Go beyond Amsterdam (Den Haag)

Member Name: non_sense

Product:	Den Haag
Date:	02/10/08 (48 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Nice city, near the coast

Disadvantages: Dutch weather :-)

When people visit The Netherlands they almost exclusively head for Amsterdam. Whilst Amsterdam is a fun place, there are some other places to explore.

Den Haag is about 50 minutes by train from Amsterdam, 30 minutes from Schiphol. Whilst not as busy as the capital city it is still a city of some importance. Den Haag is where the Dutch government is based, Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands lives there and various international organisations are based in the city.

For the visitor there are many museums (don't forget the Mauritshuis next to the parliament building which houses the famous Girl with a Pearl Earring painting by Johannes Vermeer) and you are also near the coast. A short tram ride from Centraal Station (tram 9) takes you to Scheveningen where you can walk along the beach, wander in the sand dunes and look back in the direction of England.

Also nearby you will find the city of Delft, well worth a visit also.

For any visitor to The Netherlands who plans to see a lot of museums I recommend buying a Museumkaart which will get you free (sometimes just discounted) entry to museums throughout the country. Check out the museumkaart.nl website for info.

Summary: A nice place to visit so you don't spend all of your time in Amsterdam