This list of places to see in Holland It will help you organize your trip to what is considered one of the best countries to live in the world, making the most of your time.
Although it is usual to refer to Holland as a country, it is actually the most important historical region, of which the whole of the Netherlands forms and where you can enjoy bike rides through fields of flowers and tulips, see how the antlers roll Windmills, taste the best cheeses in the world, tour cities of canals and colorful facades and above all, fall in love with their fairytale villages.
To visit all these places you can combine bus and train excursions from Amsterdam or rent a car to enjoy the freedom to stop wherever and whenever you want, a perfect option to make a route through the less touristy places.
The best time for a trip to Holland is usually from April to October, when the temperature is more pleasant and there is less rain although if you can choose, we recommend traveling in spring, coinciding with the flowering of the tulip fields, a show that we are Sure, it will leave you speechless.
Based on the trip to Amsterdam in 5 days in which we visited some of the jewels of the country and in next trips, we have made this selection of 10 essential places to visit in Holland. We start!
1. Amsterdam
Amsterdam, famous for its canals and bicycles, is one of the most tolerant cities in the world and one most essential places to see in Holland.
In this multicultural city of open minds, you will enjoy seeing bark houses with colorful facades of the 16th and 17th century and long walks along the shore of the 4 main canals and the old town. In addition, it is a city with hundreds of kilometers of bike lanes that will allow you to reach all its tourist attractions in a healthy way, in case you opt for this means of transport.
If you add to all these attractions its important museums such as Van Gogh and the Rijksmuseum, well-kept parks, old churches and an endless number of places full of atmosphere and restaurants around the world, surely Amsterdam will become one of your cities Favorites of the world.
One of the best tips for traveling to Amsterdam is to complete this list of essential places to visit in Amsterdam and this one of the best things to do in Amsterdam.
If you don't know very well how to trace the routes around the city, you can follow these optimized guides for days:
You can combine these routes by booking one of these tours or guided tours in Spanish that will allow you to learn about the history and curiosities of the capital of Holland.
Amsterdam
2. Zaanse Schans
Zaanse Schans, located 20 kilometers north of Amsterdam and known as the village of windmills, is another of the most famous places to visit in Holland.
In this town, which looks like an open-air museum thanks to the good state of conservation and restoration of the mills and traditional wooden houses, you will move to the 17th and 18th centuries.
During a tour of Zaanse Schans you can enter one of the windmills, see a cheese farm, visit a clog factory and of course, take some souvenir, something that has become practically a tradition for all travelers.
To visit Zaanse Schans from Amsterdam you can take a train at the Central Station that will leave you at the Koog-Zaandijk station in 15 minutes and from this station take a short 10-minute walk, crossing a drawbridge, to the mills.
A more comfortable option to get to Zaanse Schans is to book this bus tour that includes a guide in Spanish.
Zaanse Schans
3. Delft
Delft, located 50 kilometers from Amsterdam and known for its blue pottery, is one of the most beautiful cities to see in Holland which impresses with its small and beautiful old town, surrounded by ancient canals, where you will feel like in a fairy tale while walking through its streets.
In addition, this university city has a great student atmosphere that focuses on bars and squares, and a great cultural offer with museums and shows of all kinds.
Among the most beautiful places to visit in Delft are the huge Market Square, the Renaissance Town Hall, the Old Church, the Veermer Center, the Prinsenhof monastery and the New Church tower, from where you have fantastic views of the city.
You can get to Delft by train from Amsterdam Central Station in less than an hour or book this excursion that includes Rotterdam, The Hague and Madurodam by bus and with a guide in Spanish.
Delft
4. Utrecht, one of the cities to see in Holland
Utrecht, located in the heart of the Netherlands and with the most beautiful canals in Europe, is another of the essential cities to visit in Holland which also has the highest share of bikes per inhabitant and where you will find a combination of the past when you walk through its old town and present with urban and local landscapes of the latest trend.
In addition to being surprised by the contrasts, in Utrecht you can find museums, old churches, parks and enjoy all kinds of cultural and leisure activities such as climbing the Dom Tower, making an underground visit DOMunder to learn about the history of the city or touring the Different markets such as flowers or textiles.
If you want to know better the history of the city and not miss anything important you can book this free tour of Utrecht for free!
To get to Utrecht in less than half an hour you can take the intercity train at Amsterdam Central Station.
Utrecht, one of the places to see in Holland
5. Edam, Volendam and Marken
These three picturesque villages, which can be visited in one day, is one of the excursions from Amsterdam best valued by travelers.
This excursion usually begins in Volendam, a beautiful fishing village that is half an hour by bus from Amsterdam, where we recommend you to take a walk along the shore of the port where the most colorful houses are located and have a drink in some of its terraces. At the end of the visit, which usually lasts about two hours, you can take a ferry to reach Marken, a quiet traditional Dutch village where most of its houses have a garden, orchard and a small farm.
You can book here the ferry ticket to Marken in advance and here the one back to Volendam.
