Canals and dunes. What to see in The Hague

Being one hour away from Amsterdam, The Hague (Den Haag in Dutch) is the kind of pearl that may slip under the radar because of its proximity to a major tourist destination. Yet Den Haag is a wonderful city and a fantastic city break. While I love Amsterdam, Den Haag literally blew me away.

Let me start by saying that The Hague is no ordinary city. It is the seat of the Dutch government and de facto capital of the country, as well as a major university town. The blend of historical charm and contemporary vibrancy is incredible. And name another major European city within walking distance of sand dunes and long powdery beaches!

The practicalities – Getting to The Hague by train

Den Haag Centraal is just over 4 hours from London. The Eurostar stops in Rotterdam, so I did not even have to head to Amsterdam for my connecting train.

The Hague is also very easy to reach by train from Paris, Brussels, Strasbourg, Lyon, Nantes, Luxembourg City, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hannover, Cologne and Stuttgart to name a few. To get an idea of options and to book tickets, visit Trainline.

In addition there are ÖBB Nightjet services from Switzerland (Zürich and Basel), Austria (Vienna, Innsbruck, Linz) and Germany (Munich, Nürnberg, Koblenz). You will need to get off the Nightjet in Utrecht. But From there, it is a very civilised 37 minutes train ride to Den Haag (or you can take the excuse to walk around Utrecht for half a day.

What to see in The Hague – A long weekend itinerary

Two days give you a good feel for the city centre, but my recommendation is to give it at least three days to enjoy the charms of The Hague properly. We went for 3 nights/4 days and it felt like a proper mini-holiday.

Day 1 – Finding your bearings in the city centre

We left on the Friday morning, arriving in the afternoon. We checked into our apartment, and had our first experience of Den Haag magic. The apartment was overlooking a canal, and outside our front window a family of swans was gracefully sliding on the calm waters.

After grabbing a bite to eat in a local deli, we walked to find our bearings in the city centre, walking around randomly and slowly to soak in the delightful canal atmosphere.

We walked around the Binnenhof complex (the medieval courtyard building housing the Dutch Parliament, where many events of Dutch history took place. Although it is being restored, were able to walk around it quite comfortably, and to locate the tower where the Dutch Prime Minister has his/her office.

The Binnenhof borders the Hofvijver (Court Pond). This artificial lake was first dug amongst the dunes by the Counts of Holland in the 13th century. If you cross to the opposite side of the Hofvijver, you will end up in the best spot for the classic postcard shot of the Binnhenhof and Mauritshuis.

Mauritshuis, a grand merchant house next door to the Binnenhof, is now one of the most interesting museums in the Netherlands, with an incredible collection of grand masters. Tickets are sold online and being high season we realised that a lot of time slots were already fully booked. Only the early morning slots or late afternoon were still available, so we settled for early morning.

We made our way back from Hofvijver, bought some breakfast for the next morning in a supermarket, while admiring all the little details that make this city unique – and after an aperitif in a lovely little square, we headed to the FoodHallen to sample food from Vietnam to Spain in another ‘Hof‘, a traditional Dutch courtyard.

Day 2 – Grand masters and dunes

The next morning after breakfast we headed straight to Mauritshuis and spent an intense couple of hours admiring the collection – Mauritshuis has the highest number of masterpieces per sqm in the Netherlands, and between all the Vermeer’s, Rembrandt’s, Rubens’s, Frans Hals’s, and Van Dyck’s there is a lot to take in.

As I have a soft spot for Rubens, ‘The Anatomy Lesson’ and ‘Susanna’ were highlights for me. And I have to say the hype surrounding Vermeer‘s ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’ is deserved.

I also discovered an incredible female still life painter, Clara Peeters. I found her Still life with cheeses almonds and pretzels incredibly life-like, and being now close to mid-day and with a rumbling stomach made me appreciate it even more!

