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Region in Netherlands
Photo: Peter K Burian, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The Western Netherlands is the region that most foreign visitors to the Netherlands attend. Quite frankly, many of them don't even see any other part of the country at all—this region has everything you'd expect from the country and has the most sights and activities. It is the most urbanized area of the country. Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam and Utrecht, the four largest cities of the country, are all in this region. There is an abundance of airports, ports, museums, restaurants and nightlife. However, most of the land is still of a rural nature. The endless flat polders Holland is famous for are omnipresent—with the occasional cute village popping up. Interesting places like Kinderdijk, Marken, Oudewater, Volendam and Zaanse Schans are just a short train/bus (or bike!) ride from the major cities.
The Netherlands' newest province, almost completely formed through land reclamation.
Most visited region with Amsterdam and traditional Dutch rural villages.
Most densely populated region with plenty of different rural landscapes - polders, bulb fields, dunes, islands, lakes and agricultural areas.
Rivers, lakes and nature, and some historic towns.
By train
There are a plethora of train services running to all other provinces of the country. Also, there are international connections with Antwerp, Brussels, Berlin, Frankfurt and Milan.
By car
Many roads connect the western region with other regions of the Netherlands.
By bus
The bus is mostly used as a way of transport within towns or between towns in the same area. Bus travel can be time-consuming, confusing and slow, so avoid it if there's rail transport available.
By car
The Randstad has various motorways.00 and 15:00–19:00. Major bottlenecks can create traffic jams up to 20 kilometres in length. Most motorways are no wider than 2x2 or 2x3 lanes.
By bicycle
Cycling is a popular activity among the Dutch and a great way to see more of the landscape.
Choose an airport to see hotels, stations, taxi ranks and car rental desks around it.
Amsterdam · International · AMS
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traveller magnet due to its impressive architecture, lovely canals, museums and infamous nightlife
historic town popular for its cheese market
historic unspoiled town with traditional architecture, canals, bikes, and the world famous blue and white ceramics
17th century town centre, shops and numerous museums
world-famous for its Gouda cheese and the home of stroopwafels
historic student city with the oldest university in the country and three national museums
modern architecture, as well as one of the largest ports in the world
judicial capital of the world, as well as the seat of the Dutch government and the royal family
historic city, university town and the Rietveld Schröder House
more than 800,000 visitors see these enormous flower gardens each spring
these mills show the Dutch landscape in its historic glory
largest and most-populous beach resort of the Netherlands; administratively a part of The Hague
this used to be an island community, but an evacuation in 1859 put an end to it all
the international airport of Amsterdam, one of Europe's busiest airport cities
one of the West Frisian Islands, it houses great tourist resorts for its beaches
open-air display of Dutch windmills and houses
traditional Dutch villages with clogs, wooden houses and windmills
forests, beaches and dunes to hike or cycle around in
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