'Au contraire' in Dutchland is not really understood - try 'integendeel'.

There is a bigger variety of landscape than one may expect.
But if you want to see what NL has to offer - And more, jsut go to Belgium.

In exactly two weeks I'll be visiting France for the first time. For now (in my opinion), Switzerland remains the most beautiful and pristine country I've ever had the pleasure of visiting. Ireland is a very close second with it's rich green rolling hillsides, followed by Italy and it's vastness in landscape. I can't wait to see what France has to offer, but Switzerland will be hard to beat in the beauty department.

»the flat boring countryside of canals ... and cows and cows and cows and... cows«
Where else do you have such wide horizons in an endless green sea of meadows, only broken by some church tower of windmill, and filled with those slow moving gentle creatures?

»but a canal in Haarlem looks pretty much the same as a canal in Utrecht or Leiden«
Who can mistake a canal in Leiden for one in Haarlem or Delft or Schiedam? If there is one country where every village or city very much looks the same, it's France.

Switzerland is one of the most beautiful European countries we have visited but it was like a stereotypical model, once you got past that there was little.

I can honestly say there is not country that is the most beautiful.

There is nothing like the stark beauty of Sicily adorned with Greek antiquities. Two of the oddest and captivating landscapes on earth are Cappadocia and Pamukkale in Turkey (yes they are on the Aisan side). The houses that hang over the gorge in Cuenca, Spain. How Mt. St. Michel seemingly rises from the ocean. The rolling tulips in Holland and the quaintness of places like Delft and Brugge. The silence of the WWI battlefields in Belgium.
The undulating countryside of England and Ireland. The sight from the top of the mountain in Braga, Portugal.

I guess the impression of 'boring'countryside depends on your mode of transport - riding a bike thousands of miles thru Dutch landscapes for years perhaps made me jaded - there is little natural beauty - every inch of land being put to some use- lots of parks but I mean real forests like we have in northern Michigan or wild looking areas- like Hooge Veluwe or the Plaatsen or the Frisian Islands or Delta Worksarea or narrow strips along the coast which most folks don't even see-yes there are some vest pocket areas of natural beauty - such as the above and the coasts but otherwise pretty much the same ole same old which is nice but after thousands of miles biking thru flat lands one begs for some hills.

Our bike route went:
Antwerp - Dordrecht- Breda- Rotterdam - Rijnsburg - Nieuwe Vennep (sp?)- Amsterdam - Breukelen - Utrecht - Bilthoven (a path of sand dunes there) - Arnhem - Nijmegen - Venlo and though there is some variety it largely flat farms dotted by modern urban areas. The Netherlands I believe has a density greater than India and perhaps any other country in the world - thus you are rarely really out in the countryside most places and the urban areas except the historic centrums in some older towns, are yes pretty much all the same.

I do like the mixture or farm and cities - cows grazing by high-rise flats but there is just so so little natural areas.

I guess being from Michigan we get a jaded view of what forests and swamps and wild-looking places should be like-most of Holland seems drawn up on an architects blueprint inside and outside of towns - with the exception of the old town centrums ubiquitously ringed by high-rise modern buildings.

Between Amsterdam and The Hague by train, car or bike you are never really in any countryside that does not have such modern urban developments in sight. Again I understand the value of land and how most of it must be put to as utilitarian a use as possible.

I do love The Netherlands and especially respect the Dutch for the Herculean job they have done managing water and land but even the polders such as in the Alkmaar to Amsterdam area are same ole same ole.

We say in Russian: "don't put salt on my wounds." France is beautiful, as is Switzerland and much of Europe. Too bad I live on another continent now.

Just returned from touring northern part of UK Lakes district, the Pennines, Northumberland, Scottish Borders and Western Highlands. Talk about stunning beauty and variety!

You are referring to the fabulous beaches or the stunning snow capped mountains?

I have to say.. the hills they call mountains in some countries are so very disappointing.. I can only assume they are admired mostly by those who have never seen real mountains..lol
The first time we went to Dublin I was so excited to be going to the Wicklow Mountains.. ba ha ha.. those soft little hills ..

Highest mountain in the world is found in .... Belgium of course.
694 m high, 2277 feet for those backwards who didn't adopt the metric system.

Never been myself (fear of heights) but I do guess you can have a beer on the top of the workd !

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signal_de_Botrange

I do confirm that all villages look alike in France : Tourtour is the exact clone of Douai or Riquewihr or Mazerolles or Montréal or La Trinité sur mer.

"What country do you think is the most beautiful in Europe?"

Norway

Happy Travels!

I've been to quite a few countries around the world, and all of them have beauty in their own right. I live in Australia which also has a lot of beautiful places.
The one thing France has is a lot of beautiful places with such variety; the Alps, the mountain top villages, the French Riviera, the Pyrenees, the country side and villages of Provence, Ancient sites such as Pont du Gard, Gorges du Verdon which is Europes largest, old ruins of castles in the Dordogne and the preserved Chateaux of the Loire valley, and it goes on. Add to the beauty its food and drink,culture and preservation of its history, there's no other country in the world which offers so much.
Correct me if I am wrong PalenQ, I think this the meassage you are trying to convey?

If you want the variety of a continent squeezed into an area less the size of Connecticut you should visit Montenegro.

No-one has mentioned Normandy (north of Paris). I thought the countryside was beautiful.

Almost agree that it's the most beautiful, but France hasn't got Blackpool or the Yorkshire Dales.

I love The Netherlands too but it's same ole same old everywhere - cookie cutter modern cities and nary a hill in sight except along the German border - tower block flats everywhere but Amsterdam and some old cities like Haarlem, Alkmaar and Delft and Utrecht and Leiden, etc are neat but talking here about the flat boring countryside of canals and sluitjes and fields with trees for windbreaks and cows and cows and cows and... cows!

Just come back from 225 km, riding from Rotterdam to Sneek, Friesland, in a day. Glorious summer weather, and a ride that had everything, polder landscapes from the 17th century and from the early 20th century, Amsterdam, but also Hoorn and Medemblik: Cities made big in the golden age, but since then frozen in time. A wonderful dash across the Afsluitdijk in the evening, the sun and the wind at my back, reveling in seeing IJsselmeer and Waddenzee simultaneously. And then as the reward via Witmarsum and Bolsward to Sneek, through pastures so green it made my eyes hurt.

For someone who has led cycle tours through the Netherlands, you are surprisingly ill attuned to the Dutch landscape, PalenQ!

Isn't nationalism wonderful?

is this about nationalism? wasn't aware.

whatever, kerouac.

"Between Amsterdam and The Hague by train, car or bike you are never really in any countryside that does not have such modern urban developments in sight. Again I understand the value of land and how most of it must be put to as utilitarian a use as possible."

That's really strange, PalenQ, because you missed Midden Delfland, Het Groene Hart near Leiden, the entire peat river landscape between Alphen a/d Rijn and Amsterdam, Waterland, the Beemster polder, the IJsselmeer coast near Hoorn, etc. But I agree, cycling up and down the Amsterdam Rhine Kanaal is a bit tedious.