the Maastricht/Dutch side of the mountain but I don't like that part myself much and it's also very crowded all the time.
Starting in Vaals or Oud-Lemiers in Limburg, you walk right into the ruins/remains of WW2's Westwall/Siegfriedline around the Schneeberg. Same with hiking in and around the Aachener Wald. If you like bunkers, you can spend most of your hike playing the is that a dragon tooth/tank stopper/concrete remains of a bunker game. I hardly run into other hikers making my own route on the komoot app, so peaceful and full of history.
Maastricht itself is also an ancient, Roman and beautiful city.
Yeah, cities like Antwerp, Gent and Bruges remind you of what the Netherlands could have looked like if the cities weren't destroyed during WW2 / overactive urban renewal focusing on effeciency over esthetics...
Ever since I moved to Heerlen, I'm quite surprised by some of the things the manicupality has done here to make Heerlen a nicer place. They're currently redoing the square in front of the theater, which is going to look great.
Also the train station is absolutely beautiful, be it horribly mismanaged.
It's also close to Gaiazoo, which is a beautiful zoo that has won multiple a awards.
Really didn't expect to see Heerlen in the comments lol. That city is a dump. Some real gems in Limburg:
Valkenburg
Epen
Drie landen punt
Arcen
De groote Peel
Maastricht. The Netherlands likes to pretend south Limburg doesn't exist— but that would be a mistake.
Maastricht has the best chocolate— in La feve.
Maastricht has the best shopping outside of Amsterdam.
Maastricht is close to the Maastricht Aachen Liege triangle. What is that? Each city is the same distance apart from each other, meaning a day trip to Aachen, or Liege is well within the cars, three countries, three cities, no travel.
Maastricht has the Miljoenenlijn. An old train that runs all summer long. Maybe sunsets are your thing? Maybe you want to ride in an old car that was part of the orient express?
https://www.miljoenenlijn.nl/evenementen/zomeravondexpres-2021/
Maastricht has perfect weather.
Maastricht has Andre Rieu concerts in the summer.
https://youtu.be/NFoJbjrLw_o
Maastricht has great walking and biking paths.
Maastricht has great restaurants, and sandwiches: https://www.onglet.nl/
If Maastricht is not the best city to vacation in the Netherlands, it is certainly second to it.
Het waterloopbos. A former water research facility, now in the proces of being overtaken by nature..
https://www.natuurmonumenten.nl/natuurgebieden/waterloopbos
Added link
‘S Hertogenbosch is a beautiful city. Take a combination walking/boat tour and you’ll explore the city in 1,5 hours. There’s also an option to go into the St. Jan church.
I like trips that go over the afsluitdijk. There is a nice restaurant in the middle that gives me 70's vibes. There currently working on the road though so you can't access it.
The wadden isles, the utrechtse heuvelrug. Gorinchem was voted the most beautiful vesting stad last year. You can take the ferry there to woudrichem and slot loevestein as mentioned before. The Biesbosch. A lot of people dont know dordrecht has a really pretty city centre. Maastricht (allthough not so hidden)
Some of the small cities in Friesland. For example IJlst is a very pretty city. Also Franeker, there you can visit the planetarium and i think you can see the leftovers of the university of Franeker.
If you're ever close, come visit Gorinchem! Small fortified city with a cozy center and nice bits to walk and visit.
It's not that special compared to many other and more popular places in the Netherlands, but it IS typically Dutch with lots of history. And I personally love living here and think it has many beautiful spots.
Try Waterloopbos.
In this forest they made all kinds of miniature water flow buildings to test them out on a small scale before building the real infrastructue. It's a nice look into the dutch history of battle against the water!
The Roman boat **De Meern 1** is on display at Castellam. It's very impressive and free to visit. It's outside of Utrecht.
Oostvaardersplassen is a unique 'new wilderness' on the Flevopolder.
If you've never been to **Apenheul** it's pretty cool because the monkeys aren't caged.
Dwingelderveld in Drenthe. It's a gorgeous natural area with forests, heather, fields, streams. Plenty of well-signed walking routes, of any length. And lots of pretty towns to visit nearby, with nice cafe's and restaurants. And if you want some history/serious stuff, the Auschwitz memorial visiting centre is close by.
Den Helder. The people suck and the city centre is awful, but the beaches connecting to a large area of dunes, transitioning into forest really is beautiful
Den Helder is an interesting one. The town centre is a bit of a sad sight, like a ghost town with hardly any shops surviving. But it has lots of history, bunkers from the atlanticwall, Fort Kijkduin from the Napoleonic era, and most importantly nature in the dunes or the Donkere Duinen (which is a bit of woodland). You can spend all day walking around there. And a well hidden gem within the town is Hortus Overzee Den Helder, a pretty big Japanese style botanical garden. Den Helder is weird, but pretty nice in unconventional ways.
