Rotterdam

Rotterdam is a brash, modern city where old and new quickly give way to each other. It is famous for its innovative architecture. Besides the world-renowned cube houses on Blaak, Rotterdam’s impressive skyline is growing by the day. High-rise projects such as the Montevideo at the Kop van Zuid and the renovated and trendy Lloyd Quarter show off the city’s dynamic character. Rotterdam is also the place to experience a traditional Dutch atmosphere, in Delfshaven for example or among the characteristic 18th-century Wijnhaven buildings by the Oude Haven (Old Dock).

Rotterdam is nowadays also known as the number one festival city: every summer various celebrations and events draw enthusiastic crowds.
You can swing subtropically at the Summer Carnival or experience the power of the port during the World Port Days. There’s plenty of room for sunbathing on the Strand on the Maas. There’s lots to take in culturally too: major special exhibitions at the Kunsthal and the Boijmans-van Beuningen Museum besides progressive initiatives by young artists: Rotterdam has it all.

In addition there are the many existing and new attractions that make the city so lively. Its extensive shopping facilities, many hotels and trendy clubs make the city a magnet on a grand scale. Take a sightseeing tour of the port on a Spido boat or visit the new tiger accommodation at Blijdorp Zoological Gardens. Feel the adrenaline coursing through your veins as you abseil down the Euromast. And if after an exciting day out in the city you want to continue your enjoyment, what could be a better place to round off a day in Rotterdam in style than the Westelijk Handelsterrein (Western Trade Area) with its trendy bars and culinary extravagances?

The Hague

The Netherlands’ seat of government with its palaces and ministries, but also with many shops and museums. Also well worth while is a trip to the beach at Scheveningen with its famous pier.

Gouda

This attractive little town with its world-famous town hall is certainly worth a visit. And don’t forget the cheese market!

Delft

Discover Delft’s other colours

Come and enjoy colourful Delft
Stroll past the stately canal-side houses in the centuries-old city centre. Take a look in the Nieuwe Kerk in the Market Place. Take a boat trip under arched bridges, past courts of almshouses and narrow alleyways. Or take a circular tour on the Horse Tram. And then descend on a sunny café-terrace on the Beestenmarkt. There are innumerable things to experience and do on a day out in Delft.

Historic city
The historic city centre is well preserved, its medieval layout readily seen everywhere. In the Golden Age the city developed into a rich mercantile city with an East India Company Chamber and famous scholars and painters. The best-known painter is undoubtedly Johannes Vermeer, who was born here in 1632, lived here nearly all his life and painted his matchless masterpieces here. Delft has a special link with the Dutch royal house. Prince William of Orange (‘the Silent’) was murdered in Delft in 1584. You can admire his marble mausoleum in the Nieuwe Kerk, above the burial vault of the royal family.

Delft Blue
Delft is a byword all over the world as the city of Delft blue pottery with its centuries-old tradition. Potteries arose in the 17th century. The United East India Company brought back Chinese porcelain. Inspired by this, Delft blue pottery was developed. At the industry’s height there were at least 32 workshops in the city. The best-known of those remaining is the Koninklijke Porceleyne Fles (Royal Delft) where you can see for yourself craftsmen still making Delftware by hand. You can see the painters at work in the workshop. And you can have a go yourself, as regular workshops are held at which you can take a paintbrush in hand.
Delft also has a high reputation to maintain in contemporary ceramics, with some twenty galleries and art shops.

Music and theatre
Cultural events are held frequently in the old city centre, such as the Mooi Weer Spelen (Fine Weather Theatre) street theatre festival in June: summer activities in which musicians and theatre companies show off their arts. Also famous is the Delft Chamber Music Festival in the Prinsenhof Civic Museum, held in August each year.

Shopping
Delft is perfect for shopping, not just because there are so many attractive stores but also because you are in such beautiful and historic surroundings. Delft has innumerable shops: from large department stores, trendy shops and exclusive speciality shops to shops where relaxed browsing is the name of the game, outstanding antique shops and galleries.

Eating and drinking
Delft is well known for its sociable, historic centre with its many charming bars, grand cafés, bistros and restaurants.
The range of catering and entertainment facilities on offer is excellent, not least because Delft is also a student city.
On fine summer evenings it is pleasantly busy on the Beestenmarkt, one of the friendliest squares in the Netherlands. What could be more relaxing than to tarry there a while?

Neeltje Jans – Delta Project/Zeeland

This construction island is left over from the building of a new example of Holland’s Glory, the Eastern Scheldt Storm Surge Barrier. Here you can see how the barrier was constructed and how everything works.

Eastern Scheldt and Grevelingen

These fine watersports areas are also an eldorado for sports divers.

