Need side trip advice for The Netherlands
 

Hi there,

I'll be in The Netherlands the second week of August and wanted to see what else I should do besides visiting Amsterdam.

I'm a single, female writer in my 30s, so I'm especially interested in places with history and unique destinations. No need for a big nightlife - I get enough of that in LA.

I like the outdoors and would do a single day bike ride or hike, but probably not more than that. I also love Flemish art, alternative music and interesting shopping areas.

Any ideas are appreciated! Thank you!

Antwerp is a day trip from Amsterdam, and Bruges is an overnighter. My wife and I missed Bruges during a visit to The Netherlands ten years ago and we still regret it, but we both recommend Antwerp for people interested in baroque art and architecture.

Hi, if you love Flemish art and interesting shopping, then do a day in Antwerp. There's the Fine Arts museum (Museum van Schone Kunsten), the Rubens House, and smaller museums like Mayer vandenBergh. Also great shopping; lots of small boutiques, and local designers. There's also the fashion museum. All easy do walk from the central train station. I live near Antwerp; let me know if you need further info.

Another thing you could do is go to the National Park Hoge Veluwe in the Netherlands; there are free bikes to use in the park, and there's the Kroller Moller museum with Van Gogh and other paintings, as well as a sculpture garden.

If you decide on Hogue Veluwe don't miss Het Loo Palace in Appeldoorn.
http://het_loo.tripod.com/

A musical option of sorts is the museum of mechanical musical instruments in Utrecht. It's in a converted church; you're taken on a tour which ends beside a dance floor and huge great organs playing boogie-woogie music:
http://www.museumspeelklok.nl/speelklok/uk/

Another option might be the Hague with the Mauritshuis, the Dutch Parliament House and Delft Cathedral nearby.

Hi C,

Haarlem is a pleasant town a short distance from Amstdm.

Franz Hals Museum, +

((I))

For Flemish Art, you need to go visit the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Brussels. It has plenty of Flemish Primitives and Bruegels, also lots of Magrittes if you're into his art.

Delft + Den Haag is also a great day trip, especially if you like Vermeer.

Brugge has many great paintings of Flemish Primitives also, including van Eyck and Memling.

Neat Bike & Windmills Experience

Take a train to the lovely historic city of Gouda ('how-dah') and rent a bike at the train station, get a detailed map at the tourist office (VVV) and then ride the flat 10 miles or so to Kinderdijk, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and mesmerizing grouping of windmills - the largest in Holland.

You can ride your bike thru the string of huge windmills as a national park surrounds them in a watery setting.

Fantastic ideas everyone - thank you SO much! I might just need to extend my trip over there! :-)

If you like history, you can visit Naarden Vesting (Fortress). Naarden is a short (20 min) train ride east of Amsterdam. When you arrive take a short cab ride to the Fortress. It's the only double-walled, double moated town in europe (I think), but go to the nearby tourist office (VVV) for info before you check out the fortress.

And if you make it to Naarden consider adding Muiderslot to the trip.
Utrecht is also good for shopping as is Rotterdam. See who is playing at Paradiso in Amsterdam while you are there for music.
Try some of the smaller towns/cities like Amersfoort or Zwolle. Visit the Ijsselmeer. Spend a day in Friesland or Overijssel for a different view of the Netherlands. Or head for Maastricht for another aspect of Dutch life.

hetismij - i'm always looking for new day trips from Amsterdam and i've noted Muiderslot before - can you tell me a bit more about it - old port? thanks

I went to Kampen recently and found it neat - old sea town now on inland lake - old historic seafront and a quaint few-car train going there from Zwolle.

Muiderslot was built in about 1280. The current display is based on the time when the writer PC Hooft lived there. It is free if you have a MJK, otherwise it's €8.50. I think the website is only in Dutch (www.muiderslot.nl) but I could be wrong. In the summer they also offer boat trips to and from Weesp and various special exhibitions. You can get there by bus from Amstelstation or from Weesp station. Muiden is an old Zuiderzee port, and worth a wander around too. Nearby Naarden-vesting, a fortified town with its walls intact, is well worth a visit - the Church has a stunning painted ceiling, and cannonballs lodged in the walls!

Kampen is lovely, one of my favourites. I love Overijssel and Friesland, they are my favourite provinces. I used to live in Blokzijl, which is another old fortified Zuiderzee town, but that is not accessible by train so easily - you would need to get the train to Zwolle or Meppel and then a bus I think.
One of these years I shall move back up there!

hetismij - Dank u very well for all that!

I've heard of Sneek (?) does that Zuider Zee port have character

Stavoren?

Tot Ziens Austeblief (sp/)

Sneek is a watersport centre. It is quite nice but gets very full of yachting types, especially at weekends. Sneek week is popular for sailing fans.
My son lives just outside Harlingen, and has his Dutch sailing barge moored there - Harlingen is nice busy little port, officially a city, on the Waddenzee, with lots of old buildings. It is also the port for ferries to Vlieland and Vlissingen if you feel very adventurous. It has two train station - Harlingen Haven puts you right in the old port.
Stavoren is a small town, actually the oldest city in Friesland, quite interesting and good to combine with Hindelopen a bit along the dike which is also nice, and is famous for painted furniture. You can get a ferry from Stavoren to Enkhuizen.

Another interesting old port, still a modern fishing port is Urk where some women still wear their traditional costume. It used to be an island before the NoordOost polder was drained.

Closer to Amsterdam yu could try Spakenburg, again a fishing port with women in their "klederdracht" - you would have to get a train to Baarn and then a bus to get there. Then you are very close to me!

In Enkhuizen, easy to reach by train from Amsterdam, you will find Zuiderzeemuseum, outdoors along IJsselmeer.
A great place to learn about the past of those small fishingvillages once around Zuiderzee.
http://www.zuiderzeemuseum.nl/

Maastricht is a beaufiful place and perfect for a day visit.

http://www.travellingbazaar.com/maastricht%201.html

If you get a hot Saturday or Sunday take the train over to Zandvoort. Go swimming in the North Sea or just roam the beach south for people watching.

You could get off the train in Haarlem, rent a bike, and pedal to Zandvoort through the dunes.

Ah Zandvoort on a hot day - a real treat i've taken in several times

fine beach packed with bars - a tractor pulling a roaming fish snack stand up and down the beach

the nude beach about a mile south of town may also be hopping

If you want to do something completely different and get away from the beaten paths, consider heading up to Groningen. You can catch a direct train (no changes) from A'dam, takes about 2.5 hours, or for more options, take a train with one change. It's a long day, but a good day trip and easy to do in summer. A lovely, quiet town.