You can still travel abroad without Schiphol. With the train, bus or car. With that said I really enjoyed the beautiful nature and scenery around the Tienhovense Plassen last year
Schoorlse duinen.. or that area around it.
Stunningly beautiful: dunes, forest, hills, beach, little towns/Alkmaar nearby.. limitless options for activities. perfect for any holiday with reasonable/nice weather.
My go to place in NL.
Appelpop, biggest free music festival of NL has been held in my hometown for like 60 years now. September 9 & 10. Free entry.
Location: Tiel (In Direct connection from Utrecht Or Arnhem if people take the train) and sort of centered in The Netherlands.
Travel early or late to avoid full trains.
Winsum allermooiste dorp van Nederland
17 augustus 2020 Het Groningse Winsum is verkozen tot allermooiste dorp van Nederland. Hoofddirecteur Frits van Bruggen bezocht het dorp op 17 augustus voor de huldiging.
'Een levendig dorp met de voorzieningen van een kleine stad, heerlijke straatjes om doorheen te dwalen, twee kerken, twee molens en dat schitterende Winsumerdiep, een blauwe ader door de bebouwing. Een prachtdorp', zo luidt het juryoordeel over Winsum
I live in a gem, where the river Meuse enters the Netherlands, close the Ardennes forest and hills, the Eifel forest and hills of Germany there is a region called 'Heuvelland' in Southern Limburg. It has little creeks and forest with all kinds of medieval villages with both modern and classical houses. The roads are well maintained for bike riding and enjoying with a car. Well worth a visit and drink a very very tasty belgian special beer!
We are renting a cabin (and boat+ canoe+sup) on an island at De Vinkeveense plassen.
(30 km from Amsterdam)
second year in a row
(although I did spent every summer from 1976 until 1992 on one of the other islands with my parents, who had friends that owned a cabin there)
the cleanest water in the Netherlands, beautiful nature, swimming, watersports..
everything in front of your cabin.
I spent years trying to convince my husband to go, but he preferred going to France/ Spain/ Italy. ( and I didn't mind that either)
because of the global situation he finally wanted to try it last year.. ( great holiday to
social distance) and he finally understood my enthusiasm..
this year I didn't have to convince him. He loves Vinkeveen as much as I do now.. and so do our children.
we rented our cabin at natuurhuisje .nl
also a great website to find hidden gems in a d around the Netherlands
this year we're bringing our own canoe and sup..and my husband is looking in to buy our own piece of ' legakker'
strangely enough hardly anyone of our dutch friends know about this Dutch gem..
you can also rent boats or canoes in vinkeveen to explore for a day. ( in 2019 we did that because it was time to show my husband the beauty of vinkeveen and that helped convince him in 2021)
there are public island at the plas ( zandeilanden) where you can go with a boat and have a swim
same goes for loosdrecht and the loosdrechtse plassen nearby ( cabins and boats for rent)
but I personally prefer Vinkeveen for nostalgic reasons
We went to The Hague last year with the kids.
Nice combination of going to the beach.
We went to the Lego Discovery Center (we had some coupons left for free entry; you can get them if you buy Lego directly from the Lego webstore)
Also we went to the Kinderboekenmuseum and space Museum in Noordwijk (also free as we have a museumkaart)
And besides that The Hague has a really great selection in international cuisine restaurants like Korean, Chinese, Indonesian (those last two a lot better than your local takeaway ;-) et cetera
And you may even spot Mark Rutte on his bycycle. Didn't see him unfortunately but I saw Stef Blok getting a coffee at the Spar.
I biked from Amsterdam to the Hoge Veluwe National park and camped in the adjoining campsite a couple of weeks ago. Would recommend that (though cycling 100km with loads of gear isn't for everyone, maybe get the train to Apeldoorn). It's a peaceful, open place, nice to be surrounded by trees after being so used to Noord Holland kinds of nature.
I live in the south. South in the south... Got hills and shit. I'm good where i am. But Zeeland can always get some love. The rest of the Netherlands never really appeals to me tho. Too damn flat.
Urk is directly what came in mind. Don't go to this meme village in the Netherlands. If you like the water and are looking for a weekend getaway; rent a cabin on the waters of Vinkeveense plassen.
Have you ever visited Urk?
As someone who was born and raised in Urk (only studied in A'dam for a while) and still lives there, I can probably provide some insight.
Urk has a very interesting and sometimes shocking history, but today you willl find mostly ordinary people that study, work, hope to build a family and get old. Quite similar to almost any other (smaller) village in the northern/western provinces.
Yes, we do have our own dialect and we do end up on the news (often negatively). But is there more crime on Urk or is it unsafe? Absolutely not, in 2018 (latest polls I could find) we were one of the top 20 safest municipalities in the Netherlands.
