Category: Sunday Premium

Nijmegen: Two Thousand Years on the Waal The Netherlands’ oldest city rewards the curious traveller with Roman ruins, a bold new river island, and the world’s greatest walking festival. Twente, Netherlands An introduction to Nijmegen Most visitors to the Netherlands head straight for Amsterdam, then Rotterdam, then perhaps Delft or Haarlem. Nijmegen, tucked into a…

The Achterhoek In the quiet eastern corner of Gelderland, a landscape of moated castles, book-filled market squares and ancient hedgerow country has been waiting patiently for you to arrive. An introduction to The Achterhoek There is a particular quality of quiet in the Achterhoek that takes a little time to recognise for what it is.…

Into the Drowned Lands: Your Complete Guide to The Biesbosch Where a medieval catastrophe gave birth to one of Europe’s last freshwater tidal wildernesses — and where beavers, eagles and whisper-quiet waterways await in the willows. Nationaal Park De Biesbosch. Photo: Donarreiskoffer via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0) An introduction to The Biesbosch There is…

Haarlem: The Golden Age City That Glitters on Amsterdam’s Doorstep Twenty minutes west of Amsterdam, a city of Gothic spires, hidden courtyards and Europe’s most celebrated Baroque organ awaits — and most visitors walk straight past it on their way to the coast. The Grote Markt, Haarlem’s historic market square. Image: Shutterstock. An introduction to…

Leiden: Where Rembrandt, Pilgrims and the First Dutch Tulips Share the Same City A city of canals, scholars and centuries of stories, Leiden is one of the most richly layered places you can explore in the Netherlands A canal in the heart of Leiden. Photo: W. Bulach via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) An introduction…

Delft: Vermeer’s Quiet Canal City Where Dutch Golden Age beauty lingers in hand-painted pottery, leaning church towers, and the slow green light off the canals. An introduction to Delft There are cities that announce themselves with scale — skylines that overwhelm, waterfronts that roar, capitals that insist on their own importance. And then there is…

The Hague and Scheveningen: Where Power Meets the Sea The seat of Dutch democracy, home to Vermeer’s most beloved painting, and gateway to a sweeping North Sea shore — The Hague rewards every kind of curious traveller. Photo: Love Netherlands An introduction to The Hague and Scheveningen There is a particular confidence to The Hague.…

Two Westfrisian harbour towns that once ruled global trade and have been quietly extraordinary ever since

Country estates, Saxon farmhouses, and a quietly beautiful landscape quite unlike anywhere else in the country

Megalithic tombs older than the pyramids, Van Gogh’s brooding peat country, and the most ancient soul in the Netherlands