North Sea Jazz Festival 2026, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
The cool, the blue, the trad and the funk; the hard bop, the Big Band and the simply melodious—in other words, all colours and flavours of the jazz rainbow— will…
Travel Topics
The cool, the blue, the trad and the funk; the hard bop, the Big Band and the simply melodious—in other words, all colours and flavours of the jazz rainbow— will…
TAPT Festival returns to Apeldoorn for a weekend of beer-led borrel fun, with music, food and games alongside a broad drinks line-up. For 2026, the Apeldoorn edition takes place at…
TAPT Festival returns to Haarlem for a weekend of beer-led borrel fun, with music, food and games alongside a broad drinks line-up. For 2026, the Haarlem edition takes place at…
TAPT Festival returns to Almere for a weekend of beer-led borrel fun, with music, food and games alongside a broad drinks line-up. For 2026, the Almere edition takes place at…
TAPT Festival returns to Den Haag for a weekend of beer-led borrel fun, with music, food and games alongside a broad drinks line-up. For 2026, the Den Haag edition takes…
TAPT Festival returns to Utrecht for a weekend of beer-led borrel fun, with music, food and games alongside a broad drinks line-up. For 2026, the Utrecht edition takes place at…
Van Moll Fest returns to Eindhoven’s iconic Evoluon for two packed days of craft beer, food and music. The 2026 edition runs 3–4 July 2026, with sessions on Friday (14:00–22:00)…
I am speeding along at 294kph on a Eurostar train, one of my favourite ways of spending four hours, so smooth and efficient, St Pancras to Amsterdam Central. As the…
TAPT Festival returns to Alkmaar for a weekend of beer-led borrel fun, with music, food and games alongside a broad drinks line-up. For 2026, the Alkmaar edition takes place at…
Brew@theZoo brings craft beer back to Safaripark Beekse Bergen for a standout summer weekend in the southern Netherlands. The venue confirms the fifth edition will be held on 26–27 June…
TAPT Festival returns to Den Bosch for a weekend of beer-led borrel fun, with music, food and games alongside a broad drinks line-up. For 2026, the Den Bosch edition takes…
TAPT Festival returns to Arnhem for a weekend of beer-led borrel fun, with music, food and games alongside a broad drinks line-up. For 2026, the Arnhem edition takes place at…
TAPT Festival returns to Nijmegen for a weekend of beer-led borrel fun, with music, food and games alongside a broad drinks line-up. For 2026, the Nijmegen edition takes place at…
When I tell friends that I’ll be taking some sea air the instant I get to The Hague, they react with mild surprise. Such is the association of those two…
TAPT Festival returns to Amersfoort for a weekend of beer-led borrel fun, with music, food and games alongside a broad drinks line-up. For 2026, the Amersfoort edition takes place at…
TAPT Festival returns to Leiden for a weekend of beer-led borrel fun, with music, food and games alongside a broad drinks line-up. For 2026, the Leiden edition takes place at…
In Amsterdam, there’s nothing quite like messing about in boats to get the measure of the place. So, on a cold, grey, but mercifully dry, winter’s morning, we took to…
I seldom run into stuffed animals these days. Years ago they would decorate certain British pubs and restaurants, but not so much now. At least not in London. Let’s be…
Rotterdam doesn’t host a single city‑wide Christmas market, but the Winterterrassen Festival (Winter Terraces Festival) brings festive cheer to the historic Laurenskerk on 21–22 November 2025. Expect heated terraces beneath…
Discover the best Christmas markets in Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. From Bruges to Maastricht, explore festive traditions, twinkling lights and seasonal treats across Europe’s most enchanting winter destinations. If…
Haarlem’s weekend Christmas market is a Dutch favourite, with hundreds of stalls radiating from the Grote Markt into the old town’s handsome streets. You’ll find crafts, seasonal bakes and cosy…
The Hague’s Royal Christmas Fair brings a festive glow to Lange Voorhout, one of the city’s most elegant avenues. Expect quality stalls, twinkling lights, live performances and plenty of warming…
Maastricht’s Vrijthof hosts a polished winter village with a Ferris wheel, an indoor ice rink and rows of chalet stalls. The scene is framed by twin churches and historic façades…
Amsterdam’s Winter Paradise brings a full suite of festive fun to the RAI: indoor and outdoor rinks, rides, live music and a food village, all under sparkling lights. It’s ticketed…
One of the smallest countries in Europe, the Netherlands is a great place to lose yourself, especially in the coffee shops of its capital Amsterdam. Rich with culture – they don’t call them the Dutch masters for nothing – a trip to this country is sure to leave you richer, at least spiritually.
The capital city is one of the greatest cities in Europe full of exciting galleries, great bars, canals and of course those coffee shops. However, there is so much more to enjoy throughout the country, especially if you take a trip to the beaches in the north.
The country’s population is 17,105,099 (4 December, 2018).
Unusual for us Brits to get things wrong – don’t mention Brexit – the correct name for the country is not Holland, but the Netherlands. In fact, Holland is a region to the west of the country. Saying a Dutch person is from Holland is a bit like telling a Brit he is from England – and we all know how well that goes down in Scotland. As for Dutch, well it’s a corruption of Deutsch, which means German. Well, we can’t get it right all of the time.
Now that Eurostar has trains from London St Pancras to Amsterdam there has never been a better time to visit the country. Or you can always pop across on the ferry before they pull up the drawbridge. Don’t wait.