Social cohesion and faith/religion is disappearing at a staggering rate. While 30 years ago everyone basically knew everyone here, that is no longer the case. Today, ~50% of the population (22k) is under the age of 24.
I'm not here to defend anything, but just know that whatever you read on the internet is often not a perfect representation of reality.
Or people from the LHBTQ+ community? The news suggests that it's not a safe place for 2 men to be strolling around holding hands. Is that not the case in your experience?
From your personal experience? If so, why? Otherwise just visit sometime and go for a walk along the harbour, beaches, monuments and don't forget to try some fish 😉 (also plenty of other options available).
To the question above: https://www.destentor.nl/urk/urk-is-nu-veilige-haven-voor-homo-in-amsterdam-werden-we-bespuugd~afb9b2318/?referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F
Can’t imagine traveling to the Netherlands and not visiting Rijksmuseum. Also as a fan of history Amsterdam is an important city to visit mostly because of how it was build, architecture and how it developed. I understand that Dutch ppl don’t like Amsterdam to represent their country cause weed and hookers but cmon, why discouraging ppl to visit it?
Was extremely surprised by nature reserve Maasduinen. It didn't feel like we were in the Netherlands at all. One half felt like the south of France, the other half felt like Sweden. It was fantastic. Also had the best vlaai there I've ever tasted in my life.
Groesbeek / Nijmegen, beautiful surroundings with some historical importance. Groesbeek has the wine centre (actually great wine) and a small WW2 museum. Nijmegen is over 2000 years old with some great history to be found there.
The Wolderwijd is quite a nice area. Harderwijk was a hanseatic city, and has been important in local and regional history. It's next to the Veluwe too. And Zeewolde has a few campings and some really nice beaches (the other shore not as much). It's in the middle of the country so if you want to go anywhere it's all close by (except southern Limburg)
Make a trip out of it and check out Texel and the Wadden islands for its scenic walks and diverse animal life.
You could also visit Friesland by boat, which is a really beautiful and authentic place to travel. Or maybe you’d prefer going south and seeing Maastricht, check out the neighboring area and visit Valkenburg castle. Lots of places to visit!
The Peel in the south Eastern part of the Netherlands. Its one of the largest swamp/peet areas left if you fancy a walk/hike. You can also stop there on your way to Valkenburg (old mines) and Maastricht.
Before that Den Bosch and Breda are both lovely and old Dutch cities in the southern part of the Netherlands and deserve some attention.
Honestly, Groningen is one of the most vibrant cities in the Netherlands. There's a lot of activities during the summer period. If you're more adventurous and are more into nature you should definitely visit the Veluwe!
Het Eise Eisinga Planetarium in Franeker. It's the oldest working Planetarium in the world and absolutely beautiful!
Absolutely second this!
The planetarium is great. Definitely worth the trip! If there’s plenty of time, a tour along all eleven Frisian towns is worthwhile. Sloten is small but lovely, Sneek has lots of “terrasjes”, Bolsward a nice city hall, Leeuwarden has a nice market on Fridays etc.etc. All of Friesland is fine. A trip from Enkhuizen to Stavoren v.v. is fun. On Flevoland, there’s the replica of the Batavia ship. For shoppers, there’s an outlet nearby. Groningen is great, a walking tour with a guide is interesting.
Its not really a hidden gem I guess, but my family almost always goes to Texel on summer holiday. While it's one of the busiest of the islands it's very chill nonetheless. Nice and clean air, nature to hike through and beaches a plenty when the weather is suitable. Also a variety of activities across the island, from skydiving at the airfield to Karting and inside pools when the weather sucks. Also if you hire a bike you can bike to Vlieland as well to explore that.
Bike to Vlieland? 🤔
Waterfiets 😅
Texel is the worst island IMO. Ameland is prettier.
Sshh. Let them go to texel.
Try Terschelling 😉
Yesssss. Will be there in a month 😁👍
Was there last week for school (maritime studies). Very chill island with great nature. Would indeed reccommend for a chill relax vacation.
I second this
Yes, ferry.
Hoorn. And if you like trains, take the old steam train to Enkhuizen. If you like nature, the waterleidingduinen can be great for a hike.
I second this! And if you want an absolute blast - stay in Hoorn after 18:00 and have dinner in the restaurant on top of the Hoofdtoren in the old harbour - it’s fantastically preserved old tower with authentic beams and the floor that has seen far over 300 years :)
Great tip! I live in Alkmaar, have been to Hoorn countless times and have never heard of this. Thank you 🥰
Also if the weather allows it try to rent a small boat at the nearby happy days in Grootebroek, and take a boat trip through de Streek and Enkhuizen
Do the 'historiche driehoek'! Take the Stoomtrein from Hoorn to Medemblik, take the boat from Medemblik to Enkhuizen en visit the Zuiderzeemuseum. You can take the regular train from Enkhuizen to Hoorn back. Enkhuizen is small but lovely, and the harbour is beautiful and has lot's of cafés and restaurants.