After the museum, we walked to the Nordeinde Palace, to check if the Dutch flag was flying, which means the king is in residence. King Willem was clearly still on holiday, and the palace is a working palace not opened to the public, but the royal connection is not the main draw of Nordeinde.

The Palace is famous for its gardens, a very popular picnic spot in Den Haag, so this is where we had our lunch, watching the world go by and recovering some energy before setting off for our afternoon hike to the beach.

The walk to the beach was quite straightforward, and beautiful. We crossed part of the Scheveningse Bosjes park, then beautiful Westbroek Park and we ended up in the Belgisch Park neighbourhood, right behind the beach.

Instead of heading towards the centre of Scheveningen, we turned right and entered the Oostduinen (Eastern dunes) nature area and ended up walking another 40 minutes at the back of the dunes, admiring the landscape and the vegetation, before we found a turn for the beach.

It is hard to describe the wild windswept beauty of Dutch beaches. Of course the water is not Sardinia’s or the Maldives, but there is something incredibly primeval and beautiful about the Dutch sand dunes. You feel like the whole ecosystem is still there, like it was 1000 or 2000 years ago, barely changed. And the sand is powdery and soft.

We went for a long walk, dipped our toes in the water, and then got ready to try another Dutch institution, the beach club. Actually, we tried 2 of them as we walked back. We had drinks and a vegetarian starter at Het Puntje, followed by another drink and main at Mantabeach!

Day 3 – The Peace Palace and the international quarter

We had a late start the next day, and a lighter plan. We decided to head back to the beach, but taking a different route, with a detour to visit the Vredepalais (Peace Palace), the seat of the International Court of Justice. I knew you could only visit with a guided tour, but I had not realised that you have to book the tour 2 weeks in advance.

I got over the disappointment though when they told us that we could at least enter the Visitor Centre, where we could take an audio tour, visit the exhibition and watch a film about the history of the Peace Palace and the judicial institutions located here. In addition, you can at least get a view of the gardens and the palace from the floor to ceiling windows.

After the tour, we explored the international quarter, where all the embassies are based, a bit more, and then the fine weather and the beach became too much of a pull.

We returned to Scheveningen, went for a long walk on the beach, and braved the cold North Sea for a swim. Feeling refreshed, we had an early dinner at another beach club, StrandpaviljoenZuid, on the Zuiderstrand side. After saying our goodbye to the dunes and the beach, we walked back to the centre for a final canalside drink at Bouzy, down the road from our apartment.

Day 4 – A royal morning in the Hagse Bos before heading home

We left the Hagse Bos for the last morning. It is a green oasis to the side of the centre, and the last relic of an ancient forest that stretched all the way to the beaches of Hook of Holland (by Rotterdam). It is also the seat of Huis ten Bosch Palace, another residence of the royal family.

We explored the forest for a couple of hours, and we returned to collect our luggage and do some last minute cheese shopping – I had not forgotten Clara Peeters’ still life and I wanted my own ‘real’ life Gouda to take home.

That is an experience I strongly recommend. I always forget how many types of Goudas you can chose from, based on the age, of course, but also the ingredients added to it, from cumin to truffle, Dutch cheese shops always surprise you with some new ones you have never tried or heard of before, and they all seem made with so much care it is hard not to fall in love. I guess I am a cheese-seller’s dream target!

After making my purchases, we headed back to Den Haag Central where it had all begun.

Is The Hague worth visiting?

The Hague is worth visiting and re-visiting! The city feels like the perfect size for a weekend break, and the blend of magnificent art, old world charm and fantastic beaches is unique. It felt like a Northern, Atlantic Barcelona. Vibrant yet elegant.

If you decide to visit the Netherlands and are looking for a base to explore the rest of the country, that is not as crowded as Amsterdam, The Hague ticks all the boxes.

Looking for other ideas for European long weekends by train? Check out my blog.

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This article is now featured on GPSmyCity. To download this article for offline reading or create a self-guided walking tour to visit the attractions highlighted in this article, go to Walking Tours and Articles in The Hague.