Netherlands: Itinerary Planning Guide

The Netherlands is a small country with a disproportionate cultural footprint — Rembrandt, Vermeer, Van Gogh, Mondrian, and Escher were all Dutch; the country invented the modern stock exchange; and it has been engineering its relationship with water for 800 years in ways that have defined its landscapes and national identity. Twenty-six percent of the country lies below sea level, and much of what visitors see — including Amsterdam and Schiphol Airport — was reclaimed from the sea or from marshland. Amsterdam is one of Europe's most beautiful cities: a 17th-century Golden Age canal ring, world-class museums including the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum, and Anne Frank House, and a liberal culture that makes it uniquely open. The Netherlands beyond Amsterdam is often overlooked. The Hague's Mauritshuis museum holds Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring; Delft's blue pottery and Vermeer's birthplace are 10 minutes apart; Rotterdam's post-war architecture rivals anything in Europe; and the tulip fields of Keukenhof open for eight weeks each spring. The country is almost entirely flat, which makes it the world's most cycle-friendly destination. Renting a bicycle and riding between villages, windmills, and cheese markets is the most practical and rewarding way to see the Netherlands beyond the cities.