183 Zuid Holland & Zeeland Think Holland and you’re thinking about these two provinces where tulips, cheese, plucky tall Dutch people standing up to the sea, Vermeer and tulips avoid cliché simply by their omnipresence. The Keukenhof gardens are a place of pilgrimage for lovers of tulips. Not much further west, the beaches are great for biking and hiking, with trails and paths everywhere along the coast. Zuid Holland’s major cities are the biggest attractions: there’s Leiden, with its university culture and old town (and proximity to the bulb fields); Den Haag, with its museums, stately air, fun shopping and kitsch beach; charming, beautiful Delft, the home of Jan Vermeer; and mighty Rotterdam, blessed with an edgy urban vibe, surprising cultural scene and striking architecture. Several smaller places are also worth your time: Gouda is a perfect old canal town, while Dordrecht has its own surprises amid canals and charm. Just east and south of Dordrecht is Biesbosch National Park, a sprawling natural area along the border with Noord Brabant. Further south, Zeeland (Sea Land) is the dyke-protected province that people often as- sociate with the Netherlands when they’re not thinking of tulips, cheese and windmills. Middelburg is the main town, with a serenity belying its proximity to the tragedies that spawned the Delta Project. Cycling in this flat, mostly near- and sub-sea-level region is unparalleled. Ferries offer chances ZUID HOLLAND & ZEELAND ZUID HOLLAND & ZEELAND to get out on the water and short distances between towns, especially in Zuid Holland, mean that you can pick a town you fancy as a base and see the rest via quick and frequent trains. HIGHLIGHTS Keukenhof Gardens Realise that Holland’s second city should be its first in Rotterdam ( p203 ) Den Haag Pop off for posies at Keukenhof Gardens Delft ( p189 ) Rotterdam Get your Art 101 in splendid form at Den Kinderdijk Haag’s Mauritshuis ( p191 ) Look for girls wearing pearl earrings in old- world Delft ( p199 ) Go for a spin in Kinderdijk ( p215 ) 184 ZUID HOLLAND •• Leiden lonelyplanet.com 0 20 km ZUID HOLLAND & ZEELAND 0 12 miles To Alkmaar To Hoorn (11km) A8 (18km) A7 To Haarlem AMSTERDAM Sneek (86km) A9 A10 Almere Schipohl Amstelveen A1 Keukenhof Lisse Aalsmeer A4 Hilversum To Noordwijk aan Zee Zwolle A44 Katwijk aan Zee E35 (62km) Leiden Alphen A2 A27 a/d Rijn UTRECHT Scheveningen Amersfoort E19 Utrecht Den Haag A28 To Arnhem (The Hague) N O R T H S E A A12 E30 (41km) A12 A12 Monster E30 Oudewater Nieuwegein Hoek van Holland Delft Gouda A13 E25 To Arnhem A20 ROTTERDAM A27 E25 (40km) Kinderdijk A2 A15 Tiel ZUID Gorinchem A15 HOLLAND Dordrecht Zaltbommel Biesbosch A29 A16 National Park E311 Den Renesse Schouwen- E19 Duiveland A59 Bosch Westerschouwen Willemstad To Zierikzee A4 Nijmegen Delta Project A261 Waterland A59 (34km) NOORD BRABANT Neeltje Jans Oosterschelde Breda Noord- Tilburg Domburg Beveland A17 Veere E312 A2 Walcheren Goes Roosendaal A58 E25 Middelburg Bergen op Zoom Kruiningen Vlissingen Zuid-Beveland A58 Westerschelde E312 Eindhoven A4 Perkpolder To Antwerpen Zeeuws-Vlaanderen (Anvers) To IJzendijk ZEELAND (37km) Venlo A67 (51km) Sluis To Antwerpen (Anvers) (19km) B E L G I U M To Antwerpen (Anvers) (60km) it’s Rembrandt’s birthplace, and it’s home to ZUID HOLLAND the Netherlands’ oldest university (and 20,000 students), the alma mater of René Descartes. Along with Noord (North) Holland and The university was a gift from Willem the Utrecht, Zuid Holland is part of the Randstad, Silent for withstanding two Spanish sieges in the economic and population heart of the ZUID HOLLAND & ZEELAND ZUID HOLLAND & ZEELAND 1574. It was a terrible time, ending when the Netherlands. Two of the nation’s most im- Sea Beggars arrived and repelled the invad- portant cities are here: Den Haag, the seat ers. According to lore, the retreating Spanish of the royal family and the government; and legged it so quickly, they abandoned a ket- Rotterdam, Europe’s busiest port. You could tle of hutspot (hotchpotch) – today it’s still easily make a trip just exploring these classic a staple of Dutch menus in restaurants, and Dutch destinations. in homes. LEIDEN Decades later, Protestants fleeing persecu- %071 / pop 116,800 tion elsewhere in the Low Countries, France Lovely Leiden is a refreshing, vibrant town, and England arrived in Leiden to a some- patterned with canals and attractive old what warmer welcome. Most notable was the buildings. It also has a few claims to fame: group led by John Robinson, who would sail .