You can stay in the old jail in the harbour. It's a good place to explore the town from Edit if you're not clausthrophobic and want to save money or have a fun experience, you can actually sleep in a cell.
There's actually a very nice bnb close by at the harbour, its an old voc building dating 1624. All original. Great place to stay! https://www.monumentenbed.nl/nl/huis-bonck-hoorn
Yeah my city letsgoo
The steam train to Medemblik*, the boat from Medemblik goes to Enkhuizen
You are right, thanks
Old steam train to Medemblik
Second waterleidingduinen! Amazing amazing nature!
Hoorn is lovely.
Blue Tomato, with there Amsterdam Genetics... Good shop!
Went there yesterday, can confirm!
If you like your history try some of the Hanseatic league towns or historic places like Elburg, Zwolle, Zupthen, Amersfoort and so on. And dont forget the lovely little https://www.planetarium-friesland.nl/en/
There's lots of info about the Dutch Hanseatic cities to be found [HERE](https://www.visithansaholland.com/)
Great link indeed, yes, I've visited all of them and well worth it they are.
More in general, visit the smaller cities hanze or not. Delft, leiden, den briel, veere, haarlem, alkmaar, hoorn, naarden, hilversum, amersfoort, barneveld, zuthpen, deventer, den bosch, etc.
What a curious decision to add Barneveld to this list. No offense but what does it offer except for chickens and modern churches?
I rather like walking the inner city. Didn't see any chickens ;)
Agree on all of these, all well worth a visit. Hoorn can also be combined with Enkhuizen of course. I do love Naarden too, my tip is to walk along the grassy paths on the inside of the moat/water around the fort. There is a path around the outside too which is nice, but the inside one has better views for me.
Just wanted to add Deventer to this list, one of the prettiest Dutch cities imo
Yup! I live in Deventer for my studies and often think man I really wouldn't want to live anywhere else right now. The combination of old and new is perfect. The people (most ) are so kind. There are so many sweet specialty shops. Definitely worth a visit.
Absolutely agree, its great! During the last two years when we werent allowed to travel I made a point of visiting a load of Dutch cities instead, one day I will make a list and post it :) I was surprised how many lovely towns there are here. But Deventer indeed, super place.
Pretty place, depressing train station ):
I.love Elburg and that whole area! Ride a bike from Utrecht and spend the night in the camping in Elburg.
Loonse en Drunense Duinen, or Kootwijkerzand. Both inland sanddrifts that are unique in the world.
Largest sanddrifts in Europe!
And if you're going to Kootwijkerzand, might as well pass by Radio Kootwijk
Make sure to visit on a day that the main building is open for visitors: https://www.staatsbosbeheer.nl/uit-in-de-natuur/ontdek-radio-kootwijk
The area around Groesbeek is great for a short camping trip
Valkenburg!, went there a few weeks ago. Caves, ruins, castles and much more. Although its a small city/village it felt like I was out of The Netherlands :)
Second this! I just got back from Valkenburg and loved the laid back life style , there is something for everyone there too and very pet friendly!
[Bourtange](https://www.visitgroningen.nl/nl/plekken/bourtange) in Groningen!
The area around is actually very pretty too, around Wedde and Smeerling. Lovely nature, very old villages. And the castle of Wedde.
Just remember, it's an actual town, not a museum. People live in those houses.
Arguably the best hidden gem imo is "de Hooge Veluwe" with on its premises the second largest van gogh collection in the netherlands. Great nature to walk in and art to boot. And if you want to get a little history I'd advice on the openluchtmuseum in arnhem
Imo not a hidden gem but more a crown jewel of Dutch nature. But definitly worth a visit!
not to you and me.. but you'd be surprised how many people don't know.
I'm one of those people, i just spend a weekend at The Veluwe and i never had a clue we had such beautiful nature in our own country.
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There are also some nice cycle routes in and around Naarden. I sometimes cycle from Almere to Hilversum through Naarden.
Absolutely second this! If you (or anyone else reading this thread in the future) have kids, I can also really recommend the GeoFort near Herwijnen, its another fort from the Waterlinie that is now also used as a very fun kids museum about geography, cartography and the climate! Its really kid friendly, and from what I've heard its always a fun afternoon to visit (free with Museumjaarkaart).
Posbank, Veluwe between Aug and Sept. You will be amazed
The town of Woudrichem and castle Slot Loevenstijn is a combo you don't want to miss
Yes
Take your bike to Arnhem and spend the day biking through Hoge Veluwe National Park. Early mornings are really lovely.
If you are ever near Kasteel de Haar (close to Breukelen) it is definitely worth a visit.
De Haar is lso near Utrecht. Bus 9 from the central station goes directly to Haarzuilens.
