prettiest coastal and country towns in netherlands [2 week business trip]
 

hi everyone!

i will be in amsterdam for two weeks at the end of may and beginning of june for a business trip. i am interested in seeing the different landscapes of the country so i would like to take some day trips during the two weekends i have. can anyone suggest two of holland's most picturesque towns - one in the countryside and one on the coast? it might be interesting to see a smaller, authentically dutch town that looks similar to amsterdam, but i think i will get enough of "city" life during the weekday and will enjoy slower paced places during the weekend. thanks in advance!

I suggest Haarlem for picturesque city and a much slower pace than Amsterdam. The nightlife around the Grote Kerk (Big Church) is really good. Go on over to Zandvoort for a coastal resort town. It has a casino and looong beach, including an area south of the main beach where you can drop your drawers. Both are easily reached by train from Amsterdam Centraal.

Oh, I forgot, you can rent a bike in Haarlem and pedal to Zandvoort in about 20 minutes. It is a great ride through the dunes.

Haarlem is very close to Amsterdam so an easy place to visit. Likewise Zaandvoort, which if teh weather is warm will be packed at the weekend.
Further afield you could look at Middelburg in Zeeland, with maybe a side trip to Domburg on the coast, Deventer in Overijssel, Elburg in Gelderland, Harlingen (on the Wadden coast)and Franeker in Friesland, Maastricht in Limburg, Breda or Den Bosch in Noord Brabant, Enkhuizen or Alkmaar in Noord Holland. There are some nice small coastal towns in Noord Holland too.
Or for something a bit different somewhere like Oudewater and Baambrugge in the Groene Hart or maybe Texel or Vlieland for a weekend.

Zutphen is also nice. And Terschelling or Ameland, as Dutch Islands go.

A beautiful tour by car is the Hondsrug Route (75 km) in the province of Drenthe. We just drove it last week. It's in the countryside and it's really lovely. Grassland, huge trees, hundreds of Saxonian farms, beautiful mansions, ... It took us a whole day but we're slow travellers. We like to sit on a terrace from time to time to enjoy a drink or some food and people-watch.

The nicest beaches (IMO) are in the province of Zeeland. Anywhere between Rockanje (island of Goeree) and Vlissingen (island of Walcheren). Absolutely not overcrowded (which Zandvoort is in the season!), high dunes sometimes, fine golden sand.