May 25, 2026

Cycling in the Netherlands: A Complete Guide for Visitors

Plan the perfect cycling trip across the Netherlands — bike hire, routes, safety rules, and the best Dutch destinations to explore on two wheels.

Love Netherlands

Dear Netherlands,

There’s an old saying in the Netherlands: God made the world, but the Dutch made Holland. Drive across Zeeland, past the Delta Works, and you start to understand. Or stand at Kinderdijk at sunrise, when the windmills catch the first light and the canals are mirror-flat, and you can feel 800 years of stubbornness built into the landscape.

Was this forwarded to you? Subscribe free and never miss an edition →

If the daily newsletter brings you closer to the Netherlands, our Sunday Premium Edition takes you deeper into it. Every Sunday you’ll receive travel deep dives, curated itineraries, regional stories, and hidden gems you won’t find anywhere else.

Upgrade for less than the price of a pint and see the Netherlands in a completely new way.

Photo: Shutterstock

In today’s email:

• Cycling in the Netherlands: A Complete Guide for Visitors
• At The Café — Café De Sluyswacht — The Leaning House Bar by the Lock
• Around The Web — 7 Days in the Netherlands: The Perfect First-Time Itinerary, Zeeland Travel Guide, The Wadden Islands — Choosing Your Island + more
• From Love Netherlands — Friesland Travel Guide: The Netherlands Province Most Tourists Never Reach
• Dutch Food You Will Love — Erwtensoep — The Dutch Winter Soup That Made the Country

Cycling in the Netherlands: A Complete Guide for Visitors

👉 Read the full story

Cycling in the Netherlands is not just a way to get around — it is the single best way to experience the country as the Dutch themselves do. With more bicycles than people, 35,000 kilometres of dedicated cycle paths, and flat terrain that makes even long routes feel effortless, the Netherlands is the most cycle-friendly country on earth. Whether you are planning a few hours around Amsterdam’s canals or a multi-day route through tulip fields and windmill villages, this guide covers everything you need to know before you saddle up. Love the Netherlands? Join our free newsletter for hidden Dutch gems → inlovewithnetherlands.substack.com Why Cycling Is the Best Way to See the Netherlands The Dutch built their cycling infrastructure over decades, and the result is a network so seamless that visitors can navigate the entire country almost entirely on two wheels. Dedicated fietspad (cycle…

👉 Read the full story

Have you been there? Do you have a memory of this corner of the Netherlands? Hit reply and tell us — we’d love to hear your story.

“Want deep dives into the Netherlands every Sunday? Our Premium readers already have their next edition waiting.”

At The Café

Café De Sluyswacht — The Leaning House Bar by the Lock

De Sluyswacht is a tiny lock-keeper’s house from 1695 that visibly tilts to one side, sitting at the edge of the Oudeschans canal. Inside the floors slope, the beams creak, and there’s a small terrace right at the water with one of the most photographed views in Amsterdam — straight down the canal towards the Montelbaanstoren. It’s been a café since the 1990s, but the building itself is one of the oldest wooden houses in the city. Order a Belgian beer, get one of the four outdoor tables, and watch boats negotiate the lock below.

👉 Visit the café

Around The Web

From Love Netherlands

Friesland Travel Guide: The Netherlands Province Most Tourists Never Reach

A Friesland travel guide is long overdue. This northern Dutch province is the Netherlands’ best-kept secret — a wide, watery landscape of lakes, canals, and centuries-old towns where a different language is spoken, a different identity is fiercely held, and the crowds of Amsterdam feel like another world entirely. If you are planning a trip to the Netherlands and want to see the country beyond the obvious, Friesland belongs on your itinerary.…

👉 Read the full story

Photo: Shutterstock

Dutch Food You Will Love

Erwtensoep — The Dutch Winter Soup That Made the Country

Erwtensoep is a thick, green, nearly-a-stew soup made from split peas, smoked sausage, pork, celery, leek, and patience. The Dutch have a test for whether it’s ready — if your spoon can stand up in the pot, it’s done. It was the food of the canal skaters in winter, the men repairing dikes, the families waiting out a long January. It’s still served in every good café on cold days, with thick rye bread and butter. Order it once on a rainy afternoon and you’ll understand why the Dutch love their winters more than most countries love their summers.

👉 Read the full story

Know Someone Who Loves the Netherlands?

If you’re enjoying this letter, the best thing you could do is forward it to one friend who’d love the Netherlands too. This newsletter grows by word of mouth alone — every single subscriber came from someone sending it to someone else. Thank you for being one of the first.

Our daily newsletter is free and always will be. But for less than the price of a pint, you can upgrade to our Sunday Premium Edition, which gives you access to our travel deep dives, curated itineraries, and regional stories. Consider buying us a stroopwafel — it’s the Dutch way to say thank you.

Also From Our Family

Love Ireland too? Over 64,000 readers wake up each morning to the Love Ireland newsletter — loveireland.substack.com

Or Scotland? Join 43,000 Scotland lovers — lovescotland.substack.com

You’re reading Love Netherlands — a free letter about canal towns, hidden villages, and Dutch stories, delivered Monday to Friday.

inlovewithnetherlands.com ·
Unsubscribe

© 2026 Love Netherlands · Part of the Love To Visit LLC family