Yes, 100% if you like castles. The volunteers inside are eager to tell you about the castle and all of its rooms. Very beautiful & interesting place. And on a nice day you can hike around the area (look up ‘rondje haarzuilens, or ‘rondje de haar’ I think it’s a 6km round walk).
Definitely also take a moment to stroll through Haarzuilens. That village is stupidly picturesque
The volunteers were so nice here! It really surprised me. Very knowledgable and enthousiastic as well. The grounds around the castle are also lovely, so you are set for a full day when it's sunny!
Maastricht 👍👍👍🤩🤩😘
.
And don’t forget to cycle or drive around the Mergelland.
Adding Valkenburg
This is the only answer.
Nijmegen. It has the Betuwe at the west, with the cherry and other fruit trees, the Waal beach and the Ooipolder at the north, forest at the south and hills on the east (Berg en Dal, Groesbeek, Germany). Nijmegen center has a sad history, but at the north you have beautiful buildings (St. Steven, Waag and a city brewery De Hemel with delicious beer.
And if you like festivities you should visit Nijmegen between 16 - 22 July. The whole city is one big festival with most of the stuff throughout the day and evening free to visit for a week at night while they walk the 4 days march at day.
Ever went to the Dutch Sahara? Sand for miles and miles? Go check it out on Vlieland with the Vliehors Exspress. If you like beer, you should try the beer tasting at Fortuna on Vlieland, they make great beers which are made with ingredients from the island. At night you can hit the beach and watch the sea spark with gold!
Vliehors express is fucking great! You have the balg express at schiermonnikoog aswell :)
Vlieland is the best island for sure
There's also literally a place named "Sahara" slightly east of Ommen
The Piramide van Austerlitz is a hidden gem I’d argue. I think a lot of people don’t know it exists.
It's definitely hidden, the pyramid itself is hardly a gem though 😅 The surrounding forest is very nice if you like hiking I'll give you that
What I'm going to suggest isn't the Netherlands, and depends on where you are located and have access to a car. I live near Maastricht, and the Belgium border is a short drive. I love to hike in the Wallonië region of Belgium. While it's abroad because Belgium, I still get that vacation feeling that reminds me of my childhood vacations in France. The change is big enough for me to feel like home is far away while it's only a 30 minute drive. The areas around Theux, Pepinster, Val dieu and Aubel are gorgeous. Lot's of nature, hills, rock walls, castle Franchimont, the fortified positions belt around Liege puts a 5 gorgeous forts on your route. The Hoëgne river is also a gorgeous hiking place. The ardennes are also in that region. The Belgium city of Kanne, 10 minutes drive from Maastricht's centre, is a great starting position to hike around the plateau of Caestert (Belgium side of the Sint Pietersberg), into great parts and nature of Wallonië towards the town Eben-Emael and the its famous WW2 fort. You can also get to Caestert from the Maastricht/Dutch side of the mountain but I don't like that part myself much and it's also very crowded all the time. Starting in Vaals or Oud-Lemiers in Limburg, you walk right into the ruins/remains of WW2's Westwall/Siegfriedline around the Schneeberg. Same with hiking in and around the Aachener Wald. If you like bunkers, you can spend most of your hike playing the is that a dragon tooth/tank stopper/concrete remains of a bunker game. I hardly run into other hikers making my own route on the komoot app, so peaceful and full of history. Maastricht itself is also an ancient, Roman and beautiful city.
Yeah, cities like Antwerp, Gent and Bruges remind you of what the Netherlands could have looked like if the cities weren't destroyed during WW2 / overactive urban renewal focusing on effeciency over esthetics...
Ever since I moved to Heerlen, I'm quite surprised by some of the things the manicupality has done here to make Heerlen a nicer place. They're currently redoing the square in front of the theater, which is going to look great. Also the train station is absolutely beautiful, be it horribly mismanaged. It's also close to Gaiazoo, which is a beautiful zoo that has won multiple a awards.
Really didn't expect to see Heerlen in the comments lol. That city is a dump. Some real gems in Limburg: Valkenburg Epen Drie landen punt Arcen De groote Peel
What about brunsummerheide? Even though the whole Nikki Verstappen thing, its still a nice place
They are gems, but they aren't exactly hidden. These places are so extremely crowded nowadays. Too many tourists.
Yeah true, but for someone who only moved to the Netherlands early this year they might still be hidden.
True! Didn't think to look at it that way!
Thorn also.
Why do you think it's a dump?
When I went to college in Heerlen the city was quite filthy, a lot of empty buildings, bad drug reputation and relatively a lot of homeless people.
And when was that?
Somewhere before 2000. That’s when Heerlen started to combat the drug problems and started helping the homeless to get back on their feet.
