Netherlands Guide
The eastern Netherlands
In the eastern Netherlands the flat polder landscapes of the west gradually give way as the countryside ripples up towards the border with Germany. Arriving from Amsterdam, the first province you reach is Flevoland, whose three pancake-flat, reclaimed polders – the twin Flevoland polders and the Noordoostpolder – are decidedly tedious. The boundary separating Flevoland from the province of Overijssel runs along the old Zuider Zee shoreline and it's here that the region comes up trumps with a string of former seaports. The third province covered in this section, Gelderland, spreads east from Utrecht to the German frontier, taking its name from the German town of Geldern, which was its capital until the late fourteenth century. Its interest is mixed but worth a short visit.
Highlights
1 Giethoorn A postcard-pretty hamlet set amid lakes and wetlands, Giethoorn is an ideal place for pottering around on the water.
2 Blokzijl Lovely little town and former Zuider Zee port perched on the edge of moors and wetlands.
3 Zutphen Quintessential Dutch country town tucked up against the River IJssel.
4 Paleis Het Loo, Apeldoorn Grand seventeenth-century palace that was formerly home to the Dutch royal family.
5 Arnhem This garden city with a tragic wartime history makes a good base for exploring this attractive region.
6 Hoge Veluwe National Park Spacious area of heath and forest, crossed by footpaths and cycle routes galore.
7 Kröller-Müller Museum Outstanding museum of modern European art, with a large sculpture garden and impressive collection of works by Van Gogh.
8 Nijmegen The Netherlands' oldest town, with a ruined castle at its core.