Aalsmeer Flower Auction (Bloemenveiling Aalsmeer) is a flower auction, located in Aalsmeer, the Netherlands. It is the largest flower auction in the world. The auction building of the flower auction in Aalsmeer is the 4th largest building by floor space in the world, covering 990,000 m² (10.6 million sq ft; 243 acres). Flowers from all over the world (Europe, Ecuador, Colombia, Ethiopia, etc.) are traded on a daily basis at the Aalsmeer facilities. Around 20 million flowers are sold daily with a 15% increase around special days such as Valentine's Day and Mothers day. Their flowers are subjected to around 30 checks so they can be graded on a scale (A1, A2 and B). The auction is set up as a Dutch auction in which the price starts high and works its way down. Bidders get only a few seconds to bid on the flowers before they are shipped off to the new owner's business.

Van Abbemuseum is a museum of modern and contemporary art located in central Eindhoven, Netherlands, on the east bank of the Dommel river. Established in 1936, the Abbe Museum is named after its founder, Henri van Abbe. Van Abbe was a lover of modern art and wanted to enjoy it there from Eindhoven. As of 2010, the collection of the museum houses more than 2700 works of art, of which about 1000 are on paper, are 700 paintings, and 1000 are sculptures, installations and video work. With an area of 9,825 m2, monument number 507030, the museum holds one of the largest collections of paintings in the world by El Lissitzky. It also has works by Pablo Picasso and Wassily Kandinsky.

The ABC islands are Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao. They are the three western-most islands of the Leeward Antilles in the Caribbean, north of Falcón State, Venezuela. From west to east they are, in order: Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire.

The AEX index, derived from Amsterdam Exchange index, is a stock market index composed of Dutch companies that trade on Euronext Amsterdam, formerly known as the Amsterdam Stock Exchange. Started in 1983, the index is composed of a maximum of 25 of the most actively traded securities on the exchange.

The Afsluitdijk is a major causeway in the Netherlands, constructed between 1927 and 1933 and running from Den Oever on Wieringen in North Holland province, to the village of Zurich in Friesland province, over a length of 32 kilometres (20 mi) and a width of 90 m, at an initial height of 7.25 m above sea-level. It is a fundamental part of the larger Zuiderzee Works, damming off the Zuiderzee, a salt water inlet of the North Sea, and turning it into the fresh water lake of the IJsselmeer. The Afsluitdijk was the initial demonstration site for a 130 km/h speed limit in the Netherlands.

Ahoy Rotterdam (often called merely Ahoy) is an indoor sporting arena in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The capacity of the arena is 15,000.The basis of the present Ahoy was laid in 1950. After the devastation caused by the Second World War, the city of Rotterdam had worked on reconstruction and Rotterdam port was virtually complete. To mark the occasion, the Rotterdam Ahoy! exhibition was held in a purpose-built hall on the site where the medical faculty of the Erasmus University now stands. The exhibition hall was called the Ahoy'-Hal. The apostrophe is a remnant of the original exclamation mark. The hall was used for a series of national and international events, such as the exhibition of the architect Frank Lloyd Wright's work. During the North Sea flood of 1953 the hall also proved its worth as a reception centre for victims. Ahoy Rotterdam, in its current form, was built in 1970. The complex's striking design won various national and international awards for its special steel structures. The first event to be held there was the Femina family exhibition. Since then, Ahoy has been expanded on a number of occasions, and was renovated and refurbished in 1998 to create today's multifunctional venue.

The Albert Cuyp Market is a street market in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, on the Albert Cuypstraat between Ferdinand Bolstraat and Van Woustraat, in the De Pijp area of the Oud-Zuid district of the city. The street and market are named for Albert Cuyp, a painter from the 17th century. The market began as an ad hoc collection of street traders and pushcarts. By the beginning of the 20th century, this had become so chaotic that in 1905, the city government decided to set up a market, at first only held on Saturday evenings. In 1912, the market became a daytime market open six days a week. Originally the street was accessible while the market was taking place, but for years now the street has been completely closed off to traffic during market hours.

The Allard Pierson Museum is the archaeological museum of the University of Amsterdam. It is situated at the Oude Turfmarkt 127 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Artifacts from the ancient civilizations of ancient Egypt, the Near East, the Greek World, Etruria, and the Roman Empire are curated and exhibited in this museum.

