Netherlands Guide
Things not to miss
1 Amsterdam • There's plenty to see in the Netherlands apart from Amsterdam, but it would be a strange trip that missed out this picturesque capital altogether.
2 St Janskerk, Gouda • Gouda is an archetypal country town of canals and fancy gables, whose church has a wonderful set of stained-glass windows.
3 Delft • Eulogized by Vermeer, Delft's centre is particularly handsome, and its market square is one of the country's best.
4 Anne Frank Huis, Amsterdam • A poignant and personal evocation of the Nazi persecution of the Jews. The photo shows the bookcase behind which the Frank family hid for two years.
5 ‘s Hertogenbosch • This lively market town features an intricate old quarter of canals and picturesque bridges, plus a stunning cathedral.
6 Kröller-Müller Museum • This superb art museum and sculpture garden is set in the heart of the Hoge Veluwe National Park.
7 Delta Project and Expo • The series of huge dykes and flood-barriers in the far-flung western province of Zeeland, which bear witness to the country's long battle to hold the sea at bay, are celebrated in an adjacent exhibition hall.
8 Hoge Veluwe National Park • A richly forested swathe of dunes and woodland in the middle of the country. Cycle your way around thanks to a fleet of free-to-use white bicycles.
9 Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam • Grand museum with a superb collection of seventeenth-century Dutch paintings, including several of Rembrandt's key works.
10 Maastricht • This atmospheric, laidback city in the far south, squeezed between the porous Belgian and German borders, offers a worldly outlook and a superb old quarter.
11 Keukenhof gardens • Some seven million flowers are on show here in these extensive gardens, which specialize in daffodils, narcissi, hyacinths and – of course – tulips.
12 IJsselmeer • This beautiful inland lake, formerly the Zuider Zee, lies at the heart of the Netherlands and is the country at its watery best, with charming old ports like Hoorn and Enkhuizen and former islands like Urk to explore.
13 The Biesbosch • As an escape from Dutch urban life, the reedy marshes and lagoons of the Biesbosch are hard to beat.
14 Den Haag (The Hague) • Den Haag has a reputation for dourness that is completely undeserved, boasting a first-rate restaurant scene, smart hotels and enough prime museums to exhaust even the most energetic sightseer.
15 Frisian Islands • Of the string of wild and windswept holiday islands off the northern Dutch coast, Terschelling is the most popular, a fine spot for walks and bike-rides amid the dunes.
16 Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam • Quite simply the best and most comprehensive collection of Van Gogh's work anywhere.
17 Wadlopen • One novel way of getting to the Frisian Islands is to try guided wadlopen or "mud-walking" from the mainland at high tide.
18 Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem • Often neglected, Hals was one of the finest of the Golden Age painters, his later canvases acutely dark and broody.