Planning guides
Each one answers a real question in the first paragraph. Sometimes the answer is that you do not need us.
The Netherlands without a car
You do not need a car. From Amsterdam Centraal, Haarlem is 15 minutes by train, Utrecht 27, Leiden 35, The Hague and Gouda about 50, Delft and Rotterdam about an hour, with trains every ten to thirty minutes and no reservations.
Do you need a guide in Delft?
Probably not, if you are happy to wander. Delft is small, flat, signposted and safe; the Markt is ten minutes from the station and every sight is within ten minutes of the Markt.
Can you visit Delft and The Hague in one day?
Yes, comfortably. For history and art it is one of the easiest two-city days from Amsterdam: Delft and The Hague are fifteen minutes apart on the same line.
The best Dutch city if you dislike crowds
Leiden. It has as many canals as anywhere, five good museums, and a population of students and residents who outnumber visitors on every day of the year except 3 October.
Which Dutch cities deserve a full day?
Give a full day to Leiden (museums), The Hague (art, palaces, the sea) and Rotterdam (spread-out sights and the river). Delft is a long half day that becomes a full day with Royal Delft or the tower.
The best day trip from Amsterdam with children
Rotterdam, for most families: water taxis on a real river, a 185-metre tower, a food hall under a painted ceiling and a show cube to climb through, all reachable by metro when legs give out. Gouda on a summer Thursday is the best small-town day (cheese market at 10:00, stroopwafels, one square).
The best Dutch city on a rainy day
Haarlem, if the museums are open: the Bavo, the Teylers and the Frans Hals Museum are all indoors and within ten minutes of each other, fifteen minutes from Amsterdam. Leiden runs it close with five museums on a walking scale.
Day trips from Amsterdam under 30 minutes by train
Two cities on this site are under thirty minutes from Amsterdam Centraal: Haarlem at about fifteen minutes and Utrecht at about twenty-seven, both with trains every few minutes and no reservations. Leiden, at about thirty-five, is the next.
Best Dutch city for history, art or architecture
It depends which of the three you mean. History: Delft (William of Orange, the royal crypt, Vermeer’s town) or Leiden (the 1574 siege, the 1575 university, the Pilgrims).