The World War II Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial is a war cemetery which lies in the village of Margraten six miles (10 km) east of Maastricht, in the most southern part of the Netherlands. It is administered by the American Battle Monuments Commission.

The Amstel Gold Race is a road bicycle race held (mostly) in the southern part of the province of Limburg, Netherlands. Since 1989 it has been among the races included in season long rankings tables, as part of the UCI Road World Cup (1989-2004), the UCI ProTour (2005-2010), UCI World Ranking (2009-2010) and from 2011 the UCI World Tour. It is the most important road cycling event of the Netherlands

Amsterdam Arena is a stadium in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is the largest stadium in the country and it was built from 1993 to 1996 at a cost of €140 million, and was officially opened on 14 August 1996. It has been used for association football, American football, concerts, and other events. The stadium has a retractable roof combined with a grass surface. It has a capacity of 53,052 seats during football matches and 68,000 places during concerts if a centre-stage setup is used (the stage in the middle of the pitch); for end-stage concerts, the capacity is 50,000, and for concerts where the stage is located in the east side of the stadium, the capacity is 35,000. It held UEFA five-star stadium status which was superseded by a new system of classification. It has been announced that the Amsterdam Arena will host the 2013 UEFA Europa League Final.

Amsterdam, capital of the Netherlands, has been called the Venice of the Northfor its more than one hundred kilometres of canals, about 90 islands and 1,500 bridges. The three main canals, Herengracht, Prinsengracht, and Keizersgracht, dug in the 17th century during the Dutch Golden Age, form concentric belts around the city, known as the Grachtengordel. Alongside the main canals are 1550 monumental buildings. The 17th-century canal ring area, including the Prinsengracht, Keizersgracht, Herengracht and Jordaan, were placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2010

Amsterdam Centraal (code: Asd) is the central railway station of Amsterdam. It is also one of the main railway hubs of the Netherlands and is used by 250,000 passengers a day, excluding transferring passengers. It is the starting point of Amsterdam Metro lines 51, 53 and 54.

The Amsterdam Metro is a mixed rapid transit and light rail system in Amsterdam, and its surrounding municipalities Amstelveen, Diemen, and Ouder-Amstel in the Netherlands. The network is owned by the city of Amsterdam and operated by the Gemeentelijk Vervoerbedrijf, the company that also operates trams, ferries and local buses. There are four lines in the metro system. Three lines start at Amsterdam Centraal, of which line 53 and 54 connect the city centre to Diemen, Duivendrecht, and Amsterdam Zuidoost in the southeast, and line 51 connects the city centre to Amstelveen in the south. The Ring Line, line 50, connects Amsterdam Zuidoost to the west without crossing the centre of the city.

Normaal Amsterdams Peil (NAP) or Amsterdam Ordnance Datum is a vertical datum in use in large parts of Western Europe. Originally created for use in the Netherlands, it was adopted by Prussia in 1879 under the name Normalnull, and in 1955 by other European countries. Mayor Johannes Hudde of Amsterdam in a way came up with the idea after he expanded the seadike after a flood in Amsterdam in 1675. Of course a dike should be storm-resistant to protect a city against flooding, and in this case a margin of 9 feet and 5 incheswas deemed enough to cope with rising water. So he measured the waterlevel of the adjacent sea-arm, Het IJ and compared it with the waterlevel in the canals within the city itself. He found that the water level at an average summer flood in the sea arm (when the water level reaches its maximum, not counting storms) was about the same as the level on the other side of the seadike, plus the margin of 9 feet and 5 inches. The quite constant waterlevel in the canals of Amsterdam, called Amsterdam Peil (AP), equaled the level at summer flood at sea in the sea-inlet, which changes throughout the year. The Amsterdam level (AP) was in 1860 carried over to other areas in the Netherlands to replace locally used levels. In this operation an error was introduced which was corrected (normalised) between 1885 and 1894, resulting in the Normaal Amsterdam Peil (NAP). Originally the zero level of NAP was the average summer flood water level in the IJ just north of the centre of Amsterdam (which was at the time, in 1684, the main shipping area, then still connected with the open sea). Currently it is physically realized by a benchmark in brass in the Opera Building cum City Hall of Amsterdam, which is a popular tourist attraction.