Maastricht. The Netherlands likes to pretend south Limburg doesn't exist— but that would be a mistake. Maastricht has the best chocolate— in La feve. Maastricht has the best shopping outside of Amsterdam. Maastricht is close to the Maastricht Aachen Liege triangle. What is that? Each city is the same distance apart from each other, meaning a day trip to Aachen, or Liege is well within the cars, three countries, three cities, no travel. Maastricht has the Miljoenenlijn. An old train that runs all summer long. Maybe sunsets are your thing? Maybe you want to ride in an old car that was part of the orient express? https://www.miljoenenlijn.nl/evenementen/zomeravondexpres-2021/ Maastricht has perfect weather. Maastricht has Andre Rieu concerts in the summer. https://youtu.be/NFoJbjrLw_o Maastricht has great walking and biking paths. Maastricht has great restaurants, and sandwiches: https://www.onglet.nl/ If Maastricht is not the best city to vacation in the Netherlands, it is certainly second to it.
Het waterloopbos. A former water research facility, now in the proces of being overtaken by nature.. https://www.natuurmonumenten.nl/natuurgebieden/waterloopbos Added link
Maastricht. City is over 2000 years old and was build by the Romans. Has a beautiful scenery and some of the best restaurants in The Netherlands.
There's this cute little picturesque village near Amsterdam called Almere. Beautiful historic town.
Hahahah
Maastricht
This, City of, how is this city not being mentioned?!
Leiden is reaaally pretty. I recommend some kind of walking route to find all the pretty places
The Achterhoek, for sure visit Zutphen and Lochem they are really cute cities. Deventer is nice too. And a lot of nature and fields.
Zeeland
‘S Hertogenbosch is a beautiful city. Take a combination walking/boat tour and you’ll explore the city in 1,5 hours. There’s also an option to go into the St. Jan church.
Go get some cash and buy a Broodje Mario at the Oudegracht in Utrecht.
Skip Mario and visit bigoli instead, and if you are up for a brisk walk have a beer at the kromme haring.
Bigoli also 10/10. Stay for two days and do both!
I like trips that go over the afsluitdijk. There is a nice restaurant in the middle that gives me 70's vibes. There currently working on the road though so you can't access it.
The planetarium at Franeker! It’s awesome 🤩
Groningen is nice to visit, the islands are too.. like all of them.. just once.. De veluwe is pretty...
Blokzijl, lovely little village
And visit a bakery for Blokzijler Brok!
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In general, the East of The Netherlands gets overlooked.
In Borger (Drenthe), there is a cool museum called the Hunebedcentrum. It’s really cool.
Been to Borger, and left after 2 days. That place is dead af
The wadden isles, the utrechtse heuvelrug. Gorinchem was voted the most beautiful vesting stad last year. You can take the ferry there to woudrichem and slot loevestein as mentioned before. The Biesbosch. A lot of people dont know dordrecht has a really pretty city centre. Maastricht (allthough not so hidden)
Some of the small cities in Friesland. For example IJlst is a very pretty city. Also Franeker, there you can visit the planetarium and i think you can see the leftovers of the university of Franeker.
Urk. Always Urk. And Schijndel.
Radio Kootwijk
Best answer yet. It is a very neat building and a nice place to go for a wander.
If you're ever close, come visit Gorinchem! Small fortified city with a cozy center and nice bits to walk and visit. It's not that special compared to many other and more popular places in the Netherlands, but it IS typically Dutch with lots of history. And I personally love living here and think it has many beautiful spots.
Try Waterloopbos. In this forest they made all kinds of miniature water flow buildings to test them out on a small scale before building the real infrastructue. It's a nice look into the dutch history of battle against the water!
The Roman boat **De Meern 1** is on display at Castellam. It's very impressive and free to visit. It's outside of Utrecht. Oostvaardersplassen is a unique 'new wilderness' on the Flevopolder. If you've never been to **Apenheul** it's pretty cool because the monkeys aren't caged.
Dwingelderveld in Drenthe. It's a gorgeous natural area with forests, heather, fields, streams. Plenty of well-signed walking routes, of any length. And lots of pretty towns to visit nearby, with nice cafe's and restaurants. And if you want some history/serious stuff, the Auschwitz memorial visiting centre is close by.
Twente.
Twente
I'm going to the island of Texel. I love it there
If you want a great park to stay at I can really recommend hof van Saksen. Tad bit more expensive but well worth it imo. Especially with little kids
Do the Elfstedentocht by boat in Friesland!
Den Helder. The people suck and the city centre is awful, but the beaches connecting to a large area of dunes, transitioning into forest really is beautiful
Den Helder is an interesting one. The town centre is a bit of a sad sight, like a ghost town with hardly any shops surviving. But it has lots of history, bunkers from the atlanticwall, Fort Kijkduin from the Napoleonic era, and most importantly nature in the dunes or the Donkere Duinen (which is a bit of woodland). You can spend all day walking around there. And a well hidden gem within the town is Hortus Overzee Den Helder, a pretty big Japanese style botanical garden. Den Helder is weird, but pretty nice in unconventional ways.