Rockanje

The seaside resort of Rockanje is wholly geared to beach and dune recreation: accommodation, good things to eat and drink on a café-terrace, various activities and above all great opportunities to enjoy yourself on the beach – all these give Rockanje that little bit extra.
Because of its happy bustle and all the beach activities, Rockanje’s bathing beach is a popular destination for beachgoers. Sandbanks lie off Rockanje’s beach. These make the sea very calm here, making it safe for children to play at the water’s edge.

To the north of the bathing beach is a part of the beach suitable for nude recreation. Rockanje bathing beach has a full range of amenities and can be reached via two sets of steps over the dyke. There is ample parking for both cars and bicycles by the paths to the steps.

Brielle

Brielle is full of reminders of a distant past. During its rich history the town has received kings and its inhabitants have included admirals, writers and poets, and yes, even martyrs. Buildings and streets remind us of them.
Hidden behind the many historic frontages are charming shops and restaurants and sociable bars and cafés.

DThe harbour, where fishing boats and merchantmen used to tie up until long after the end of the Middle Ages, now provides berths for pleasure craft. Brielle is a stone’s throw from the Brielse Maas, which is a wonderful watersports area. In addition, the cycle paths along its shores are an ideal base for trips through the old polders that surround the fortified town.
Each year on 1 April a centuries-old ‘liberation day’ is celebrated. And is the town’s name Brielle or Den Briel? You can say both! The fact remains that since 1572 the port has been open and hospitably welcoming to all visitors.

The Historical Museum
Den Briel Historical Museum is located in the heart of the old fortified town of Brielle on Voorne-Putten in South Holland. The museum is housed in the old town hall complex, in a building that was erected in 1623 as the town prison and weigh house.
Brielle has a long, troubled history. The museum, whose collections are extensive, gives a picture of the history of the town and of Voorne-Putten. The museum was recently refurbished and modernised. Because the building has retained its original character, its atmosphere is wholly unique.
The collection numbers approximately 6,000 items, of which some 400 are on permanent display.

Catharijnekerk
The Catharijnekerk (St Catherine’s Church) is the largest historic building in Brielle.
Services are held on Sundays, in addition to which the church also offers many other experiences.

The wonderful building can be toured during the summer season.
You can also ascend the towers and enjoy the vistas over Brielle and the surrounding countryside.
In the tower is a carillon on which regular concerts are given.
The church itself is also a splendid location for concerts. In the summer months there is a series of organ concerts.

Hellevoetsluis

Hellevoetsluis is a beautiful old fortified town on the Haringvliet with a population of over 40,000. In the Middle Ages Hellevoetsluis was an important navy port. The town has been designated for expansion: large-scale urbanisation has take place in recent years and the town is very popular with watersports enthusiasts, who have plenty of room to practice the recreation on the Haringvliet.
The harbour and fortifications have remained only partly intact, and include the dry dock and admiralty building. Hellevoetsluis is one of those towns where history, land and water have combined to create a paradise for walkers, cyclists and watersports enthusiasts alike.

The National Fire Brigade Museum
The National Fire Brigade Museum in Hellevoetsluis is the very centre of fire brigade history. Through many preserved artefacts, a splendid picture is drawn of developments in fire fighting down the centuries.
The major draw is of course the amazing collection of old fire engines: from hand-operated pumps to high-pressure spray hoses.
The museum houses a rich collection of fire-fighting equipment: from the most primitive devices of around 1550 to modern fire-fighting methods of the present day.
There is a collection of hand-operated pumps, there are pumps with splendid decorative wrought iron work on them, and dozens of leather buckets. You can see unique pumps from Soestdijk Palace, but also the earliest beginnings of the company fire brigade with its wheeled pumps.
And then of course there are the shiny, vivid red fire engines with their gleaming brasswork including the legendary Ahrens Fox with its impressive chrome sphere mounted on top of the pump, and the luxury Italian Fiat.
The National Fire Brigade Museum is at Industriehaven 8 in the Hellevoetsluis fortress.

Jan Blanken Dry Dock
A hydrological achievement of impressive size is rising again in the Vestinghaven at Hellevoetsluis. New life is being breathed into the 200-year old Jan Blanken Dry Dock, constructed of brickwork and stone.
The Jan Blanken Dry Dock is an integral part of the Fortress. The municipality aims to develop the Fortress into an attractive cultural and historical centre with a maritime character.

Address:
Droogdok Jan Blanken
Industriehaven 50
3221AD Hellevoetsluis

Lightship 12 “Noord-Hinder” Museum
The “Noord-Hinder”, now permanently berthed in the Koopvaardijhaven, was built in 1963 at the De Waal yard in Zaltbommel and did service at sea until 1994. There it served as a floating lighthouse, a beacon in the sea to warn seafarers of the dangerous shoals.
The “Noord-Hinder” is a unique ship, and an important one in the Netherlands’ maritime history. It remains in its original condition.