The Amsterdam RAI Exhibition and Convention Centre (Dutch: RAI Congrescentrum), or RAI for short, is a complex of conference and exhibition halls in the Zuidas business district of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The complex gives its name to the nearby Amsterdam RAI railway station. In 1970 the Eurovision Song Contest was held at the RAI. Opened in 1961, the RAI welcomed its 75 millionth visitor in February 2001. Up to 2 million people visit the RAI every year. Some 50 international conferences and 70 trade shows are held at the RAI annually. The complex consists of 22 conference rooms and 11 halls and has a total floor space of 87,000 m². The largest hall can seat 12,900 people. The complex also includes a musical and concert theatre and underground parking space for over 3,000 cars.

The Amsterdam Museum, until 2011 called the Amsterdams Historisch Museum, is a museum about the history of Amsterdam. Since 1975, it is located in the old city orphanage between Kalverstraat and Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal. The museum opened in 1926 in the Waag, a 15th-century building on Nieuwmarkt square. It has been located since 1975 in a building that was originally constructed in 1580 as Amsterdam's orphanage. The building was extended by Hendrick and his son Pieter de Keyser before Jacob van Campen rebuilt it in 1634. The orphanage continued in this building until 1960

The Amsterdamse Bos (English: Amsterdam Wood) is an English park or landscape park in the municipalities Amstelveen and Amsterdam. And although most of the park is located in Amstelveen, the owner of the park is the City of Amsterdam. Annually, almost 4.5 million people visit the park, which has a size of 1,000 hectares and is approximately three times the size of Central Park

The Anne Frank House located on the Prinsengracht canal in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, is a museum dedicated to Jewish wartime diarist Anne Frank, who hid from Nazi persecution with her family and four other people in hidden rooms at the rear of the building. As well as the preservation of the hiding place - known in Dutch as the Achterhuis - and an exhibition on the life and times of Anne Frank, the museum acts as an exhibition space to highlight all forms of persecution and discrimination. It opened on 3 May 1960 with the aid of public subscription, three years after a foundation was established to protect the property from developers who wanted to demolish the block.

Apenheul Primate Park is a zoo in Apeldoorn, Netherlands. It specializes in apes and monkeys. It opened in 1971 and was the first zoo in the world where apes and monkeys could walk around freely in the forest and between the visitors. It started with just a few species, now it displays more than 30 different primates, among them bonobo, gorilla and orangutan. In summer 2011, three adult male proboscis monkeys joined the collection from Singapore Zoo to commemorate the zoo's fortieth anniversary. They are the only known living specimens outside Southeast Asia.

Artis, short for Natura Artis Magistra (Latin for Nature is the teacher of art), is a zoo in the centre of Amsterdam. It is the oldest zoo in the Netherlands. In addition to the zoo, Artis has an aquarium, a planetarium, a geological museum, and a zoological museum. The zoo is a member of the Dutch Zoo Federation (NVD), the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA), the International Species Information System (ISIS), and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA).

Rosmalen is the location of the Autotron, formerly a car museum/attraction park and now a convention center. The park hosts an annual international tennis tournament in the summer, the Rosmalen Grass Court Championships. The park is located about 7 km east of 's-Hertogenbosch, and can be reached via the A59.

The Nationaal Luchtvaart-Themapark Aviodrome (short also Aviodrome) is a large aerospace museum in the Netherlands that has been located on Lelystad Airport since 2003. Previously the museum was located at Schiphol Airport.

The Basilica of Our Lady (Dutch: Basiliek van Onze-Lieve-Vrouwe Kerk is a Romanesque church in the historic center of Maastricht, the Netherlands. The church is dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption (Dutch: Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-Tenhemelopneming) and is a Roman catholic parish church in the Diocese of Roermond. The church is often referred to as the Star of the Sea (Dutch: Sterre der Zee), after the church's main devotion, Our Lady, Star of the Sea.

Basilica of Our Lady in Maastricht - Limburg, Maastricht. Impressive, unusual Romanesque basilica with blocks from Roman buildings. Constructed in early 11th - 12th century. Beautiful, sophisticated sculptures.

Basilica of Saint Servatius - Limburg, Maastricht. One of the best examples of Romanesque architecture in Netherlands. Built in 11th - 12th century, although church is standing here since 4th century AD. Contains grave of Saint Servatius (310 - 384) - Armenian saint, first bishop of Maastricht.

Safaripark Beekse Bergen is the largest wildlife zoo of the Benelux region and provides a home to approximately 1,250 animals from over 150 species, varying from small mammals to large birds. It is located between the cities of Tilburg and Hilvarenbeek in the south of the Netherlands, in province of North-Brabant. The visitors can for instance watch zebras and giraffes on the spacious savannahs. Safaripark Beekse Bergen offers te possibility to explore the park on numerous safaris: walksafari, carsafari, bussafari and boatsafari. The park is owned by the company Libéma Exploitatie BV, which is one of the largest leisure-related companies in the Netherlands.

