Day trips from Amsterdam
 

I will be in Amsterdam this July with my wife. We will be there for 5 full days plus about half of the day we arrive from Frankfurt by train.

After doing a relatively small amount of research we settled on Rotterdam and Utrecht for day trips.

Now that I'm looking into details some questions have arisen.

Since we're in the Netherlands we probably want a Dutch flavor. However, if all we see is a smaller, quieter, less touristy version of Amsterdam why not just stay in Amsterdam and skip a day trip?

At first glance Rotterdam appears to be a new city with ultra modern architecture. It appears that after being demolished a decision was made not to rebuild the old but move in a more modern direction.

Utrecht appears to have that old Dutch flavor but does it have enough of its own flavor?

Are these two day trips actually good choices?

I think you will be amazed at how different Rotterdam is from Amsterdam. It's really quite an amazing place, full of architectural surprises. I would definitely make a day trip of it.

I haven't been to Utrecht for ages, so won't comment on that.

I haven't been to either but sounds like if modern architecture isn't something drawing you to Rotterdam, why do you want to go there? Why did you choose that? must have been a reason. It is a port city so has a maritime museum if that's enticing. I personally am not interested in all these reconstructed places. I think it's fine if they did that and necessary, but I don't find it interesting in and of itself to view as a tourist (the ones that try to rebuild to look old, just seems like Disneyland to me, like old square in Warsaw). So I appreciate not doing that. But if you aren't interested at all in a new reconstructed city nor the port/martime aspect, why did you want to go there?

All I can say is when I was there I did both Alkmaar and Deflt as day trips and enjoyed both a lot. Almaar is big on cheese, fantastic cheese market. It's easy to get to.
https://www.holland.com/global/touri...ns/alkmaar.htm

Rotterdam will not much fulfill your expectations of a Dutch regional town like say Haarlem, right on Amsterdam's doorstep will, but it does have some neat museums and flashy modern architecture and some old Dutch streets in its Delftshavn district that looks like it did before the war and is the place where Pilgrims set off from.. Or any of dozens of cities - Delft is a favorite and you can tour the Delftware ceramics factory/museum too. Utrecht yes does have a nice old central city with canals and a great cathedral and also is into transports the Netherlands Train Museum. Alkmaar is cool too, especially on Friday morning about May thru Sept or so for its famous old-time cheese market in a main square. Trains are great - www.ns.nl - Dutch railways and also www.ricksteves.com and BETS-European Rail Experts.

Rotterdam is a good contrast to Amsterdam. certainly not a duplicate of it. Not a reconstructed Disney city but a modern thriving city with some challenging architecture. Menachem is the one to recommend places in Rotterdam.
Utrecht is a mixture of very modern, very 70s bad taste and old and beautiful, all in the centre. Not as touristy as other places like Haarlem or Delft, it is still a busy city with some interesting museums.

We've been to Amsterdam twice before but quite a few years ago.
The first time we were there we went to Delft.

I may have given the wrong impression.

Actually, I'm kind torn between day trips to towns that have that Dutch feel that would make them look the same and each with its own character.

Actually, Rotterdam appears to have taken its own route to reconstruction.

And Delfshaven appears to be Rotterdam's look into the past.

It was the choice of Utrecht that I was a little concerned about. Maybe a few people will wade in with comments on Utrecht.

Have you visited Den Haag? It has a very different vibe compared to Amsterdam, and very worth while for a daytrip.

The Hague can easily be combined with a look at nearby Delft too. I got off at Central Station and walked to the Mauritshuis and royal castle or whatever it's called area and walked to The Hague's other train station for trains to Delft - or you can take a tram there to going right down main streets of suburbs.

I would not advise that either but just said it is possible - The Hague is so big and has so many sights like Schevigngen (sp?) - the seaside with lots of entertainments and Maurodam (sp?) - Holland in miniature plus the cluster of stuff around Mauritshuis.

Delft get walking tour from tourist office and spend a wonderful day traipsing around old canals and abbeys and monasteries, etc. And the Delftware Factory/Museum a few miles outside of town (lovely walk along main canal).

Rotterdam is a city unlike other Dutch cities. And Utrecht is the one major city north of the Big Rivers that has a distinctly catholic flavor to it, in contrast to the large number of cookie cutter "was a prominent city until the 18th century, then froze in time" provincial cities in the west of the Netherlands.

Have you been to Rotterdam, Christina?

Myer, there's a lot to Rotterdam. The story of its reconstruction is only one aspect. Rotterdam and its port yet another viewpoint. But to the people who live here it's the city with a vibrant and exciting arts scene. Also, only the city centre (and its port as it was in 1940) was bombed. Around that, the 19th century neighbourhoods are still intact.

The story of its reconstruction is interesting too (I live in what has always been the most historic part of town, but that's not obvious if you look at what is built there today) Indeed, the plan, right after the bombing, was to do a historicizing reconstruction of Rotterdam (Disneyland) but that plan was abandoned for a plan that just specified the functionality of the buildings, but not their design. These fault lines in approach are still very visible.

