The Hague (Netherlands)

Thinking about visiting The Hague? Well, let me tell you a little bit about this fair city. Having lived in Den Haag (as the locals call it) for about 4 months, this is what I discovered.

Right let's get the specifics out of the way first
The Hague is the third biggest city in The Netherlands (after Amsterdam and Rotterdam). It's conveniently located in between the two larger cities, which makes it an ideal place to begin your ...
...in area.

The weather
Dutch weather is very similar to English weather, except it rains more! A book I have on Holland cheerfully informs me that the rainfall in Holland "averages out at less than 90 minutes a day".

When to visit
Come in the spring. This is the nicest time- the flowers are in bloom, the sun is shining, and the people are all out sunning themselves. Many restaurants, cafes and ... more

Thinking about visiting The Hague? Well, let me tell you a little bit about this fair city. Having lived in Den Haag (as the locals call it) for about 4 months, this is what I discovered.

Right let's get the specifics out of the way first
The Hague is the third biggest city in The Netherlands (after Amsterdam and Rotterdam). It's conveniently located in between the two larger cities, which makes it an ideal place to begin your Dutch adventure. The Hague has a population of about half a million people, so it’s not a big city by world standards. In fact, as well as having a small population it’s also quite small in area.

The weather
Dutch weather is very similar to English weather, except it rains more! A book I have on Holland cheerfully informs me that the rainfall in Holland "averages out at less than 90 minutes a day".

When to visit
Come in the spring. This is the nicest time- the flowers are in bloom, the sun is shining, and the people are all out sunning themselves. Many restaurants, cafes and bars in the Hague have sun terraces and it really is lovely to sit out in the sun enjoying a nice cold beer.

Isn't that the place where...
Yep, you've probably heard of The Hague- it's the place where the Hague convention was signed, and, consequently where countries and individuals are tried for war crimes. (Let's hope we see Dubya here some time soon (wishful thinking?)). Other than that, it is the political capital of The Hague (Amsterdam is, of course, the actual capital). All of the embassies and consulates are located here.

Unlike some other Dutch cities, the Hague does not have a lot of old buildings to see. This is because it suffered quite a lot during the second world war, so many of the city’s buildings only date from the 1950’s.

What can you see here?
I doubt that the Hague features prominently on many people's list of 'places to see before I die', and not without reason. As already mentioned, it's a small city, with relatively few tourist attractions. Parts of it are quite pretty and it does have it’s share of canals (not as many as Amsterdam, which, incidentally actually has more canals than Venice), populated with houseboats. However, there are a few things of note.

First, the Peace Palace (Vredes Paleis)- this is the place where actual countries are put on trial for war crimes. It's quite beautiful. Guided tours are available for a cost (€5). Depending on the make-up of the group the tour will be either in English or in Dutch. However even if you find yourself on a Dutch language tour, the guide will translate much of the information into English.

Second, Madurodam. Madurodam is a miniature village, which contains models of many famous buildings in the Netherlands. It's well worth a look, as the models are outstanding, and it could give you an idea of what else you may like to see. Alternatively, it could save you having to do any further travel throughout the Netherlands, as you will have seen everything of note already ;-). At €13 entry for adults it is a little expensive, but it's a lot of fun. Don't forget to bring some extra gold coins with you, as many of the exhibits have coin activated movement (and one even gives you a miniature chocolate)

The Mesdag Panorama- I'm not going to say too much about this because you really do need to see it. It's a circular painting of Scheveningen (the beachside part of the Hague), and is quite spectacular. A picture is worth a thousand words, and in this case, probably 10 000! Within the museum that houses the Panorama there are also a couple of other exhibit rooms that show other paintings by this Dutch artist, as well as other artists.

Scheveningen- this is the name of the beach area in the Hague. It's not bad- greyish white sand, and fairly flat ocean. As with most European beaches there are lots of restaurants and shops located along the beach. In summer you will find a plethora of beach bars, restaurants and cafes located right on the sand. You wouldn't know it to look at a lot of them, but these are actually erected at the beginning of every spring/summer and then dismantled at the end! Scheveningen is probably the best known beach in Holland and consequently on a warm day it is ridiculously busy! You can be hard pressed to find a spot for your towel!

