3 Best Sights in The Hague, Netherlands

First known as the Lange Voorhout Palace, this lovely building was originally the residence of Caroline of Nassau, daughter of Prince Willem IV; in 1765 Mozart performed for her here. In 2001 the palace was transformed into a museum devoted to Dutch graphic artist M. C. Escher (1892–1972), whose prints and engravings of unforgettable imagery—roofs becoming floors, water flowing upward, fish transforming into birds—became world famous in the 1960s and '70s. Replete with ever-repeating Baroque pillars, Palladian portals, and parallel horizons, Maurits Cornelis Escher's visual trickery presages the "virtual reality" worlds of today. Fittingly, the museum features an Escher Experience where you don a helmet and take a 360-degree digital trip through his unique world. Concave and convex, radical metamorphoses, and dazzling optical illusions are on view in the impressive selection of his prints (including the famed Day and Night and Ascending and Descending); distorted rooms and video cameras make children big and adults small; and there are rooms that are Escher prints blown up to the nth degree. Don't forget to look up as you walk around—dangling glitteringly from the ceiling is a series of custom-designed chandeliers by Dutch sculptor Hans van Bentem that are inspired by Escher's work. These delightfully playful creations include umbrellas, sea horses, birds, and even a giant skull and crossbones. The €26.50 family ticket makes a visit with the kids even more attractive.

Statistically, the Dutch are the tallest people in Europe, and never must they be more aware of their size than when they visit this miniature version of their own land. Set in a sprawling "village" with pathways, tram tracks, and a railway station, every important building of the Netherlands is reproduced here on a scale of 1:25. Many aspects of Dutch life, ancient and modern, are also on view: medieval knights joust in the courtyard of Gouda's magnificent Town Hall; windmills turn; the famous cheese-weighing ritual is carried out in Alkmaar; and a harbor fire is extinguished.

Thirty interactive points enable visitors to operate the awe-inspiring Delta Works storm surge barrier (constructed after the disastrous flooding of 1953), closing it to hold the ocean at bay and save villages from drowning. Or you can make a plane take off at Schiphol Airport, or load and unload container ships in the Port of Rotterdam.

Madurodam has two restaurants, a picnic area, and a playground, and the entire exhibit is surrounded by gardens. It is located in the woods that separate The Hague from the port of Scheveningen to the north. To get here, take Tram No. 9 from either railway station in the city center.

Museon claims to be "the most fun-packed popular science museum in the Netherlands," and perhaps they're right. Permanent exhibitions center on the origin of the universe and evolution, with hands-on, interactive displays, frequent special exhibitions, and children's workshops on Wednesday and Sunday afternoons (book in advance). The Museon is right next door to the Gemeentemuseum, so you can easily combine a visit to both.