If you want pointers, or even to meet up for a wee walk, drop me a PM.

Also, Myer , if you choose to visit The Hague, please DON'T do Madurodam, but visit Panorama Mesdag instead. You can thank me later.

It's called Binnenhof and they're our houses of parliament.

There's some old castle too, ain't there there. I also toured the World Peace Palace or whatever it's called - World Court - rather interesting tour.

The Hague doesn't really have castles. It never had city rights until the 18th century. It was a hunting estate, for the Counts of Holland: the Ridderzaal, the large ceremonial hall inside the Binnenhof complex, started as their hunting lodge.

The really wonderful thing about The Hague to me are sights like the Voorhout or Vijverberg, or the warren of streets off Noordeinde.
The Royal Palace is on Noordeinde, but that's not a castle either.

One more choice is Leiden where we spent a week. It is beautiful . flowers and canals, and filled with history including being the location where the Pilgrims lived for ten years before leaving for the New World.
The University gives it a special energy.
We also really liked The Hague with Mauritshuis Museum and Parliament Buildings.
Delft is interesting, but not very large and can be combined with another location on the train route.The Old and New Churches( One ticket is good for both) were highlights for us. Lots of tourists were there compared to other places we visited.

Leiden is so close to Amsterdam one could base there and day trip into Amsterdam if aloof to staying in large cities and saving perhaps a ton of money - pretty short train trip.

OK, I will chime in here about our experience. A few years ago we decided to visit Utrecht on our biannual pilgrimage to Europe. We found accommodation in Utrecht to be unacceptably expensive so stayed in nearby Maarssen, which was small and picturesque, and drove to Utrecht. I get now from talking to my relatives that people don't really stay in Maarssen ("You went to Maarssen? Really?") but for us it was a good solution. We spent New Years' Day (after all of us had been sick) poking around Utrecht. There were fortunately cafés and some churches open, but we didn't linger long because of the cold and our health. But Utrecht is not really like Amsterdam. It is pretty, and not as 'organised' in terms of concentric canals. There are just two meandering canals running through the Binnenstad and they are in a sort of straight-ish line, and interesting sights are all clustered along the canals. Unfortunately because of the date I can't comment more, we didn't find much else open. I think though it is a worthy day trip. I have seen quite a lot of the Netherlands as I have been a number of times and Utrecht is a good destination. Had we been able to, we would have visited DOMUnder, which is an archaeological site under the city: https://www.domunder.nl/en/dom-under .

Lavandula

<<if aloof to staying in large cities ...>>

What does that mean? Perhaps the OP would be averse to staying in large cities, but aloof? That's quite a slight.

Gouda is a really cute historic cheese town with a fine fine old town square - old time cheese market - rarely mentioned here I suggest it for an alternative for Utrecht and one that has excellent rail links:

https://www.google.com/search?q=edam...w=1008&bih=613

And you can rent a bike and easily cycle from Gouda to Kinderdijk and the largest collection of behemoth windmills in NL and authentically all have been here in place for eons I believe. (Unlike Zaanse Schans near Amsterdam where most of the mills have been moved there from around the old Zuider Zee.)

Gouda is for nature lovers as just out of town is a large area of ponds with narrow paths going between them.

https://www.google.com/search?q=goud...hrome&ie=UTF-8

Gouda - Kinderdijk is not an "easy" bike trip. Just saying.

Leiden and The Hague is a good combination. Far better than The Hague and Delft. Amsterdam - Leiden: 30 minutes by train. Amsterdam - The Hague is 40 minutes, Amsterdam - Rotterdam: 40 minutes by ICD.

My vote would be for Leiden. Was there a few weeks back, used it as a base for Keukenhof.

Great place, very enjoyable, energy with the college kids as someone above stated, boat tour of canals, Botanic garden started in the 1550's. Only 16 minutes by train from Schipol and so much different than A-dam.

I also love Arnhem, if you want to see some WW2 history, along with a very large open air museum and impressive zoo.

Rotterdam does feel like a city, whether that is good or bad, but it sounded like you wanted something different from A-dam

Menachem,

How about Delft and Leiden?

Why does The Hague feel like too much politics?

The Hague is the seat of government and the administrative capital. It is an elegant city and a little aloof. A totally different vibe to the other cities on the North Sea. It also has the International Court of Justice. It feels a lot more businesslike, and not 'gezellig' like Amsterdam.

Lavandula

The Hague is, in fact, the most decadent city in the Netherlands, but that is all under the surface. One of the things you could do is book a guided walking tour. The Hague also has a rich literary past. So it takes a bit of prodding to tease out its thoroughly perverted character: all respectability and understated wealth on the outside, , perversity and excess on the inside.

Leiden is my alma mater, so YES! And Delft is gorgeous too. Leiden, Delft and The Hague are all on the same trainline, and nights are long, so all three are great for an extended daytrip.

And please, please, please, if you go to The Hague, please visit Panorama Mesdag. For Leiden the unmissables are: the Royal Anitquities Museum (RMO, on beautiful Rapenburg) and the Ethnological Museum. Also, Humboldt House.

