NETHERLANDS
Vacations and Sightseeing

Basic information
Official language	Dutch
Capital	Amsterdam
Area	41.528 km²
Population	17,199,903  (2021)
Currency	euro  (EUR)
Web	.nl
Code.	NLD
Tel.	+31

Cities in NETHERLANDS

Amsterdam	Eindhoven	Maastricht
Rotterdam	The hague

Vacations and Sightseeing

Windmills at Kinderdijk, Netherlands_{Photo: Lucas Hirschegger CC 3.0 Unported no changes made}

The Netherlands is a popular tourist destination for both its own population and foreigners and is therefore an important economic factor. In 2011, the Netherlands was visited by more than 11.3 million foreign tourists. Most tourists come from Germany and mainly from England, the United States, Belgium and France. In the 1990s more and more tourists came from Spain and Italy, while the number of visitors from Eastern Bloc countries increased rapidly after the fall of the Wall.

Delta Works, Netherlands_{Photo: Martin Terber (CC BY-ND 2.0) no changes made}

Tourism provides the Netherlands with many tens of billions of euros in turnover. The Netherlands is a real water country and an Eldorado for surfers, sailors and swimmers. Bridges, dikes, mills and pumping stations provide excellent tourist pictures and, for example, the Delta Works are visited by many foreign tourists.
The large cities, each with their own character, also attract many tourists.

Keukenhof Lisse, Netherlands_{Photo: Alessandro Vecchi CC 3.0 Unported no changes made}

Amsterdam is of course a top hit, but cities such as Rotterdam, The Hague, Delft, Eindhoven, Haarlem, Utrecht, Groningen and Maastricht are also important for tourism. Historical buildings, monuments, museums, traditions and many events are the attractions. The Netherlands has around 1000 museums, making it the largest museum density in the world. The Rijksmuseum with Rembrandt's "Night Watch" is the most famous art history museum. As a flower country par excellence, the Netherlands is famous abroad. Especially the bulb fields in North and South Holland and Keukenhof are world famous. Foreign tourists book between 25-30 million overnight stays annually. The number of hotel guests increased by 18% in the period 2002-2012.

Interior of the palace on Dam Square in Amsterdam_{Photo: Davidh820 CC 4.0 Internationalno changes made}

The Anne Frank House cannot be skipped during a visit to Amsterdam. On the Prinsengracht is the house where Anne Frank went into hiding for almost 2 years during the Second World War. In this house Anne wrote her world famous diary. The Secret Annex has been converted into a museum where you can still see exactly how the Frank family lived during the war together with four other people in hiding.The Royal Palace on Dam Square in Amsterdam is open to the public when not in use by the Royal Family (happens about twice a year, for ceremonial family and state events). Construction of this impressive building started in 1648 and the palace was not finished until 1665. Jacob van Campen designed the palace in the Dutch Classicist style. Officially, the building served as Amsterdam's town hall, but after 1808 it was used as a royal palace. Today, guided tours of the palace are held and there are regular exhibitions.

Gorilla Bokito in Blijdorp zoo in Rotterdam_{Photo: Maarten Visser CC 2.0 Generic no changes made}

Nightlife in Rotterdam is somewhat fragmented. Important areas are De Oude haven, Stadhuisplein, Delfshaven and Witte de Withstraat. The Nieuwe Binnenweg (Café Ari, Rotown) is also a well-known entertainment area. There are countless food and beverage outlets. Rotterdam is also the birthplace of the gabber scene and has internationally renowned clubs. You can relax with a drink at café De Witte Aap, which has been voted the best bar in the world by the Lonely Planet, the international travel guide for backpackers. The Diergaarde Blijdorp in Rotterdam is one of the oldest zoos in the Netherlands. Since 1988, Blijdorp has applied a 'master plan' that has changed the entire zoo. According to the master plan, animals are ordered by continent, in natural looking biotopes. Not only animals, but also plants and cultural elements from the simulated biotope are shown.

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Sources

Haafkens, M. / Nederland
Gottmer

Harmans, G.L.M. / Nederland
Van Reemst

Metze, M. / De staat van Nederland
SUN

Ver Berkmoes, R. / Netherlands
Lonely Planet

CIA - World Factbook

BBC - Country Profiles

Last updated March 2024
Copyright: Team The World of Info