Beemster  is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Also, the Beemster is the first so-called polder in the Netherlands that was reclaimed from a lake, the water being extracted out of the lake by windmills. The Beemster Polder was dried during the period 1609 through 1612. It has preserved intact its well-ordered landscape of fields, roads, canals, dykes and settlements, laid out in accordance with classical and Renaissance planning principles. A grid of canals parallels the grid of roads in the Beemster. The grids are offset: the larger feeder canals are offset by approximately one kilometer from the larger roads:
*Criterion (i): The Beemster Polder is a masterpiece of creative planning, in which the ideals of antiquity and the Renaissance were applied to the design of a reclaimed landscape.
*Criterion (ii): The innovative and intellectually imaginative landscape of the Beemster Polder had a profound and lasting impact on reclamation projects in Europe and beyond.
*Criterion (iv): The creation of the Beemster Polder marks a major step forward in the interrelationship between humankind and water at a crucial period of social and economic expansion.

The Begijnhof is one of the oldest inner courts in the city of Amsterdam. A group of historic buildings, mostly private dwellings, centre on it. As the name suggests, it was originally a Béguinage. Today it is also the site of the English Reformed Church.

Benelux is a union of states comprising three neighbouring countries in northwestern Europe: Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The union's name is formed from joining the first two or three letters of each country's name - Belgium Netherlands Luxembourg - and was first used to name the customs agreement that initiated the union (signed in 1944). It is now used in a more general way to refer to the geographic, economic and cultural grouping of the three countries.

The Beurs van Berlage is a building on the Damrak, in the center of Amsterdam. It was designed as a commodity exchange by architect Hendrik Petrus Berlage and constructed between 1896 and 1903. It influenced many modernist architects, in particular functionalists and the Amsterdam School. It is now used as a venue for concerts, exhibitions and conferences. The building is constructed of red brick, with an iron and glass roof and stone piers, lintels and corbels. Its entrance is under a 40m high clock tower, while inside lie three large multi-story halls formerly used as trading floors, with offices and communal facilities grouped around them.

De Biesbosch ('forest of sedges' or 'rushwoods'), is one of the largest national parks of the Netherlands and one of the last freshwater tide areas in Europe. The Biesbosch consists of a rather large network of rivers and smaller and larger creeks with islands. The vegetation is mostly willow forests, although wet grasslands and fields of reed are common as well. The Biesbosch is an important wetland area for waterfowl and has a rich flora and fauna. It is especially important for migrating geese.

De Bijenkorf (literally, the beehiveis a chain of high-end department stores in the Netherlands with its flagship store on Dam Square, Amsterdam. It was founded by Simon Philip Goudsmit (1845-1889). De Bijenkorf was owned by Maxeda (formerly known as VendexKBB), but at the end of 2010 was sold to the Weston family that also owns Britain's Selfridges, Canada's Holt Renfrew and Ireland's Brown Thomas. The Weston family also owns 54.5% of Associated British Foods which in turn is the parent company of Primark.

The Bijlmerbajes is a prison complex in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, near the Amsterdam Amstel railway station. The official name is Penitentiaire Inrichting Over-Amstel, although it is also known as Penitentiaire Inrichting De Stadspoort or Penitentiaire Inrichtingen Amsterdam. Bijlmerbajes is part of the Custodial Institutions Agency (Dienst Justitiële Inrichtingen, DJI) of the Dutch Ministry of Justice within the Dutch criminal justice system.

The Bimhuis is a concert hall for jazz and improvised music in Amsterdam. With an average of 150 performances a year the Bimhuis is the main stage for these musical genres in the Netherlands. The Bimhuis was founded in 1973. Until the summer of 2004 it was located at Oude Schans 73-77 in the centre of the city. Since January 2005 it is housed in a new building at the Piet Heinkade 3, next to the Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ, on the southern bank of the IJ river.

