Netherlands

The Netherlands is small, flat and very well organised, which makes it one of the easiest countries in Europe to travel. Trains run frequently between cities, almost everyone speaks good English, and distances are short enough to see a lot in a few days without rushing. Much of the country lies below sea level, reclaimed over centuries with dykes, pumps and windmills, and that story shapes the landscape everywhere you go.

Amsterdam is the starting point for most trips: canal houses, the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum, the Anne Frank House and the Jordaan neighbourhood. Day tours from the city take in the windmills of Zaanse Schans, the fishing towns of Volendam and Edam, and in spring the Keukenhof gardens. The Hague, seat of government and home of Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring at the Mauritshuis, pairs well with Delft and modern Rotterdam on a single day out. Utrecht, with its sunken canal wharves and cathedral tower, and Haarlem, with the Frans Hals Museum and a handsome market square, are both less than half an hour by train from the capital.

Dutch food is simple and satisfying. Try raw herring with onions from a street stand, bitterballen with mustard in a brown café, stroopwafels warm from the market, and Indonesian rijsttafel, a legacy of the colonial era that is now part of everyday dining. Cheese markets in Alkmaar and Gouda run in summer.

We offer Amsterdam city breaks, many Europe day tours from the capital and photography sessions at its best-known spots. The Netherlands is also the starting point for several of our rail tours and private van tours to Brussels, Paris and beyond, and for a self-drive loop through Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg. Travelling by train between cities is quick and simple, and a private guide or a canal cruise is the best way to understand how Amsterdam was built.