Did you already try visiting the windmills, the tulip fields, the weedsmoking house, and the whore house?
You can still travel abroad without Schiphol. With the train, bus or car. With that said I really enjoyed the beautiful nature and scenery around the Tienhovense Plassen last year
[The Mummies in Wieuwert](https://mummiekelder.nl/)
Giethoorn
Wrong answer.
Schoorlse duinen.. or that area around it. Stunningly beautiful: dunes, forest, hills, beach, little towns/Alkmaar nearby.. limitless options for activities. perfect for any holiday with reasonable/nice weather. My go to place in NL.
Appelpop, biggest free music festival of NL has been held in my hometown for like 60 years now. September 9 & 10. Free entry. Location: Tiel (In Direct connection from Utrecht Or Arnhem if people take the train) and sort of centered in The Netherlands. Travel early or late to avoid full trains.
Lelylaan in Amsterdam
Winsum allermooiste dorp van Nederland 17 augustus 2020 Het Groningse Winsum is verkozen tot allermooiste dorp van Nederland. Hoofddirecteur Frits van Bruggen bezocht het dorp op 17 augustus voor de huldiging. 'Een levendig dorp met de voorzieningen van een kleine stad, heerlijke straatjes om doorheen te dwalen, twee kerken, twee molens en dat schitterende Winsumerdiep, een blauwe ader door de bebouwing. Een prachtdorp', zo luidt het juryoordeel over Winsum
I live in a gem, where the river Meuse enters the Netherlands, close the Ardennes forest and hills, the Eifel forest and hills of Germany there is a region called 'Heuvelland' in Southern Limburg. It has little creeks and forest with all kinds of medieval villages with both modern and classical houses. The roads are well maintained for bike riding and enjoying with a car. Well worth a visit and drink a very very tasty belgian special beer!
We are renting a cabin (and boat+ canoe+sup) on an island at De Vinkeveense plassen. (30 km from Amsterdam) second year in a row (although I did spent every summer from 1976 until 1992 on one of the other islands with my parents, who had friends that owned a cabin there) the cleanest water in the Netherlands, beautiful nature, swimming, watersports.. everything in front of your cabin. I spent years trying to convince my husband to go, but he preferred going to France/ Spain/ Italy. ( and I didn't mind that either) because of the global situation he finally wanted to try it last year.. ( great holiday to social distance) and he finally understood my enthusiasm.. this year I didn't have to convince him. He loves Vinkeveen as much as I do now.. and so do our children. we rented our cabin at natuurhuisje .nl also a great website to find hidden gems in a d around the Netherlands this year we're bringing our own canoe and sup..and my husband is looking in to buy our own piece of ' legakker' strangely enough hardly anyone of our dutch friends know about this Dutch gem.. you can also rent boats or canoes in vinkeveen to explore for a day. ( in 2019 we did that because it was time to show my husband the beauty of vinkeveen and that helped convince him in 2021) there are public island at the plas ( zandeilanden) where you can go with a boat and have a swim same goes for loosdrecht and the loosdrechtse plassen nearby ( cabins and boats for rent) but I personally prefer Vinkeveen for nostalgic reasons
We went to The Hague last year with the kids. Nice combination of going to the beach. We went to the Lego Discovery Center (we had some coupons left for free entry; you can get them if you buy Lego directly from the Lego webstore) Also we went to the Kinderboekenmuseum and space Museum in Noordwijk (also free as we have a museumkaart) And besides that The Hague has a really great selection in international cuisine restaurants like Korean, Chinese, Indonesian (those last two a lot better than your local takeaway ;-) et cetera And you may even spot Mark Rutte on his bycycle. Didn't see him unfortunately but I saw Stef Blok getting a coffee at the Spar.
It’s temporary and I have not visited it myself yet, but I think the Floriade might be worth a visit?
Efteling
Thanks for all the recommendations. I will save this thread for my future reference
Hier aan de kust, de Zeeuwse kust!
Urk.
Urk
Lol
Nice try, asian tourist.
I biked from Amsterdam to the Hoge Veluwe National park and camped in the adjoining campsite a couple of weeks ago. Would recommend that (though cycling 100km with loads of gear isn't for everyone, maybe get the train to Apeldoorn). It's a peaceful, open place, nice to be surrounded by trees after being so used to Noord Holland kinds of nature.
I live in the south. South in the south... Got hills and shit. I'm good where i am. But Zeeland can always get some love. The rest of the Netherlands never really appeals to me tho. Too damn flat.
Urk is directly what came in mind. Don't go to this meme village in the Netherlands. If you like the water and are looking for a weekend getaway; rent a cabin on the waters of Vinkeveense plassen.