The Binnenhof, is a complex of buildings in The Hague. It has been the location of meetings of the Staten-Generaal, the Dutch parliament, since 1446, and has been the centre of Dutch politics for many centuries. The grounds on which the Binnenhof now stands were purchased by Count Floris IV of Holland in 1229, where he built his mansion, next to the little lake that has been called Hofvijver or 'Court Pond' since the 13th century. More buildings were constructed around the court, several of which are well known in their own right, such as the Ridderzaal (Great hall; literally Knight's Hall), where the queen holds her annual speech at Prinsjesdag. One of the towers, simply known as het Torentje ('the Little Tower'; directly next to the Mauritshuis museum) has been the office of the Prime Minister of the Netherlands since 1982.

The Blauwbrug (literally, blue bridge) is an historic bridge in Amsterdam. It connects the Rembrandtplein area with the Waterlooplein area. Blauwbrug The bridge owes its name to a wooden blue bridgethat was there from around 1600 but no longer exists and which was painted the characteristic blue of the Dutch flag. It kept the name after 1883 when it was replaced by the spans of a new bridge which is inspired by the architecture of several of the bridges over the Seine in Paris.

The Bloemenmarkt is the world's only floating flower market. Founded in 1862, it is sited in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on Singel between Muntplein and Koningsplein in the city's southern canal belt. It includes 15 florists and garden shops as well as a range of souvenir gifts. The market is one of the main suppliers of flowers to central Amsterdam

The Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen is the main art museum in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The museum began in 1847 with the collection of Frans Jacob Otto Boijmans (1767–1847). Much of the museum's original collection was destroyed in a disastrous 1864 fire. In 1958, the collection of businessman Daniël George van Beuningen (1877–1955) was added to the museum, and the museum acquired its current name.

The Bonnefanten Museum is a museum of fine art in Maastricht, Netherlands.The museum was founded in 1884 as the historical and archaeological museum of the Dutch province of Limburg. The name Bonnefanten Museum is derived from the French 'bons enfants' ('good children'), the popular name of a former convent that housed the museum from 1951 until 1978. In 1995, the museum moved to its present location, a former industrial site named 'Céramique'. The new building was designed by the Italian architect Aldo Rossi. With its rocket-shaped cupola overlooking the river Maas, it is one of Maastricht's most prominent modern buildings. Since 1999, the museum has become exclusively an art museum. The historical and archaeological collections were housed elsewhere. The museum is largely funded by the province of Limburg.

The Botlek originally was the name of a stretch of the Nieuwe Maas river, part of the Rhine-Meuse delta near the Dutch cities of Vlaardingen and Spijkenisse in the province of Zuid-Holland. Specifically, it was the name of the strait that separated the island of Rozenburg from the sand bar of Welplaat. The strait itself was merely the continuation of the Nieuwe Maas, and the stretch of the river south of Rozenburg continued to be called Nieuwe Maas until the confluence with het Scheur formed the Brielse Maas estuary. Major waterway regulation works were carried out in the Netherlands in the 19th and 20th centuries to improve water management and stop the delta from silting up; the Botlek was dammed off at its southern end (connecting Rozenburg and Welplaat) and remodelled into one of the largest of the Rotterdam seaports (see also Europoort).

The Bollenstreek (Dutch for Bulb Region) is a region in the Netherlands consisting of areas in North and South Holland that feature the cultivation of flower bulbs. The colourful flower fields that have come to symbolise Holland can be seen in these areas around April.

Burgers' Zoo is a 45-hectare (110-acre) zoo in Arnhem, the Netherlands, and is one of the biggest zoos in the country. Arnhem is a city that lies within the Veluwe, a nature park in the east of the Netherlands. The zoo is popular with both Dutch and German people, and receives about 1.5 million visitors annually.

Amsterdam, one of Europe's capitals, has many attractions for visitors. The city's most famous sight is the 17th-century canals of Amsterdam  located in the heart of Amsterdam, they are added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.

According to the Dutch constitution Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands, although the parliament and the Dutch government have been situated in The Hague since 1588, along with the Supreme Court and the Council of State. Only once during its history was Amsterdam both capitaland seat of government. Between 1808 and 1810, during the Kingdom of Holland, King Louis Napoleon resided in Amsterdam and declared the city capital of his kingdom and seat of government. To accommodate the king, the grand seventeenth-century Town Hall of Amsterdam, prime example of the republican values that were prevalent for so long in the Netherlands, was converted into a Royal Palace.

