Netherlands for a week - just me and DH

[Bathshebaneverdene]

We're off to the Netherlands at the weekend for a whole week, staying about 40 minutes south of Amsterdam. We've been to Amsterdam before, so it's not on the itinerary.

Do you have any recommendations for places to go, restaurants, galleries etc. We like walking, just mooching around old towns, we will be visiting Keukenhof and the bulbfields.

I believe there is brilliant gallery in The Hague?
As adults I would advise Efteling!

Definitely the Hague. Wander round the parliament and palace sector. Lots of lovely restaurants. The Peace Palace. Fantastic galleries. The Mauritshuis has lots of Vermeers including the Girl With The Pearl Earring

Short tram drive to fantastic beaches at Scheveningen and Kijk Duin

Den Haag is my favourite place in NL

In Rotterdam this is also a fantastic place to visit without kids. Lots of food and drinks to try and amazing architecture

Delft is lovely. As is Leiden.

Brielle is an amazing walled town. Lovely to wander round.

And if you head up north to the islands and Friesland there is lots of wilderness and wildlife and you can camp on some of the islands

I love the Netherlands. Have a fantastic time. If you learn a very few phrases even good morning and please and thank you you will be even more welcome as so few people bother because everyone speaks such great English

Mauritshuis in The Hague is a must if you like galleries. Utterly wonderful collection and not too big that you get exhausted.

Would also recommend getting the tram out to the Geemtemuseum while you are there, Huge collections of all sorts of things - we only had time for the dollshouses and the Mondrian. The whole building was built by an architect allied to Mondrian and it's kind of like being in one of the paintings moving around the rooms.

If you are in The Hague on the right day you can go on the restaurant on the tram. We weren't but got the tram to the beach at Scheveningen and had a great meal at Seinpost.

There is the Boijmans von beuningen museum in Rotterdam which I admit I insisted we went to because I liked the name Rotterdam is interesting for the modern architecture but the museum isn't really a must see if you have been to The Hague and Amsterdam.

Utrecht is lovely for wandering about, Blauw is a lovely restaurant to have a rijstoffel at. Their must see is the Speelklok Museum - tour in English is a lot of fun and we wished we had had more time to see the whole museum, despite me initially being unconvinced at why I needed to go to a self-playing musical instrument museum. Would really recommend this, with or without children.

Utrecht is also good for getting to the Kroller-Muller Museum which is a must do if you are into Van Gogh.

Haarlem is also nice for mooching around old town, has a super mammoth church, lovely old square and the Frans Hals Museum.

I would second CarpetBagger and advise an adult visit to Efteling.

Forgot, Utrecht is also great for dollshouses in their main museum.

I went dollshouse crazy

Thanks all - just the kind of things we want.

Had to google Efteling though - was expecting some kind of sex related theme park after the suggestions for 'adult visits'!

Apparently visiting Efteling and taking magic mushrooms is the adult Dutch way to visit

But Efteling is brilliant.