I thought I replied yesterday but it's not here.

Unless we end up spending very little time in both Delft and Leiden (which I doubt) The Hague might be a problem time-wise. I'm an early riser but my wife, though she gets up earlier than normal when on a trip, will not be up at the crack of dawn. So unless we're looking at an early train when no other is available, I don't see us taking a train before 10:00 or 10:30 at the earliest.

And since The Hague would probably be the third on my list of Delft, Leiden and The Hague, we'd be visiting slightly out of sequence. But, you never know.

If it were me, my order would be: Amsterdam - Delft, Delft - Den Haag, Den Haag - Leiden, Leiden Amsterdam

Amsterdam - Delft is your longest stretch, but still only a bit over an hour, Delft - Den Haag: 10 minutes, Den Haag - Leiden: 15 and Leiden - Amsterdam 30. That's how close everything is together by train.

Menachem,

I agree with you that the logical sequence would be Amsterdam - Delft - Den Haag - Leiden - Amsterdam.

But if we have to omit one place, to me it would be Den Haag. So it might make more sense for us to go a bit out of sequence by putting Den Haag after Leiden.

I can't fathom why. It (again) has a very different flavour than Amsterdam, or Leiden, or Delft. Why go for the cookie cutter cities?

Dutch cookie-cutter cities like Leiden, Delft and many other s with old-town centers are what many Americans are looking for - again judging by thousands of folks my tour company led thru all those towns - that neat old-world towns like Haarlem were so neat and though they also liked Rotterdam and The Hague they more liked the old cookie-cutter towns. I'd do one of each - Utrecht to me is both a cookie-cutter town in its historic centre around the cathedral and also has modern parts of town, including the much despised by locals a once-modern shopping mall connected to the main train station.

And for one day in a city it is much easier to leisurely see everything - The Hague you got the Peace Palace, Madurodam, and the Mauritshuis (ep?), a world-class Museum and the nice square in front of it with a Royal Something in the middle - then you have Scheveningen (sp?), a whole nother city - a modern hopping seafront beach city - with the famous Mesdag circular panorama (not exactly clear on this as never visited it).

The mall in Utrecht is now fully renovated and pretty impressive.

The Hague to me is the gorgeous area around Lange Voorhout, Vijverberg and Plein. It is also the Netherlands' most colonial city. Do have tea at Des Indes and experience the sumptuous The Hague, always behind a secret door.... And The Hague got great museums, not only Mauritshuis, but also the Gemeentemuseum/GEM in a building by Berlage. But most of all it has Panorama Mesdag. Don't miss it.
If you want to experience the largest South Asian city in The Netherlands, head to Transvaal and Regentessekwartier.

PS PalenQ, if you want to inform people about Dutch destinations, make sure you've got your facts right and check your memories against google.

Besides the Utrecht mall being renovated (I said dilapidated because I clearly remember not long ago a Dutch resident saying that after I said it was a nice mall) - what else is wrong?

Euromast/Maastoren (other thread)

and nice, the walkback, because "not long ago" Hoog Catharijne was also "recently renovated". That and the total rebuild of Utrecht Central: massive projects, and a beautiful result.

Apart from that, it always amazes me that tourists are so stuck to their image of the Netherlands that they want to keep it intact. So cities need to be Amsterdam or mini-Amsterdams like Delft and Leiden (less so Utrecht) and certainly Haarlem. When we, Dutch people, point out cities that are not like the tourist fantasy and interesting and beautiful in their own right, non-Dutch (once or prospective) tourists on this board will actually say that we don't know what we're talking about. I realize that tourist travel is about fantasies, but it feels really weird that if I know that what in a city is worth visiting, someone who's never in their life been there will actually deny this, saying a city seems boring. How do they know?

For me the value of a forum such as this is to give (and receive) information you don't normally get about destinations, opening up new possibilties.

And then people complain that the same places everyone visits are too crowded.

Just today in the NYT
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...uU9__cX_WCDaNk

On The Hague:
But for serious museum goers, The Hague cannot be beat.

Mauritshuis, the city’s best-known museum (it houses the original “Girl with a Pearl Earring,” Fabritius’s “Goldfinch,” and an impressive collection of Rembrandt paintings), is right next to the Binnenhof, the medieval royal court that is now the site of the country’s government, and partially open to visitors on guided tours. The Gemeentemuseum is known for its works by Piet Mondrian — the biggest in the world, as well as works by Degas, Monet, Picasso and van Gogh, among others. The museum Escher in Het Paleis, right next to the American Embassy, offers a tour of the graphic artist’s life and works.

Looking for night life? Between Easter and October, 75 beach bars are set up on a seven-mile stretch of wild north beach in the neighborhood of Scheveningen. (Those who want to see the Wild Dutch Sea side, nearby Oostduinpark is a perfect place for a hike).

And if you want to taste the flavors of the many immigrants who have come to the Netherlands since the middle of the last century, the city has a sprawling market where you can sample olives from Greece, fruit from Turkey and bakabana from Suriname, and, of course, fresh fish from the Dutch fishing fleet whose port is just a few miles away.