North Holland

Between the North Sea and the IJsselmeer lies the province that has shaped the image of the Netherlands abroad like no other: canals, windmills, cheese markets and tulip fields. A vacation in North Holland combines the world city of Amsterdam with broad sandy beaches, quiet polders and port towns that once dominated global trade.

Land Wrested from the Sea

North Holland is largely man-made. The Beemster, the Schermer and the Haarlemmermeer were once lakes, until windmills and later pumping stations drained them. The Beemster Polder, dating from the early 17th century, with its ruler-straight grid of dikes, roads and ditches, is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as is the Defence Line of Amsterdam, a ring of fortifications around the capital. In the west, a belt of dunes protects the low-lying land: between Zandvoort, Bergen and Callantsoog, national parks such as Zuid-Kennemerland stretch out with bison, heathland and pine forest. Far to the north lies Den Helder, from where the ferry crosses in 20 minutes to Texel, the largest of the Wadden Islands and part of the province.

Amsterdam and Haarlem

Amsterdam may be the capital of the kingdom, but the provincial capital is the quieter Haarlem. Think of Amsterdam and you think of the Golden Age canal ring, the narrow gabled houses along the Herengracht and Prinsengracht, the Rijksmuseum with Rembrandt's Night Watch, the Van Gogh Museum and the Anne Frank House. The neighborhoods beyond the postcard views are rewarding too: the Jordaan with its hofjes, the former harbor district on the IJ with the Eye Filmmuseum, and the lively De Pijp with the Albert Cuyp Market. Haarlem, just a 15-minute train ride away, has one of the loveliest town centers in the country in the Grote Markt and the Sint-Bavokerk; the Frans Hals Museum displays group portraits by the famous painter. Amstelveen, Hoofddorp and Hilversum, the media city in the Gooi region with its brick architecture by Willem Dudok, are part of the densely populated metropolitan area.

Sights in North Holland Beyond the Capital

On the Zaan River near Zaandam, sawmills, oil mills and paint mills still turn at the Zaanse Schans, a legacy of Europe's first industrial region. From April to September, Alkmaar draws visitors on Fridays with its cheese market, where porters in white outfits carry wheels of cheese on wooden sledges across the Waagplein. Along the shore of the IJsselmeer you'll find a string of old Zuiderzee towns: Hoorn with its harbor tower, Enkhuizen with the open-air Zuiderzee Museum, Edam and Volendam with wooden boats and fish stalls, plus Marken, formerly an island. In spring, the outskirts of the Bollenstreek bulb region and the fields around Den Helder and Anna Paulowna turn into stripes of red, yellow and violet. Beachgoers head to Zandvoort, Egmond aan Zee and Bergen aan Zee; Zandvoort also hosts a Formula 1 race.

Culture and History

In the 17th century, Amsterdam was the seat of the Dutch East India Company and a hub of global trade; Hoorn and Enkhuizen sent ships as far as Asia. The wealth of that era can still be read in merchants' houses, weigh houses and churches. Industrialization along the Zaan followed later, then the construction of the North Sea Canal and the closing off of the Zuiderzee by the Afsluitdijk in 1932, over which the road to Friesland now runs. Culturally, the province is richly endowed: besides the great Amsterdam institutions, there is the Stedelijk Museum for modern art, Teylers Museum in Haarlem, the country's oldest museum, and numerous smaller collections in the port towns.

Food and Drink

Herring is eaten raw here with onions, best in June, when the new-season Hollandse Nieuwe arrives at the stands. In Volendam you'll find smoked eel, and in Alkmaar and Edam, of course, cheese. Amsterdam's cuisine is international, from Indonesian rijsttafel to Surinamese; the brown cafés are also typical, wood-paneled pubs serving jenever and bitterballen. On Texel, lamb and beer from the island's brewery are on the menu.

Getting Around and Best Time to Visit

Schiphol is one of Europe's largest airports and is connected to Amsterdam by train in about 15 minutes; from Germany, ICE trains run directly to the capital via Utrecht. Within the province, you can get around easily by train, bus and ferry, and a bicycle is by far the best way to travel in the flat countryside and the dunes anyway. The best time to visit is between April and September: tulips bloom in April, the whole country celebrates King's Day at the end of April, and summer belongs to beaches and festivals. Fall and winter are well suited to museums and cities, when Amsterdam grows quieter and hotel prices dip slightly.