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Rotterdam doesn’t host a single city‑wide Christmas market, but the Winterterrassen Festival (Winter Terraces Festival) brings festive cheer to the historic Laurenskerk on 21–22 November 2025. Expect heated terraces beneath…
Discover the best Christmas markets in Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. From Bruges to Maastricht, explore festive traditions, twinkling lights and seasonal treats across Europe’s most enchanting winter destinations. If…
Haarlem’s weekend Christmas market is a Dutch favourite, with hundreds of stalls radiating from the Grote Markt into the old town’s handsome streets. You’ll find crafts, seasonal bakes and cosy…
The Hague’s Royal Christmas Fair brings a festive glow to Lange Voorhout, one of the city’s most elegant avenues. Expect quality stalls, twinkling lights, live performances and plenty of warming…
Maastricht’s Vrijthof hosts a polished winter village with a Ferris wheel, an indoor ice rink and rows of chalet stalls. The scene is framed by twin churches and historic façades…
Amsterdam’s Winter Paradise brings a full suite of festive fun to the RAI: indoor and outdoor rinks, rides, live music and a food village, all under sparkling lights. It’s ticketed…
Valkenburg aan de Geul’s ‘Christmas Town’ is unlike anywhere else in Europe. Valkenburg ChristmasMarkets unfold inside marlstone caves beneath the ruined castle (Velvet Cave) and in the Municipal Cave, while…
There is always a happy frisson present at the Eurostar Terminal at Kings Cross St. Pancras, London. High levels of excitement compete with practicalities of modern travel; do I have…
The more you travel the more you realise we have to learn – especially from other nations. The Netherlands is a case in point. Climate change is going to have…
Robert Spellman explores the Dutch capital via the I Amsterdam City Card You know what they say: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Well, that old maxim certainly applies…
The swift passage Eurostar Business Premier from Kings Cross St. Pancras Station is a dream. The extra room, refreshments on tap and the service made me feel like a superstar…
Robert Spellman travels to Haarlem city in the Netherlands and discovers a city rich in culture and a laid-back attitude. I’m at a point now where “could I live here?”…
Travel Begins at 40 rounds up the best global festivals in July 2023 from Pennsylvania to South Korea, so wherever you are you can join in the celebrations. Music Festivals…
Mark Bibby Jackson visits Utrecht Netherlands to discover a visionary view of a sustainable future for the tourism industry. If you have never tried a bitterbal then you have never…
Travel Begins at 40 has scanned the globe to bring you our tips on where to go in March from Japan to Brazil, with activities from watching bulbs grow in…
After visiting Rotterdam, Mike East planned to spend just a few rushed hours in Maastricht; however, the city trapped him with unexpected charms. It was supposed to be a hop…
Mike East travels to Holland’s second city and is pleasantly surprised by the things to do in Rotterdam, including its quirky architecture. I had come here at the request of…
If you can’t make the Rio Carnival and Notting Hill Carnival, head for the Rotterdam Carnival (Summer Carnival Rotterdam this summer. From 25 to 26 July, the Netherlands…
The streets and canals of Amsterdam will once more host the tenth Amsterdam Light Festival this winter, from 27 November, 2025 to 18 January, 2026. The theme of the 2025…
What happens when you ask ambassadors around the world for an insider travel tip on the countries they represent, and while they’re at it, counter some common cliches…
Coffee shops and red light district, if that’s your image of Amsterdam then think again, the Dutch city has some of the finest culture and gastronomy in Europe. I fully…
One of the smallest countries in Europe, the Netherlands is a great place to lose yourself, especially in the coffee shops of its capital Amsterdam. Rich with culture – they don’t call them the Dutch masters for nothing – a trip to this country is sure to leave you richer, at least spiritually.
The capital city is one of the greatest cities in Europe full of exciting galleries, great bars, canals and of course those coffee shops. However, there is so much more to enjoy throughout the country, especially if you take a trip to the beaches in the north.
The country’s population is 17,105,099 (4 December, 2018).
Unusual for us Brits to get things wrong – don’t mention Brexit – the correct name for the country is not Holland, but the Netherlands. In fact, Holland is a region to the west of the country. Saying a Dutch person is from Holland is a bit like telling a Brit he is from England – and we all know how well that goes down in Scotland. As for Dutch, well it’s a corruption of Deutsch, which means German. Well, we can’t get it right all of the time.
Now that Eurostar has trains from London St Pancras to Amsterdam there has never been a better time to visit the country. Or you can always pop across on the ferry before they pull up the drawbridge. Don’t wait.
