• Take a 15-minute train ride from Amsterdam Central Station to Haarlem Station (platform 1 or 2, trains run every 10 mins). 
  • Head to the Teylers Museum, (free entrance with your I amsterdam City Card), the country’s oldest museum, which feels like leafing through an antique encyclopedia. Enjoy taking in its extensive collection of paintings, drawings, fossils, minerals, instruments and books. 
  • A must-see for anyone interested in Dutch Masters is the Frans Hals Museum, (free entrance with your I amsterdam City Card), which focuses on the 17th-century Haarlem School and boasts the world’s largest collection of paintings by the eponymous artist. The museum is divided over two locations: Hof and Hal, which are both within a short walk from each other.
  • The Grote Markt has plenty of cafés and restaurants to enjoy your lunch ánd magnificent views of St. Bavo’s Church. The 50-metre tower of this UNESCO protected monument still dominates Haarlem’s skyline. 
  • Time for some shopping! See our list of the hotspots or take our bespoke shopping route to find the very best shops.
  • Haarlem has a wealth of great restaurants, so spend your evening in the city enjoying some delicious food.

Haarlem streets at night

  • Book a night at Hello I'm Local or one of the other many hotels the city has to offer. 
  • Start the next day with a tour of the hofjes. With 21 unique examples, These hidden gardens are surrounded by almshouses, where poor, unmarried and widowed women once lived. Be sure to visit Hofje van Bakenes which, founded in 1395, is the city’s oldest hofje. There are special guided walks through these gardens (available at the Tourist Information Centre A, Grote Markt 2). Most hofjes can be visited every day except Sundays and entrance is free. 
  • Finish your morning with lunch or a cup of coffee at one of the cafés and restaurants on the Grote Markt. 
  • Next head to the Corrie ten Boomhuis. During World War II, the Ten Boom family provided a hiding place for Jewish people and members of the resistance in their home. The family was betrayed, imprisoned and deported to concentration camps – only Corrie survived. The house is now a museum, the majority of which recreates how it would have looked in the 1940s.
  • If you want to relax in one of Haarlem’s most picturesque green spaces, take your own food and enjoy a picnic in De Haarlemmerhout park, the oldest green monument in the Netherlands. You can reach the park in minutes from Haarlem Station (buses 340/346/356 to the Tempeliersstraat stop). Located at the edge of the park, the beautiful neoclassical Paviljoen Welgelegen has been the seat of the provincial government since 1930. Walk around this 60-acre park and discover deer, a petting zoo and a pancake house.

Haarlem Spaarne river Molen de Adriaan

  • Take a canal cruise and sail down the River Spaarne. It’s a beautifully relaxed way to explore the city, and a great way to get your bearings before returning to explore the sights in more detail.
  • If you’ve ever wanted to get up close and personal with a windmill, then head to Molen de Adriaan overlooking the Spaarne River. There’s a museum inside which uses models and visual installations to explore the history of Molen Adriaan and other Dutch windmills. The stunning views of Haarlem from the windmill’s deck will leave you breathless.
  • No trip to Haarlem is complete without a visit to former church-turned-brewery Jopenkerk, which brews and serves ‘real Haarlem’ beers on site. Try a beer tasting or simply sit back and relax with your favourite tipple.