I don't write trip reports but read other's with great interest. (Mine would be along the lines of "walked endlessly, ate cheaply and loved every minute.&quot

But I do want to mention the Peace Palace (home of the International Court of Justice) in Den Haag -- there is scant mention of it on this Forum and it may be useful for others planning a trip to know what a tremendous experience it is.

While not exactly the caliber of "84 Charing Cross" I had a pleasant exchange of emails with [email protected]
to secure the tour reservation.

I first emailed my request a month in advance and immediately rec'd this reply:
<i>Unfortunately it is not possible to book a tour for 2 persons more than one week in advance. Please contact us later. (0703024137).</i>

After the required time, I emailed again, with this response:
<i>Unfortunately we are already fully booked on the 6th and the 7th of October in the morning. We do have places left in the afternoon.</i>

Agreeing to an afternoon time, we were very pleased to hear:

<i>We have made a reservation for a guided tour in the Peace Palace on Tuesday the 7th of October 2008 at 2:00 pm for 2 persons. The tour will be held in English.

Make sure you arrive fifteen minutes in advance at the security gate of the Peace Palace. All the participants need to bring their identification.

Reservations are under restriction. In case of sessions of the International Court of Justice, the Permanent Court of Arbitration or other festivities we will need to cancel the tour. We will try to inform you as soon as possible.</i>

We loved our days in The Hague, using strippenkart to easily visit Delft and Scheveningen.

And I remain so thankful for all the excellent advice here posted!
Thank you-

So how was the tour?

I just showed up at the Peace Palace a few years back and inadvertently i guess joined a tour group when i should have been turned away.

I saw a group going thru the heavy security checks there and then just followed the group into the Palace.

That was one of the things I wanted to do when we were at The Hague las month. Unfortunately the tour was already fully booked.

We were able to get to the courtyard and see the buildings from the outside. Beautiful.

I hear President Bush and VP Cheney will be 'visiting' the Court in the near future.

yk, I would call the tour fascinating. About 20 of us were led by a young, knowledgeable Frenchwoman through the four corridors framing the central courtyard. She gave short, informational lectures as we viewed the Grand Staircase, Small Hall of Justice, Japanese Room, courtyard, as well as the Great Hall of Justice, in which the international Court of Justice holds sessions.

She pointed out the extravagant offerings of member nations to the Peace Palace, and gave a brief history -- Andrew Carnegie is the benefactor and thus the tours are handled by his Carnegie Foundation.

From Wikipedia: <i>The Palace is filled with many gifts of the different nations who attended the Second Hague Conference as a sign of their support. Among the gifts are a 3200 kilo vase from Russia, doors from Belgium, marble from Italy, a fountain from Denmark, wall carpets from Japan, the clock for the clock tower from Switzerland, persian rugs from Iran and wood from Indonesia and the United States of America. The palace also features a number of statues, busts and portraits of prominent peace campaigners from around the world and of all eras.</i>

It cost &euro;5 but I would have paid &euro;50!

29FEB - Thanks very much for your detailed description. I'll try my best to remember this next time I'm in Hague (god knows when that might be)!