Have you ever visited Urk? As someone who was born and raised in Urk (only studied in A'dam for a while) and still lives there, I can probably provide some insight. Urk has a very interesting and sometimes shocking history, but today you willl find mostly ordinary people that study, work, hope to build a family and get old. Quite similar to almost any other (smaller) village in the northern/western provinces. Yes, we do have our own dialect and we do end up on the news (often negatively). But is there more crime on Urk or is it unsafe? Absolutely not, in 2018 (latest polls I could find) we were one of the top 20 safest municipalities in the Netherlands. Social cohesion and faith/religion is disappearing at a staggering rate. While 30 years ago everyone basically knew everyone here, that is no longer the case. Today, ~50% of the population (22k) is under the age of 24. I'm not here to defend anything, but just know that whatever you read on the internet is often not a perfect representation of reality.
Thank you for sharing your experience of Urk.Would you say the locals are welcoming to people of color?
Or people from the LHBTQ+ community? The news suggests that it's not a safe place for 2 men to be strolling around holding hands. Is that not the case in your experience?
Just avoid urk. Its a vile place.
From your personal experience? If so, why? Otherwise just visit sometime and go for a walk along the harbour, beaches, monuments and don't forget to try some fish 😉 (also plenty of other options available). To the question above: https://www.destentor.nl/urk/urk-is-nu-veilige-haven-voor-homo-in-amsterdam-werden-we-bespuugd~afb9b2318/?referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F
https://www.binnenlandsbestuur.nl/bestuur-en-organisatie/avondklok-rellen-urk-zijn-onacceptabel
It's Urking time!
Our capital Amsterdam is pretty nice, it has some old houses and is shaped like a moon.
Ah yes, the hidden gem Amsterdam...
I agree it’s a gem, just not hidden.
I disagree, it isn't a gem and should be hidden.
Is this a Rotterdammer I hear?
It could be anyone
Fair enough, Amsterdam isn't that popular with many people
Don't go to Amsterdam
Can’t imagine traveling to the Netherlands and not visiting Rijksmuseum. Also as a fan of history Amsterdam is an important city to visit mostly because of how it was build, architecture and how it developed. I understand that Dutch ppl don’t like Amsterdam to represent their country cause weed and hookers but cmon, why discouraging ppl to visit it?
Avoid Amsterdam.
The caves in Limburg.
Was extremely surprised by nature reserve Maasduinen. It didn't feel like we were in the Netherlands at all. One half felt like the south of France, the other half felt like Sweden. It was fantastic. Also had the best vlaai there I've ever tasted in my life.
Groesbeek / Nijmegen, beautiful surroundings with some historical importance. Groesbeek has the wine centre (actually great wine) and a small WW2 museum. Nijmegen is over 2000 years old with some great history to be found there.
Zutphen is a beautiful city to visit
Have you considered Maastricht? I think it’s the cosiest city in the Netherlands.
Domburg in Zeeland. Just nice people good food and beautiful beach
Alkmaar
You can visit the cheese market OP! But besure to arrive before 10 am.
Marken! such a beautiful island and just 30 min away from Amsterdam
Utrechtse heuvelrug.
The Wolderwijd is quite a nice area. Harderwijk was a hanseatic city, and has been important in local and regional history. It's next to the Veluwe too. And Zeewolde has a few campings and some really nice beaches (the other shore not as much). It's in the middle of the country so if you want to go anywhere it's all close by (except southern Limburg)
Brielle?
Make a trip out of it and check out Texel and the Wadden islands for its scenic walks and diverse animal life. You could also visit Friesland by boat, which is a really beautiful and authentic place to travel. Or maybe you’d prefer going south and seeing Maastricht, check out the neighboring area and visit Valkenburg castle. Lots of places to visit!
The dunes and beaches at Dishoek/Zoutelande
The Peel in the south Eastern part of the Netherlands. Its one of the largest swamp/peet areas left if you fancy a walk/hike. You can also stop there on your way to Valkenburg (old mines) and Maastricht. Before that Den Bosch and Breda are both lovely and old Dutch cities in the southern part of the Netherlands and deserve some attention.
I plan to visit the smaller towns this year, specially in the north. Not sure what I'll do yet other than sight seeing, but it's worth a shot.
Home, nothing is better than staying home, and going out with friends now and then
Texel
Schiermonnikoog island! It’s quieter than the others and the nature is absolutely stunning 😍
https://www.buitenland.com/
Honestly, Groningen is one of the most vibrant cities in the Netherlands. There's a lot of activities during the summer period. If you're more adventurous and are more into nature you should definitely visit the Veluwe!
If you're into old architecture I'd recommend visiting maastricht
Area around Camerig is very nice!!! Would recommend
Belgium or better know as zuid-Nederland