In the afternoon you can catch a bus again to get close to Edam, a picturesque town located 20 kilometers from Amsterdam and another of our favorite places to see in Holland.
Famous for its recommended Edam cheese, it is like a small Amsterdam, full of beautiful canals and colorful houses where, if you are lucky enough to travel in July and August and try to visit the town on Wednesdays, you can see a recreation of the old market of cheese
If you do not have a car and do not want to waste much time on public transport you can book this excursion to these three villages with a guide in Spanish that also includes Zaanse Schans.
Edam
6. Windmills of Kinderdijk
If you liked the windmills of Zaanse Schans, you will hallucinate with those of Kinderdijk, considered one of the most beautiful landscapes to see in Holland. These 19 beautiful windmills, declared World Heritage Sites, form the largest concentration of old windmills in the Netherlands and have helped this country's millennial struggle against the advance of the sea.
In addition to making hundreds of photos in one of the most beautiful postcard landscapes in Europe, you can visit one of the two museum-mills to know how it works.
You can get to Kinderdijk by boat or bus from Rotterdam although if you are staying in Amsterdam and do not want to rent a car, it will take more than two hours by public transport and you will have to change trains in Rotterdam.
Windmills of Kinderdijk
7. Rotterdam
When you arrive in Rotterdam you will see that it is not the typical Dutch city of canals and colorful houses, although that is why you should not underestimate it. This city, which suffered a devastating Nazi bombing on May 14, 1940, resurfaced from its ashes with some modern buildings made by great architects that placed it again, as one of the essential cities to visit in Holland.
Some of the most original and impressive buildings are the Cubic Houses, the Markthal market, the Central Station, the Erasmus bridge or the Van Nelle Factory although in addition to these architectural wonders, in Rotterdam you can see some building that survived the bombing like the City Hall , the Grote of Sint-Laurenskerk church or the Witte Huis house.
To finish a route through the city, come and have a drink in the lively Witte de Withstraat street, full of art galleries and bars.
Remember that an interesting way to get to know the city is to book this free tour of Rotterdam for free!
To get to Rotterdam from Amsterdam you can take the Intercity Direct train from the Central Station which takes 45 minutes or use the Flixbus bus company, a cheaper option.
Another interesting way to get to know Rotterdam is to book this guided tour in Spanish from Amsterdam and that includes the city of The Hague, another city to see in Holland.
Rotterdam
8. Alkmaar
In Alkmaar it is celebrated every Friday between 10 am and 12:30 am from April to September and it is the most famous cheese market to see in the Netherlands, which would be equivalent to saying the best in the world.
This tradition that has been carried out for centuries in Waagplein Square, consists in showing how it was marketed with local cheeses in the past, creating a colorful show and filling the square with cheeses of all types and sizes, making this a show for senses.
In addition to the famous market, Alkmaar has a fantastic historic center full of charming corners and buildings of the 16th and 17th century, which make it another of the places to visit in Holland.
The best way to get to Alkmaar is by taking the Intercity train at Amsterdam Central Station but if you prefer to have a guide in Spanish you can book this excursion to the Alkmaar cheese market.
Alkmaar, one of the cities to visit in Holland
Recommended travel cardsRemember that in order not to pay commissions and always have the current change we recommend you use the N26 card to pay and the Bnext and Revolut cards to get money at the ATMs. They are the ones we use, They are free and will save you a lot.
You can find more information in this article about the best cards to travel without commissions.
9. Keukenhof
Keukenhof also known as the garden of Europe, is one of the most beautiful gardens in the world and another one of the essential places to visit in Holland. In this large park of more than 32 hectares, more than 7 million tulips bloom each spring, forming a beautiful and huge color palette. In addition to tulips, this area has several manicured gardens of different themes and 4 pavilions where you can find all kinds of plants and flowers such as hyacinths, daffodils, orchids or roses.
You can reach the park by taking the Keu-ken-hof Express bus that leaves from the Schip-hol Aeroport and from Amsterdam's Lei-den Cen-traal train station.
Another more convenient way to get there is to book this tour with a guide in Spanish in advance.
Keukenhof
10. The Friesland Islands
The five Dutch Friesland Islands (Texel, Terschelling, Ameland, Vlieland and Schiermonnikoog), form one of the most unknown and most incredible landscapes to see in Holland.
Located in the north of the Netherlands, on the Wadden Sea, these islands are in a natural area declared a World Heritage Site and are perfect for spending the last days of the trip where you can relax on its long white sand beaches , which we could compare in some way to a paradise archipelago with Pacific atolls, where you can also practice from water sports or cycling, to cross with a guide from island to island.
To get to the Friesland Islands you will have to take a ferry from one of the coastal and nearby towns such as Den Helder.
Friesland Islands
Other places that could be included in this list of what to see in Holland they are the cities of Haarlem, The Hague, Leiden and the Biesbosch National Park.
If you feel like helping us expand the list 10 essential places to see in Holland, add yours in the comments.
