Den Haag Highlights
Picturesque Delft - located near Den Haag
Den Haag is an overlooked gem in The Netherlands, offering much more than its role of the adminsitrative centre of The Netherlands. Discover its many attractions, and read on!
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Den Haag Highlights
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After checking into our hotel at Hilton The Hague, it was already pretty late, so we decided to just go for the evening cocktails and an early night. Because it would be a full day of exploration the next day! We focused our visit on two main areas: Delft and the Mauritshuis.
How we travelled to Den Haag from Amsterdam
In the end, we decided to take an Uber to Den Haag (uber expensive!), but the convenience outweighed the cost, and especially since we avoided carrying the luggage around, which would have been challenging due to my illness.
Alternatively, we could have easily take the train from Amsterdam Centraal Station, and the journey will take about 1-1.5 hours, depending on whether you took the Intercity (which goes directly to Den Haag) or not. Wanderlustingk detailed the procedures of doing this very nicely.
Delft
Delft is a charming city in the province of Zuid-Holland, The Netherlands, affectionately nicknamed Prinsenstad, or the "Prince City." It holds a special place in Dutch history as the home of the Dutch Royal Family, the Oranjes, dating back to the 15th century when Willem van Oranje lived and was murdered there.
As one of the many picturesque and historic cities in The Netherlands, Delft is renowned for its pretty canal houses, gorgeous streets, numerous monuments, and scenic canals. We experienced this charm firsthand when we visited early in the morning, before the influx of tourists. The missus and I really loved the peaceful vibes and unique cobblestone streets, and getting lost in them was a delight 😆.
A must-see is the Stadhuis (City Hall), located next to the Nieuwe Kerk (New Church). The church's 85-meter tower will offer you the best view of Delft, and on a clear day, you can even see Rotterdam and Den Haag. However, we chose not to climb up because 1. there are 376 stairs and 2. the missus was afraid of heights, she decide to not go up after seeing the narrow and spiralled staircases 🤣
We also visited the Oude Kerk (Old Church), admiring its beautiful and typical old Dutch glass windows, which are quite characteristic of European church designs.
We were lucky to hear the bells chiming from the Nieuwe Kerk, playing an interesting tune that added to the experience!
Wandering through the beautiful cobblestone streets, we stumbled upon a cute and quaint chocolate shop. Initially, we just wanted to escape the cold and use the restroom, but we found the hot chocolate to be one of the best that we have tried!
The town is also dotted with many beautiful courtyards, and there are locals still staying around these courtyards! We loved exploring these tranquil spaces, appreciating the blend of serenity and adventure they offered.
Mauritshuis
This was the highlight of our trip here in Den Haag! Mauritshuis is located in the city centre, the historical and political heart of the Netherlands. It houses a formidable collection of 17th-century Dutch and Flemish paintings, including masterpieces by Rembrandt and Vermeer.
More importantly, go to the top of the museum for the main highlight:Vermeer's famous Girl with a Pearl Earring. Despite the crowd, we were mesmerized by seeing the painting in person! There's something captivating about the girl's expression; it felt like she was staring directly at us no matter where we stood 😮
We bought our tickets from the official website, and although it was not super cheap (19.50 EUR), we found the visit to be totally worth it. Plan to spend at least half a day there, and it's best to go in the late afternoon when the crowd is smaller!
After our museum visit, we strolled around the Hofvijver area, enjoying the beautiful views of the Binnenhof and government buildings, before taking the tram back to our hotel.
Conclusion
Our visit completely transformed our perception of The Hague. Who says the Netherlands’ administrative centre is not as (if not more) interesting than Amsterdam? Be sure to pay a visit to Delft and Mauritshuis! In our opinion, this was one of the best moments of our trip to Europe.
Next up, we're returning to a city that I have only recently visited, and can't wait to show the missus around this beautiful city!
