Canals and Dunes. What to See in the Hague, Hague, Netherlands

Being one hour away from Amsterdam, The Hague (Den Haag in Dutch) is the kind of pearl that may slip under the radar because of its proximity to a major tourist destination. Yet Den Haag is a wonderful city and a fantastic city break. While I love Amsterdam, Den Haag literally blew me away.

Let me start by saying that The Hague is no ordinary city. It is the seat of the Dutch government and de facto capital of the country, as well as a major university town. The blend of historical charm and contemporary vibrancy is incredible. And name another major European city within walking distance of sand dunes and long powdery beaches!

Den Haag Centraal is just over 4 hours from London. The Eurostar stops in Rotterdam, so I did not even have to head to Amsterdam for my connecting train.

The Hague is also very easy to reach by train from Paris, Brussels, Strasbourg, Lyon, Nantes, Luxembourg City, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hannover, Cologne and Stuttgart to name a few. To get an idea of options and to book tickets, visit Trainline.

In addition there are ÖBB Nightjet services from Switzerland (Zürich and Basel), Austria (Vienna, Innsbruck, Linz) and Germany (Munich, Nürnberg, Koblenz). You will need to get off the Nightjet in Utrecht. But From there, it is a very civilised 37 minutes train ride to Den Haag (or you can take the excuse to walk around Utrecht for half a day. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).