The Caribbean Netherlands (Dutch: Caribisch Nederland) refers to a group of three special municipalities of the Netherlands (officially public bodies) that are located in the Caribbean Sea: the islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba, which are also known as the BES islands. Although they are part of the Netherlands, these special municipalities will remain overseas territories of the European Union at least until 2015. Bonaire (including the islet of Klein Bonaire) is located east of Aruba and Curaçao, close to the coast of Venezuela. Sint Eustatius and Saba are located south of Sint Maarten and northwest of Saint Kitts and Nevis.

The Castle Amerongen was built in 1673 on the site of a previous stronghold that had been burned in 1672 by the French.The current building was designed by the architect Maurits Post as a baroque palace for the owners Godard Adriaan van Reede and his wife Margaretha Turnor. In the main hall a central staircase with painted ceiling was built by Willem van Nimwegen. Other ornaments were added in the early 20th century by P.J.H. Cuypers. The gardens contain historical elements and the walls predate 1673. Near the entrance bridge dating from 1678 is a wooden clock tower from 1728 that contains the original clock of the same date. In the north-east corner of the gardens is an orangerie dating from the 1880s, and the north wall was raised during the period when Wilhelm II was residing there 1918-1920. He abdicated in Amerongen then moved to Huis Doorn.

Castle Hoensbroek or Gebrookhoes (Castle Gebrook) (Dutch: Kasteel Hoensbroek) is one of the largest castles in the Netherlands. It is situated in Hoensbroek, a town in the province of Limburg. This imposing watercastle is known as 'the most lordly stronghold between Rhine and Meuse'. The oldest part of the castle, notably the tall round tower, dates from around 1360, when it was built by Herman Hoen, though a predecessor to the castle had already existed in the swamp (or Gebrook) the castle was located in. This so-called motte-and-bailey dated from around 1225. In 1250 a fortified manor was built on the location of the present castle. Because of its important strategical location in the Duchy of Brabant, located along important trading routes to Maastricht, Aachen and Cologne, the castle was expanded in several phases, becoming the largest stronghold between the Meuse and the Rhine rivers. It contains at least 67 halls, rooms and living quarters.

Cathedral Church of St. John of 's-Hertogenbosch - North Brabant. One of most imposing churches in Netherlands, with 73 m tall tower. Exquisite monument of Late Gothic style, built in 1220 - 1525. Interesting detail from the latest restoration - angel with mobile phone.

Amsterdam Centraal (code: Asd) is the central railway station of Amsterdam. It is also one of the main railway hubs of the Netherlands and is used by 250,000 passengers a day, excluding transferring passengers. It is the starting point of Amsterdam Metro lines 51, 53 and 54.

In the Céramique district, situated between Square 1992 and the Bonnefantenmuseum is located the Charles Eyck Park.

The Cobra Museum is an art museum in Amstelveen, Netherlands. The collection of the museum consists of key works by artists of the Vrij Beelden (1945), Cobra (1948-1951), and Creatie (1950-1955) movements

The Concertgebouw is a concert hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch term concertgebouwliterally translates into English as concert building. Because of its highly regarded acoustics, the Concertgebouw is considered one of the finest concert halls in the world, along with places such as Boston's Symphony Hall and the Musikverein in Vienna.

Credit cards and ATMs. For safety reasons, credit card use in the Netherlands increasingly requires a PIN code. Credit card use in general is reasonable common, but not by far as much as in the US or some other European countries. The Dutch themselves often use (debit) bank cards, for which even small shops and market stands usually have a machine. In tourist destinations you will generally find credit cards widely accepted, as well as in larger shops and restaurants in the rest of the country, but ask in advance or check the icons that are usually displayed at the entrance. ATMs are readily available, mostly near shopping and nightlife areas. The very smallest ones are excluded, even villages usually have one or more ATMs.

The Museum De Cruquius (or Cruquiusmuseum) occupies the old Cruquius steam pumping station in Cruquius, the Netherlands. It derives its name from Nicolaas Kruik (1678-1754), a Dutch land-surveyor and one of many promotors of a plan to pump the Haarlemmermeer (Haarlem lake) dry. Like many well-educated men of his time, he latinized his name to Nicolaus Samuel Cruquius. During his lifetime the issue of the Haarlem Lake and how to pump it dry was international news

Cruquius pumping station - North Holland. Elegant steam pumping station with the largest steam engine in the world. Diameter of the piston is 3.7 m.

