Tourism and recreation in the Netherlands
From Freepedia
Tourism in the Netherlands
The Netherlands is a densely populated country with famous cities like Amsterdam. known for the Rijksmuseum (the national museum), canals, the castle and its cosy pubs. Other famous cities are The Hague with its elegant downtown and Delft and Utrecht - formerly rich trading cities. But the Netherlands also has to offer a great coastline along the North Sea, the IJsselmeer and the Veluwemeer - great resorts for sailing with picturesque little typical Dutch towns like Elburg or Harderwijk. The Netherlands is a great country for cycling, sailing or ice skating in winter. They have mainly flat landscapes with many canals, windmills, little villages, rivers like the Rhine or IJssel, Maas or Scheldt. Visitors should try some original Dutch pancakes, either with meat, famous Dutch cheese or with jam, and Dutch beer like "Grolsch" and "Heineken". Tulips grow around Lisse behind the dunes and Keukenhof is a well-known tourist attraction; in spring there are many beautiful tulips on display there. Prostitution, which has also made the Netherlands infamous, was legalized on October 1st, 2000.Many tourists visit Madurodam, a miniature city in The Hague, which reflects what the Netherlands looks like.
Popular souvenirs from the Netherlands are delftware and clogs (wooden shoes).
Almost the whole westcoast has a sandy beach. Towns near the coast are beach resorts, in between there are long stretches of quiet beach.
See also
- nudist areas under the heading "Netherlands".
- List of national parks of the Netherlands
- Museums in the Netherlands
- Efteling
- Walibi World
