April is the month when spring is finally making appearance and the city wakes up from the winter sleepiness. The entire month is dedicated to the Netherlands’ most famous flower, the tulip, and the Tulp Festival brings tulips all over Amsterdam. We’ll be ending the month with a big party: the beloved King’s Day holiday, on 27 April, when the city turns orange and everyone celebrates with music, pop-up markets and drinks. And then there are many events and festivals throughout the month, from which I’ve selected a few to recommend and inspire your agenda for April. This page includes affilia ..read more

Mauritshuis is a splendid art museum in The Hague, the political centre of the Netherlands. The museum, showcasing an impressive world-class collection of Dutch paintings, is located in a 17th century building. If you visit The Hague, you have to pay a visit to Mauritshuis as well! The building itself is a work of art: old, squeaky floors, silk-covered walls, painted ceilings and golden details. Some rooms are so beautiful that you don’t know what to admire first: the decor or the paintings? Nowadays property of the government of the Netherlands and listed in the top 100 Dutch heritage sites ..read more

Spring is in the air! Crocuses and daffodils are in full bloom, giving us the promise of more flowers and longer days that will invite us to avoid the couch a bit more and go out to see and do nice things. March is a month full of spring celebrations, but also packed with many events here in Amsterdam. As I do every month, I selected a couple of these events to share with you. From markets to exhibitions and from movies to gardening, I think the list of this month has something for everyone! Let’s dive into this curated monthly selection of things to see and do in Amsterdam in March 2024! W ..read more

Welcome to a new interview from the series “Cool initiatives”! This series introduces you to people who are doing cool stuff in Amsterdam and the Netherlands, be it creative endeavours, sustainable initiatives or other type of cool activities. This time, meet Adanya Dunn. She introduces herself as “Adanya — rhyming with lasagna”. She is smart, kind and energetic, and a true force of nature; has an amazing voice and many amazing ideas that she brings to life. When you meet her, you can’t help but feel inspired and caught in the swirl of creative energy that surrounds her. This is Adanya Dunn ..read more

February is the hardest winter month for many people. We are all exhausted by the long, dark months. However, amidst this weariness, a glimmer of hope emerges as we discern the approaching end of winter. A few delicate snowdrops in the parks remind us that spring is just around the corner, and I don’t know about you, but when I see them, I get a bit of hope that winter is almost done. To add to the joy and get some extra energy this month, I’ve made a selection of cool events taking place in Amsterdam this February. I hope this list will inspire you to leave the house and explore the activiti ..read more

Hello and nice to see you in 2024! One of my plans for the year ahead is to experience more culture, attend more events and see more beautiful/inspiring things. There are many things happening in Amsterdam every month, and I thought I would share with you my curated list, to save you a lot of time browsing the numerous websites. From photo exhibitions to flea markets and from AI workshops to picking tulips, everything is on the menu. Let’s dive into this curated monthly selection of things to see and do in Amsterdam in January 2024! Amsterdam Light Festival – until 21 January. To add some ..read more

When I visited Domburg, in the province of Zeeland, I had the chance to witness an age-old Zeeland traditional sport: ring riding. The main square was bustling with people and had been transformed into a tournament field. A sandy path had been laid out for the competition, and there were many horses around. Some of them were regular horses, but most were Zeeland draught horses: huge, impressive animals, so beautiful with their grand proportions and long manes. We were captivated by their presence, and after gently stroking the soft fur of a few, we found a good spot to watch the games. Ring ..read more

What better place to start our discovery of the Zeeland province than Middelburg, the province’s capital? This old city with around 48.000 inhabitants is one of the most popular destinations in Zeeland. For our Zeeland trip, we chose Middelburg as a base from where we could travel around the area. Zeeland is a province in the south-west of the Netherlands, close to the border with Belgium. When you think about Zeeland, you think about the sea, wide beaches, fishermen and a long, sad history of flooding and battles with the sea. Zeeland is a popular destination for beach holidays (for locals a ..read more

In the heart of Amsterdam, on Herengracht 497 in a lovely old house, an unusual art museum can be found — one that is entirely dedicated to the role of cats in art and culture throughout history: De KattenKabinet (“The Cat Cabinet”). Actually, the word “museum” may not be appropriate; this is more of a private art collection open to the public. The museum is housed on the first floor of the building, in a nice apartment that could be a museum by itself, decorated in classical seventeenth-century style with antique furnishings. Even from the entrance, where a ring of the bell brings a nice lady ..read more

This article is part of the project: Discover the Netherlands, Province by Province. Population of 391.142 as of end of 2022 and a total area of 2,934 square kilometres. Zeeland, translating as “Sea land”, is located in the southwest of the Netherlands, encompassing a collection of islands, peninsulas, and an inland strip that borders Belgium. The provincial capital is Middelburg. This is the least populous province of the Netherlands, but it doubles its population in some areas in the summer, when the beach-loving tourists flock to the islands. The entire Dutch coast has a great connection t ..read more