Dam Square, or simply the Dam (Dutch: de Dam), is a town square in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. Its notable buildings and frequent events make it one of the most well-known and important locations in the city.Dam Square lies in the historical center of Amsterdam, approximately 750 meters south of the main transportation hub, Centraal Station. It is roughly rectangular in shape, stretching about 200 meters from west to east and about 100 meters from north to south. It links the streets Damrak and Rokin, which run along the original course of the Amstel River from Centraal Station to Muntplein (Mint Square) and Munttoren. The Dam also marks the endpoint of other well-traveled streets, Nieuwendijk, Kalverstraat and Damstraat. A short distance beyond the northeast corner lies the main red-light district, de Wallen. On the west end of the square is the neoclassical Royal Palace, which served as the city hall from 1655 until its conversion to a royal residence in 1808. Beside it are the 15th-century Gothic Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) and the Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum. The National Monument, a white stone pillar designed by J.J.P. Oud and erected in 1956 to memorialize the victims of World War II, dominates the opposite side of the square. Also overlooking the plaza are the NH Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky and the upscale department store De Bijenkorf. These various attractions have turned the Dam into a tourist zone. The square abounds with city pigeons, popular for birdfeeding.

The Dappermarkt is a market in the Dapperstraat in Amsterdam-east and is one of the busiest markets of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. In 1910, the Dapperstraat was officially designated by the municipality of Amsterdam as a market street. The Dappermarkt draws visitors from the all over the Netherlands. There are many products sold that of are interest to the city's residents of Surinamese, Antillian, Turkish, and Moroccan origin, giving the market and neighbourhood a strong multicultural feel.

De Wallen or De Walletjes  is the largest and best known red-light district in Amsterdam and a major tourist attraction. It is located in the heart of the oldest part of the city (Amsterdam-Centrum), covering several blocks south of the church Oude Kerk and crossed by several canals. De Wallen consists of a network of alleys containing approximately three hundred tiny one-room cabins rented by prostitutes who offer their sexual services from behind a window or glass door, typically illuminated with red lights. The area also has a number of sex shops, sex theatres, peep shows, a sex museum, a cannabis museum, and a number of coffee shops that sell marijuana. 26 coffeeshops in the De Wallen area will have to close their doors between 1 September 2012 and 31 August 2015. As part of new restrictions which came into force in 2012, a Dutch judge ruled tourists can now legally be banned from entering cannabis cafes

The UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the Defence Line of Amsterdam (in Dutch named Stelling van Amsterdam) is a 135 km long ring of fortifications around Amsterdam, consisting of 42 forts located between 10 to 15 kilometers the centre, and lowlands that can easily be flooded in time of war. The flooding was designed to give a depth of about 30 cm, insufficient for boats to traverse. Any buildings within 1 km of the line had to be made of wood, so that they could be burnt and the obstruction removed.

A study done by Rijkswaterstaat in 1937 showed that the sea defenses in the southwest river delta were inadequate to withstand a major storm surge. The proposed solution was to dam all the river mouths and sea inlets thereby shortening the coast. However because of the scale of this project and the intervention of the Second World War its construction was delayed and the first works were only completed in 1950. The North Sea flood of 1953 gave a major impulse to speed up the project. In the following years a number of dams were built to close off the estuary-mouths. In 1976, under pressures from environmental groups and the fishing industry, it was decided not to close off the Oosterschelde estuary by a solid dam but instead to build the Oosterscheldekering, a storm surge barrier which is only closed during storms. It is the most well-known (and most expensive) dam of the project. A second major hurdle for the works was in the Rijnmond area. A storm surge through the Nieuwe Waterweg would threaten about 1.5 million people around Rotterdam. However, closing off this river mouth would be very detrimental for the Dutch economy, as the Port of Rotterdam - one of the biggest sea ports in the world - uses this river mouth. Eventually, the Maeslantkering was built in 1997, keeping economical factors in mind: the Maeslantkering is a set of two swinging doors that can shut off the river mouth when necessary, but which are usually open. The Maeslantkering is forecast to close about once per decade. Up until now (January 2012), it has closed only 1 time, in 2007. The project was finished with the construction of the Maeslantkering in 1997.

The Diamond Museum Amsterdam (Dutch:Het Diamant Museum Amsterdam) is a museum located at the Museumplein in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The permanent collection consists of diamond jewelry and tells background information about diamonds.

Diergaarde Blijdorp (Official Dutch name: Stichting Koninklijke Rotterdamse Diergaarde, Foundation Royal Zoo of Rotterdam) is a zoo in the northwestern part of Rotterdam, one of the oldest zoos in the Netherlands. In 2007 it celebrated its 150th anniversary. Diergaarde Blijdorp is a member of the Dutch Zoo Federation (NVD) and the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA).

