Driving Inspiration: Netherlands
Get inspired for driving in the Netherlands. Ideas, destinations and things to do on your road trip to the Netherlands.
Eat like a local in Amsterdam
There is no better way to really experience a city than to eat what the locals eat. So we have scoured the cafés, markets and restaurants of Amsterdam to give you some ideas on where to find the best food the next time you are in the Dutch capital. As you will discover, there’s more to Dutch food than herring. Although there is still plenty of herring!
From the delicious smells of the Dappermarkt, a fresh food market that is one of the best in the Netherlands, to the snacking pleasures of bitterballen and stroopwafel, Amsterdam has a lively food scene. Don't leave the Dutch capital without eating something fresh from a street vending machine, or experiencing the pleasures of a brown cafe, where beer menus are longer than most wine lists!
Visit Gouda
There's more than just cheese in Gouda.
Of course, the cheese is hard to miss. From the cheese shops to the cheese market and the De Waag (the cheese weighing house), the product for which Gouda is famous is rightly celebrated. But did you know that Gouda was also the childhood home of the Renaissance philosopher Erasmus, boasts the longest church in the Netherlands and holds the largest Christmas by candlelight event in the country?
If you are in Gouda between April and August make sure you are there for cheese market day, a custom stretching back hundreds of years. There is some stunning architecture to admire, such as the 15th-century Stadhuis and the Church of St. John. Don't miss the Cheese Experience, an interactive museum all about Gouda's signature staple.
Driving from Calais to The Hague
Think you know The Hague?
On the surface a sober city, the historic home of the Dutch parliament and the International Court of Justice, The Hague actually has some of the best beaches in Northern Europe. Did you also know that two of the greatest Dutch masterpieces hang in its world-leading art galleries?
There are many hidden delights in The Hague. Spending time there, you'll be beach-hopping as well as museum-hopping, soaking up as much sun as culture. With easy access to Amsterdam, Rotterdam and other Dutch gems such as Delft and Utrecht, The Hague is also an excellent stop on a Netherlands road trip.
