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The Hague & Scheveningen
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The Hague & Scheveningen

Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring, the Peace Palace and the North Sea Beach

Plan this trip
2 daysIdeal stay₹11,720From / night₹2,980Food / day₹2,130Entry

The seat of the Dutch government and of the international courts, 50 minutes from Amsterdam by train: the Mauritshuis with Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring and Rembrandts, the Binnenhof parliament buildings (under a long renovation), the Peace Palace, Escher in Het Paleis, and Madurodam, the miniature Netherlands children love. Scheveningen, a tram ride away, is the country's best-known beach resort, with a pier and a long promenade. The Hague has one of Europe's largest Surinamese-Hindustani communities: Hindu mandirs, Indian grocers and roti shops, and Diwali and Phagwa (Holi) celebrated in the city. Delft is 10 minutes away by train.

Highlights

  • Girl with a Pearl Earring at the Mauritshuis
  • The Peace Palace
  • Madurodam miniature park
  • Escher in Het Paleis
  • Scheveningen beach and pier
  • Panorama Mesdag
  • Surinamese-Hindustani roti and the city's mandirs

Things to do

  • Mauritshuis: Vermeer and RembrandtMorning · 2h
  • Binnenhof, Lange Voorhout and the Peace Palace visitor centreAfternoon · 2h 30m
  • Madurodam miniature NetherlandsAfternoon · 2h 30m
  • Escher in Het PaleisMorning · 1h 30m
  • Scheveningen beach, pier and promenadeEvening · 3h

Tours & tickets

Tours & tickets in The Hague & Scheveningenvia GetYourGuideTours & tickets in The Hague & Scheveningenvia Klook

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When to go

Best time: April – September (the beach June – August)

Heads up

North Sea Winter: Wind, Rain and Short Days

From November to February days are short (dark by about 16:30 in December), wet and windy, and North Sea storms occasionally halt trains and close the beaches and the Scheveningen pier. Pack a waterproof jacket and warm layers; the museums are the best of a winter trip.

  • King's Day (Koningsdag) — The national holiday for the King's birthday: the whole country dresses in orange, every street becomes a flea market (the vrijmarkt, from the evening before), and Amsterdam's canals fill with party boats and its centre with up to a million people. Trains into Amsterdam are packed and hotels cost their most; book months ahead, or watch it in a calmer city such as Utrecht, Haarlem or Delft. Museums open, many shops close.
  • Remembrance Day and Liberation Day — On 4 May at 8 pm the whole country stops for two minutes' silence for the war dead, with the national ceremony on Dam Square in Amsterdam; trams and trains halt. On 5 May free liberation festivals with music fill parks in Haarlem, Utrecht, The Hague, Rotterdam and other cities.
  • Sinterklaas — St Nicholas "arrives by steamboat from Spain" in mid-November (Amsterdam's parade by boat and horse through the centre is the big one) and families exchange presents and poems on 5 December. Expect crowds on the arrival day; the bakeries fill with pepernoten and chocolate letters.
  • Diwali and Phagwa (Holi) in The Hague — The Netherlands' large Surinamese-Hindustani community celebrates Phagwa (Holi) in spring and Diwali in October or November, with the biggest public events and mandir celebrations in The Hague, and others in Rotterdam and Amsterdam-Zuidoost. A welcome taste of home for Indian travellers; check the city's events listings for the year's dates.