Oct 15, 2026
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Dordrecht’s Tilting Tower and Wetlands
A leaning church, hidden harbours, and wild waterlands make this overlooked Dutch town unmissable.
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Love Netherlands
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Dear Netherlands,
The first thing you notice when you arrive in the Netherlands is how much of it is water. The second thing is how comfortable the Dutch are with it. They cycle past canals, they eat herring leaning over the side of a railing, they build cities below sea level and make them look effortless. It’s the quiet confidence of a country that knows exactly what it is.
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Photo: Shutterstock
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In today’s email:
- Things to Do in Dordrecht, Netherlands: Old Harbours and the Biesbosch
- At The Café — In de Wildeman — Amsterdam’s Quietest Beer Cathedral
- Around The Web — Why Your Dutch Ancestors Chose Their Surname in 1811: The Napoleon Naming Law, Best Christmas Markets in the Netherlands (2026 Guide), Discover Your Cape Dutch Roots: How to Trace Your South African Ancestors Back to the Netherlands + more
- From Love Netherlands — The VOC Trail: Following Your Dutch Ancestors to the East
- Dutch Food You Will Love — Hutspot — The Dutch Mash With a Siege Story
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Things to Do in Dordrecht, Netherlands: Old Harbours and the Biesbosch
👉 Read the full story
If you are planning things to do in Dordrecht, start with the headline: this is one of the oldest cities in the Netherlands, it holds a tidal wetland right on its doorstep, and almost nobody on the Amsterdam–Keukenhof circuit stops here. Dordrecht, which locals call Dordt, received its city charter from Count Willem I of Holland in 1220. Its harbours, merchant houses and a famously crooked church tower show why the city mattered for centuries. Love the Netherlands? Join our free newsletter for hidden Dutch gems → inlovewithnetherlands.com/subscribe Why Dordrecht Deserves a Place on Your Netherlands Itinerary Dordrecht sits where several rivers meet, south of Rotterdam. Traders grew rich on that position, and the old town still shows it. Tall gabled houses face the Wijnhaven and the Nieuwe Haven, and boats still tie up where merchant ships once unloaded. The city wears its age lightly.…
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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.
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At The Café
In de Wildeman — Amsterdam’s Quietest Beer Cathedral
In de Wildeman sits on the Kolksteeg, a narrow lane just off the Nieuwendijk, inside a former Amsterdam distillery turned proeflokaal — a tasting room. The room is dark wood and low ceilings, with brass taps and a wall lined with bottles. There are 18 beers on tap and around 250 more by the bottle, and the staff genuinely know which one to put in your hand. Order a Trappist, take a stool at the back bar, and listen to a city you thought you couldn’t escape. (Closed Sundays.)
👉 Visit the café
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Around The Web
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From Love Netherlands
The VOC trail is the best way to follow a Dutch ancestor who sailed east. The Dutch East India Company, the VOC, sent nearly a million people to sea between 1602 and 1795. Fewer than four in ten came home. If your family name sits in a ship’s pay book, a handful of Dutch towns can show you where the story began. This guide links the places, archives and museums that matter. You can walk the whole route in five days. You can also pick one stop…
👉 Read the full story
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Photo: Shutterstock
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Dutch Food You Will Love
Hutspot — The Dutch Mash With a Siege Story
Hutspot is a thick mash of potatoes, carrots, and onions, served alongside klapstuk (slow-cooked beef brisket) or smoked sausage. The story goes that when the Spanish siege of Leiden was lifted on 3 October 1574, a pot of stew was found in the abandoned Spanish camp — and hutspot became the city’s dish of deliverance. Every 3 October, Leiden still celebrates its relief (Leidens Ontzet): residents collect free herring and white bread in the morning, and hutspot is on tables across the city that evening. It’s the kind of plate that looks unassuming and tastes like centuries of practical Dutch winter cooking — sweet, savoury, and made for a long evening.
👉 Read the full story
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