Netherlands

Classic routes

• 🚄Paris, Brussels & Amsterdam9 days · Paris → Brussels → Amsterdam

🚲 Amsterdam & North Holland

The capital, where every flight from India lands at Schiphol: the canal ring, the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum and the Anne Frank House, with the windmills of Zaanse Schans, the fishing towns of Volendam, Marken and Edam, and Haarlem with the beach at Zandvoort all within half an hour.

• AmsterdamCanals, Rembrandt and Van Gogh, and Europe's Gateway at Schiphol3 days · best April – May (tulips), June – September
• Zaanse SchansWorking Windmills, Clogs and Cheese on the River Zaan1 day · best April – September (every mill open)
• Volendam & MarkenA Fishing Harbour, Old Dutch Costumes and the Island Village of Marken1 day · best April – September
• HaarlemGolden-Age Squares, Frans Hals and the Beach at Zandvoort1 day · best April – September

🌷 South Holland: Bulb Fields, The Hague & Rotterdam

Keukenhof and the tulip fields between Haarlem and Leiden in spring, The Hague with the Mauritshuis and the beach at Scheveningen, Vermeer's Delft, modern Rotterdam and the UNESCO windmills of Kinderdijk. Trains link them every few minutes; none is more than an hour from Schiphol.

• Keukenhof & the Bulb FieldsSeven Million Bulbs in Bloom, Open Only in Spring1 day · best Late March – early May (tulips peak mid-April)
• The Hague & ScheveningenVermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring, the Peace Palace and the North Sea Beach2 days · best April – September (the beach June – August)
• DelftVermeer's Town of Canals and Blue-and-White Pottery1 day · best April – September
• RotterdamModern Architecture, Europe's Biggest Port and the Markthal2 days · best April – September
• KinderdijkNineteen 18th-Century Windmills on the Polder Canals (UNESCO)1 day · best April – October

🦌 Utrecht & the Veluwe

Utrecht, the university city at the hub of the railways, and to the east the Hoge Veluwe National Park, with free white bikes across the heath and Van Gogh at the Kröller-Müller Museum.

• UtrechtThe Dom Tower, Wharf-Level Canals and the Heart of the Rail Network1 day · best April – September
• Hoge Veluwe & Kröller-MüllerVan Goghs in the Forest and Free White Bikes Across the Heath1 day · best April – October (the heather flowers in August)

🛶 Giethoorn & Overijssel

The canal village of Giethoorn in the reed marshes of the Weerribben-Wieden National Park, two hours or so from Amsterdam by train to Steenwijk and a local bus.

• GiethoornThatched Farmhouses on Canals, Seen from a Whisper Boat1 day · best April – September

🏰 Maastricht & South Limburg

The hilly far south between Belgium and Germany: Maastricht's Roman and medieval streets and hillside tunnels, the cave town of Valkenburg, carnival in February and Christmas markets in December. About 2.5 hours from Amsterdam by direct train.

• MaastrichtRoman Roots, Hillside Caves and Burgundian Food on the Maas2 days · best April – October; December for the Christmas markets