Full day's tours

Only a 30 minutes drive from Amsterdam you will find the fascinating and inspiring old city of Haarlem. This is the city where I spent most of my youth and to which I still feel very attached. While nicknamed 'Bloemenstad' (flower city), as it has been the center of the flower bulb-growing district for centuries, this lively elegant city has everything and more to offer.

Just to mention a few highlights: the Frans Hals Museum (a very rich collection of Dutch master paintings from the Golden Age) and the Teylers Museum (art, natural history and science), the latter being Hollands oldest museum, founded in 1778. 

Not to be missed are the monumental Town Hall (14th century), the Fish Hall (1769), the Meat Hall (1604) and the Saint Bavo Church (15th century) which are all located around the Grote Markt (the big central market square).

Haarlem is also an ideal city for shopping.