As a born and raised Dutch person, in my opinion, there is so much more to visit in the Netherlands than just Amsterdam, and if you stick to the capital you’re only just scratching the surface of this small but mighty country.
Look beyond Amsterdam’s tourist-filled canal belt and you’ll find villages plucked from a classical painting, with their windmills, tulips and swirling waterways. Vast national parks teeming with birdlife and crisscrossed with cycle trails, and innovative cities like Eindhoven and Rotterdam prove the country is also a hotbed of creativity.
The best part is that the national railway network reaches every corner of the country, and it’s relatively small, so even the farthest places from Amsterdam can be reached within a day trip. Below, we’ve put together 18 destinations in Holland outside of Amsterdam to consider adding to your itinerary, from villages where time seems to stand still to museum-filled cities.
This gallery has been updated with new information since it was first published. Additional reporting by Catherine LaGrave and Caitlin Morton.
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