Netherlands

The Netherlands is engineered landscape: a quarter of it sits below sea level, protected by dunes, dykes and the Delta Works. Golden Age canal cities, windmill rows and polder farmland fill the west, while Limburg's hills, Veluwe heath and the Wadden islands give the rest of the country a different mood. Everything is close, flat and quickest by bicycle or train.

Capital

Amsterdam

Population

17.8M

Area

41,850 km²

Currency

Euro (EUR)

Language

Dutch

Time zone

CET (UTC+1) / CEST (UTC+2)

• 
  01

  Drenthe

  Rural and historical, known for dolmens and natural beauty.

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  02

  Flevoland

  Modern and agricultural, reclaimed land with unique polder landscapes.

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  03

  Friesland

  Maritime and cultural, with a strong unique identity and beautiful lakes.

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  04

  Gelderland

  Diverse, with forests, rivers, and cultural cities.

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  05

  Groningen

  Energetic university city combined with a peaceful rural countryside.

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  06

  Limburg

  Hilly southern province with a distinctly European feel, rich in Roman history and unique dialect.

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  07

  North Brabant

  Lively and welcoming, known for its hospitality, strong carnival traditions, and diverse landscapes.

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  08

  North Holland

  Culturally rich and bustling, home to Amsterdam, iconic windmills, and coastal beauty.

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  09

  Overijssel

  Picturesque and watery, with charming towns and natural reserves.

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  10

  South Holland

  Dynamic and historically significant, with bustling cities, iconic canals, and coastal areas.

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  11

  Utrecht

  Historic and charming, with a vibrant university city and centrally located.

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  12

  Zeeland

  Coastal and watery, known for its beaches, fresh seafood, and iconic Delta Works.

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  Museum

  2025 Drents Museum heist

  On 25 January 2025, a group of individuals forcibly entered the Drents Museum in Assen, Netherlands, using explosives and stole golden artifacts valued at approximately €6 million. The stolen items were irreplaceable archaeological treasures representing the Dacian civilization which thrived in present-day Romania befo

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  Historic Site

  Dutch TT

  The Dutch Tourist Trophy, also known as the TT Assen, and also sometimes known as the Dutch Motorcycle Grand Prix, is an annual Dutch motorsport event established in 1925 for road racing motorcycles held on the TT Circuit Assen, also known as the ‘Cathedral of Speed'. The event attained world championship status in 194

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  Museum

  Ellert en Brammert (museum)

  Ellert en Brammert is an open-air museum in Schoonoord expositing the way people lived in Drenthe at the time of the peat digging. It was named after a myth about the two giants Ellert and Brammert who prowled around the Ellertsveld.

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  Museum

  Museum Collectie Brands

  Museum Collectie Brands is a museum in Nieuw-Dordrecht, Drenthe. The museum contains a collection of over seventy thousand objects and books that were collected by Jans Brands (1932-2019) during his lifetime.

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  Historic Site

  TT Circuit Assen

  The TT Circuit Assen is a motorsport race track built in 1955 and located in Assen, Netherlands. Host of the Dutch TT, it is popularly referred to as "The Cathedral of Speed" by motorcycle racing fans.

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  Historic Site

  Weerdinge Men

  The Weerdinge Men are a pair of remarkably well preserved Iron Age bog bodies discovered on 29 June 1904 in the southern part of the Bourtange moor near the village of Weerdinge in Drenthe, the Netherlands. Radiocarbon dating places their deaths between about 160 BC and AD 220.

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  Historic Site

  Wildlands (zoo)

  Wildlands, also known as Wildlands Adventure Zoo Emmen, is a zoo in Emmen, the Netherlands. It opened in March 2016, replacing the Emmen Zoo.

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  Historic Site

  Almere Haven

  Almere Haven is the oldest borough of Almere (although the first houses of Almere were built in the neighborhood now known as Oostvaardersdiep in Almere Buiten). Although Almere Haven does not have its own railway station, it is well-connected to Amsterdam and the rest of Almere by a good bus rapid transit system.

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  Historic Site

  Carlton (Almere)

  The Carlton Building is a high-rise office building in the Zuidelijk Flevoland polder of Almere, Netherlands. Built between 2007 and 2010, the tower stands at 120 m (390 ft) tall with 32 floors and is the 21st tallest building in the Netherlands.

• Amsterdam

  Ringed canals, Rembrandt and Van Gogh, bikes everywhere.

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• Rotterdam

  Rebuilt port city of bold modern architecture.

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• Utrecht

  Wharf cellars along the canals under the Dom tower.

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• Delft

  Blue pottery, Vermeer's light and a quiet old centre.

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• Maastricht

  Roman and Burgundian city in the hilly south.

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• Haarlem

  Grote Markt, Frans Hals and the tulip fields next door.

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• Hoge Veluwe

  Heath, dunes and the Kröller-Müller Van Gogh collection.

• Weerribben-Wieden

  Northwest Europe's largest lowland peat marsh.

• Dwingelderveld

  Europe's biggest wet heathland, full of night skies.

• Oosterschelde

  Tidal sea park behind the Delta Works barrier.

• Schiermonnikoog

  Car-free Wadden island of dunes and vast beach.

• Biesbosch

  Freshwater tidal creeks best explored by canoe.

• Scheveningen

  The Hague's pier and boulevard beach.

• Zandvoort

  Wide dune beach twenty minutes from Amsterdam.

• Texel

  Thirty kilometres of Wadden island sand.

• Domburg, Zeeland

  Genteel seaside resort behind the dunes.

• Terschelling

  Broad North Sea strand and shifting sand flats.

• Vaalserberg

  322 m — the country's high point where three borders meet.

• South Limburg hills

  Marl caves, sunken lanes and rolling farmland.

• Veluwe

  Glacial ridges of forest, heath and drifting sand.

• Dune belt

  The wooded coastal dunes that hold back the North Sea.

• Stroopwafel

  Two thin waffles glued with warm caramel syrup.

• Haring

  Raw brined herring with onion, tipped back by the tail.

• Bitterballen

  Crisp-crumbed ragout balls with mustard, the standard bar snack.

• Stamppot

  Mashed potato with kale or sauerkraut and smoked sausage.

• Poffertjes

  Small puffy pancakes under butter and icing sugar.

• Gouda cheese

  Aged wheels sold at Alkmaar and Gouda market squares.

• 01

  Cycle lanes are traffic lanes — never stand or walk in them.

• 02

  Museum entry is often timed; book Anne Frank House and Van Gogh weeks ahead.

• 03

  Keukenhof and the bulb fields only bloom from late March to mid-May.

• 04

  Trains need a checked-in OV-chipkaart or contactless card at both ends of the trip.

• 05

  Wind and rain arrive fast year-round; a light waterproof beats an umbrella.