Everyone knows Amsterdam. Millions of foreign visitors come to check whether its rough image as the city of cannabis and Red Light District is really justified. Obviously both exist and are legal, but Amsterdam is also an excellent family destination and has a lot of artistic, cultural and historical significance. But North Holland consists of much more than just Amsterdam. The Waterland and Zaan Region around it consists of flat green polders with thousands of canals, windmills and farm houses, a landscape considered typical for the country. Especially Zaanse Schans, Volendam, Marken and Edam make a popular typical Dutch day-trip, with their clogs, traditional costumes and windmills. Also typical Dutch are its dykes, of which the Afsluitdijk and the Markerwaarddijk connect the province with respectively Friesland and Flevoland.
In the summer, many Dutch visitors head out to the sandy beaches of Kennemerland on the west coast. They are quite calm and relaxed, though Zandvoort can be crowded on very warm days. Another way to take some time off is in one of its natural parks. The historic towns of Haarlem and Alkmaar are also popular day-trips among tourists, the latter for its typical Dutch cheese market. The Kop van Noord-Holland is a distinctive area, part of which is known as West-Friesland with its own dialect (West Fries). Many historic trade towns from the Dutch Golden Age can be found here, such as Enkhuizen, Hoorn and Medemblik. Texel is the largest among the West Frisian Islands and a great tourist resort.
The Gooi and Vecht Region is an affluent area excellent for cycling through. There are plenty of forests and heath lands to explore, as well as interesting villages. Hilversum is the central town of the region and is home to some interesting modern architecture. Naarden has one of the best preserved fortified towns in the world, while Muiden has a large 13th-century castle and other medieval remains.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about North Holland
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in North Holland - updated Apr 2024
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North Holland Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