Every year in May/June the international sand sculpture festival is held at Scheveningen, and is well worth a look. A word of warning though- go just as soon after the sculptures have been finished as possible. This year I went to see the sculptures about a week after they were finished and they looked amazing. A week later, after several days of rain, some of them had sufferred considerable damage, and were much less impressive.

Getting there.
Den Haag doesn’t have its own airport but both Schiphol and Rotterdam are very near. The former is about a 45 minute train ride away.

Transport
Public transport- Den Haag is very well served by public transport. Both trams and buses run at frequent intervals and stops are locates all over the city. The ticketing system is a little complex. You can buy single trip tickets from the bus/tram driver, and pay cash, however this is the most expensive option. If you are likely to be using a few buses and/or trams than you should buy a strippenkart (Stripcard), which, at the time of writing, cost €6.80. You present this to the bus driver, tell him where you need to go and he will stamp it. The card has 15 strips on it, and each trip costs a certain number of strips- one strip just to get on, and then an additional one for each zone you pass through. Maps at the station indicate which zones the stations you are travelling to/from are in. If this sounds confusing, it is, so don't be afraid to ask your driver for help.
Driving- if you're driving there are two things you need to remember. First, the obvious- drive on the right hand side of the road! Second, look out for cyclists! Which leads me to:
Cycling- The Hague is definitely one of the best cities for cycling in the world. First of all, it's completely flat (as is the rest of Holland). Second, there are cycle paths on almost every street. Either a strip of the road on the right hand side is coloured red, or, on the bigger roads a section of the pavement is used as a dedicated cycling path. Third, it's a very small city, so you're probably never going to need to cycle for more than about 45 minutes between any two points (unless, like me, you have tendency to get lost!).
Walking- if you are a keen city walker, then you can get around the Hague on foot easily as well
A word of caution- the pushbike is most definitely king in the Hague, so both pedestrians and cars are expected to get out of its way! Ignore this at your peril.

Communication
The Dutch are well known for their ability to speak English extremely well. In fact, this is not exactly the case. In truth, where the Dutch differ from some other European nations is not in their ability to speak English, but rather their willingness to do so. So you will be hard pressed to find someone who can't, at the very least, help you with directions, buying things or ordering food in English. The Hague has, I suspect, more expats than any other city in the Netherlands. Consequently people are very used to speaking English. I've noticed that a lot of English speaking people will simply start a conversation in English, but personally I think it's polite to at least ask first. (“Spreekt u Engels?” is the correct Dutch sentence). If you are travelling in a couple/group however, and a waiter, for example, hears you speaking English, it's very likely s/he will speak to you in English. While I'm talking about communication here's a question. Why do we use the word Dutch? The Dutch call their country Nederland, their language Het Nederlands, and their citizens, Nederlanders, so how'd we come up with "Dutch"!

Eating and Drinking
Despite their protestations to the country, Dutch cuisine is nothing to write home about. Lots of fried food, fish and potatoes. No visit to Holland, however, would be complete without sampling the Dutch chips served with liberal amounts of mayonnaise, peanut sauce and onions (or not, if you prefer). And the little Dutch pancakes (poffertjes) served with a coating of icing sugar are a treat for those of you with a sweet tooth. Of course, Holland is a very cosmopolitan country, and the Hague is no exception. You can find all manner of foods here, from all over the world. Indonesian is a particular favourite. Vegetarians will find their choices somewhat limited, but all restaurants offer at least one veggie meal, and, if not, will probably be willing to put something together for you. I can particularly recommend two restaurants- the (unfortunately named) The Klap, which is quite a funky little place, with good food and a friendly atmosphere, and The First Page, which has no written menu. Instead a friendly waiter will sit down at your table and verbally tell you the choices for the day, and there are many! Go on a weekend though, as the service is better and the menu more extensive.

In summary
Am I going to recommend the Hague as a place to visit. In short, no. I really enjoyed my time there, but that was in the context of living and working in the Hague, and being able to spend most of my time with locals. I’m not sure you would get the same experience if you were just passing through. However, it does have the advantage of being conveniently located, so may just be a good place to base yourself while you go and explore the rest of this small country. 

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