Netherlands is one of the few countries (Italy comes to my mind as well as I type this) that has a lot of small and very cute towns. Given that it is not a big country, all the towns are quite close together, so I was basically hopping from one to the other. With that in mind, here is my summary of the towns of Holland (the west/south side of Netherlands) that are worth seeing (or maybe not) with my trip finale of cycling around the Kinderdijk Windmills.
Enjoy reading and make sure to scroll all the way through.
when the main road involves crossing a river
Gouda
Yes, I am talking about Gouda, where the cheese comes from. It is such a gorgeous town. It was a shame that it was raining quite heavily so I spent most time hiding from the rain. Well, on the positive side it lead me to a cute Italian Deli shop where I had a nice pasta dish for lunch. I will put Gouda on my list to go back to. Next to Zwolle of course!
Due to the weather I don‘t have many photos. But take my word for it, I would highly recommend a visit. You will love it!
Utrecht
Utrecht is not really in the Holland part of Netherlands but I did make a quick stop there after Gouda. It was still raining and so I only did a quick walk through the centre. Driving into Utrecht it didn’t look very promising but once I was inside the old town I was amazed.
Utrecht is gorgeous and worth a visit. That said I am sure I would have appreciated it more on a sunny day.
The others towns of Holland
I had a night with my friends in the small town Laren (just south of Amsterdam). And although I didn‘t take any photos it is a cute little town, filled with glamorous and stylish looking locals.
Leiden, The Hague and Delft were next on my list and luckily it stopped raining. Leiden was a nice small town but given all the other amazing towns of Holland and Netherlands I wouldn‘t make it a must see.
The Hague
The Hague city was quite disappointing. I guess my expectations were a little bit higher after all the other towns but I would easily give it a miss. Well, it depends what you prefer but if you after the cute idyllic old towns, The Hague doesn‘t deliver. I took one quick photo while cycling through it.
Delft City
Delft on the other hand was gorgeous and one of my favourites from the towns of Holland. The City is surrounded by lots of canals and very very pretty. Not to mention that it is the burial side of the famous Dutch artist Vermeer, definitely put it on your list to visit.
And give Rotterdam a miss. It is a business town so there is really not much to see.
Kinderdijk Windmills
Before leaving Netherlands on my way to Belgium I still wanted to find the the old, traditional windmills that are known in the Netherlands. I found them in Kinderdijk, an UNESCO World Heritage Site, where the system of windmills and their pumping stations has kept the soil dry for nearly a thousand years. It was the highlight of my Netherlands trip and a great way to finish before a new country!
The best way to explore the Kinderdijk windmills was with my bicycle of course. How else?
Thank you Netherlands for an amazing time! You have not disappointed and I am positively surprised by your beauty. I know I will come back here, sooner rather than later.
Finally, as a small summary tip: I would most likely revisit the smaller towns of Holland and Netherlands rather than heading to the big cities like Amsterdam.
Maybe bigger is not actually better in the Netherlands?
Hi Beate,
Just curious… Do people live in the windmills?
Hi Linda 🙂 they do actually! Although the windows are so tiny not sure how they get daylight in! Nor can you park your car there xx