Twenty minutes from the Dutch parliament, a town sits right on the North Sea. It has a Victorian grand hotel, a kilometre-long pier, and a wide sandy beach that stretches as far as you can see. Most tourists in The Hague never make the trip. Most Dutch people make it every summer.
A Fishing Village That Became a Resort
Scheveningen has been a fishing village since at least the 14th century. Herring boats worked from its beach long before anyone thought of it as a holiday destination.
In the early 1800s, wealthy residents of The Hague began coming here in summer. They built bathing houses along the sand. They walked the shoreline. They took the sea air.
The grand Kurhaus hotel opened in 1885 and sealed Scheveningen’s reputation. It brought concerts, balls, and European visitors. A fishing village became a resort almost overnight.
The Word That Tripped Up German Soldiers
During the Second World War, Dutch resistance fighters used one word as an informal test: Scheveningen.
The name is nearly impossible for German speakers to pronounce correctly. The “sch” at the start is a distinctive Dutch sound — a hard, guttural rasp — that simply doesn’t exist in German.
Anyone who stumbled over the word raised immediate suspicion. It became a quick way to tell if a stranger was truly Dutch or not.
The town carries this story quietly. Most locals know it. Few visitors do.
The Pier and the North Sea
The Scheveningen Pier stretches 362 metres out into the North Sea. Walk to the end on a bright day and you will understand something about the Dutch.
The sea is not gentle here. Waves come in strong. The wind cuts straight through your coat. But the Dutch have a word for this feeling: uitwaaien — “out-blowing” — the act of clearing your head with cold sea air. They seek it out deliberately.
The Ferris wheel at the pier’s end is visible from the beach. It turns slowly above the waves on clear days, a landmark that has drawn visitors for decades.
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Herring, Poffertjes, and the Harbour
The working fishing harbour at Scheveningen still sends boats out to sea. Fish stalls along the waterfront sell raw herring the Dutch way — held by the tail and eaten in one bite, topped with raw onion and gherkin.
If you want to understand why the Dutch eat raw herring in the street, Scheveningen is the place to try it. The fishing tradition here is centuries old.
The promenade also offers poffertjes — tiny Dutch pancakes dusted with icing sugar — and fresh stroopwafels made on cast-iron irons beside the path. Eating your way along the seafront is part of the experience.
The Kurhaus and the Promenade
The Kurhaus is one of those buildings that tells you a town has history before you read a single sign. Its ornate 1885 façade sits directly on the beachfront, flanked by modern apartments and beach clubs.
Inside, the grand ballroom still hosts concerts and events. The building survived two world wars and a century of North Sea storms. It now has protected monument status.
You don’t need to stay there to appreciate it. Sit in the lobby for a coffee. Look out at the sea through the tall windows. People have done exactly this for 140 years.
The promenade in front of the Kurhaus runs for several kilometres. Beach clubs appear every summer along the dunes — wooden terraces, sunloungers, music at dusk. In winter the same stretch is almost empty: just sand, wind, and the full force of the North Sea.
The Hague Beyond the Beach
Scheveningen is part of The Hague, and The Hague rewards a longer stay. It holds the Dutch parliament, the International Court of Justice, and several world-class museums.
The Mauritshuis museum is 20 minutes away by tram. It holds some of the finest Dutch Golden Age paintings in the world. Just down the road, the Vermeer masterpiece most tourists never find — Girl with a Pearl Earring — waits in a quiet gallery.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Scheveningen known for?
Scheveningen is known for its long sandy beach, the grand 19th-century Kurhaus hotel, and the Pier stretching into the North Sea. It also carries a wartime story: Dutch resistance fighters used the town’s near-unpronounceable name to identify German spies during the Second World War.
How do you get from The Hague to Scheveningen?
Tram lines 1 and 9 run direct from The Hague Centraal station to the beach in about 20 minutes. Tram 9 goes to the harbour side; tram 1 reaches the main boulevard and the Kurhaus. Both run frequently throughout the day.
What is the best time to visit Scheveningen?
June through August is peak season, with beach clubs open and long evening light. May and September are quieter and often just as sunny. Winter visits are surprisingly atmospheric: empty beaches, strong winds, and the raw feel of the open North Sea.
Is Scheveningen worth visiting on a day trip from Amsterdam?
Yes. The Hague is 50 minutes by direct train from Amsterdam Centraal. Scheveningen is a further 20 minutes by tram. Combine the beach with a visit to the Mauritshuis and you have a genuinely full and rewarding day away from the capital.
Stand at the end of the pier. The wind comes off the open sea. The Kurhaus is a pale shape behind you on the shore. Somewhere on the promenade, a fish stall is selling herring the same way it has for centuries.
This is what the Dutch have always known. The sea is not a backdrop — it’s where you go to feel alive.
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