The Dom Tower (Cathedral Tower, Dutch: Domtoren) of Utrecht is the tallest church tower in the Netherlands, at 112.5 metres (368 feet) in height, and the Gothic-style tower is the symbol of the city. The tower was part of the Cathedral of Saint Martin, Utrecht, also known as Dom Church, and was built between 1321 and 1382, to a design by John of Hainaut. The cathedral was never fully completed due to lack of money. Since the unfinished nave collapsed in 1674 the Dom tower became a free standing tower.

Doorwerth Castle - Gelderland. Well preserved water castle, built in 1402 - 1560. Legends about unusual events.

Drakesteijn - Utrecht. Small, octagonal castle with a moat around it. Built in 1640 in Classicism style.

Duinrell is an amusement park situated in Wassenaar, Netherlands. It also contains a caravan park and a camp-site. Duinrell has been critically acclaimed for its attraction park with swimming pool (the Tikibad), which has the longest waterslides in the Netherlands.

Dutch is a Germanic language spoken by about 27 million people world-wide. Most people living in the Netherlands and Flanders (the northern part of Belgium) use it as a first language, while in Suriname, Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles it is widely used as a second language. Historically, French Flanders and parts of the Lower Rhine Region in Germany also belong to the Dutch language sphere, and during the age of colonization it has also spread to Indonesia and other former Dutch colonies. Dutch is the ancestor of the Afrikaans language spoken in South Africa and Namibia, which is mutually intelligible to Dutch. Lastly, it is closely related with other West Germanic languages, such as German (especially the Low German dialects), English and West Frisian.

The Dutch Golden Age,  was a period in Dutch history, roughly spanning the 17th century, in which Dutch trade, science, military, and art were among the most acclaimed in the world. The first half is characterized by the Eighty Years' War till 1648. The Golden Age went on in peace time during the Dutch Republic until the end of the centuryIn 1568, the Seven Provinces that later signed the Union of Utrecht (Dutch: Unie van Utrecht) started a rebellion against Philip II of Spain that led to the Eighty Years' War. Before the Low Countries could be completely reconquered, a war between England and Spain (the Anglo-Spanish War (1585-1604)) broke out, forcing Spanish troops to halt their advances and leaving them in control of the important trading cities of Bruges and Ghent, but without control of Antwerp, which was then arguably the most important port in the world. After a siege, on August 17, 1585 Antwerp fell, and the division of the Northern and Southern Netherlands (mostly modern Belgium) was defined. The United Provinces (roughly today's Netherlands) fought on until the Twelve Years' Truce, which did not end the hostilities. The Peace of Westphalia in 1648, which ended the Thirty Years' War, brought the Dutch Republic formal recognition and independence from the Spanish crown.

The Dutch Water Line (Dutch: Hollandsche Waterlinie) was a series of water based defences conceived by Maurice of Nassau in the early 17th century, and realised by his half brother Frederick Henry. Combined with natural bodies of water, it could be used to transform the economic heartland of the Dutch Republic almost into an island.

The Dutch Water Line (Dutch: Hollandsche Waterlinie) was a series of water based defences conceived by Maurice of Nassau in the early 17th century, and realised by his half brother Frederick Henry. Combined with natural bodies of water, it could be used to transform the economic heartland of the Dutch Republic almost into an island.

The Dutch East India Company (Dutch: Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, VOC, United East India Company) was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia. It is often considered to have been the first multinational corporation in the world and it was the first company to issue stock. It was also arguably the first megacorporation, possessing quasi-governmental powers, including the ability to wage war, imprison and execute convicts, negotiate treaties, coin money, and establish colonies.

Efteling is the largest theme park in the Netherlands and one of the oldest theme parks in the world. Efteling is located in the town of Kaatsheuvel, in the municipality of Loon op Zand. It has received over 100 million visitors. Since its opening in 1952, the park has evolved from a nature park with a playground and a Fairy Tale Forest into a full-sized theme park. Efteling now caters to both children and adults with its cultural, romantic and nostalgic themes and its variety of amusement rides. It is twice as large as the original Disneyland park in California and predates it by three years. The park is fantasy-themed; its attractions are based on elements from ancient myths and legends, fairy tales, fables and folklore.

The Royal Eise Eisinga Planetarium (Dutch: Koninklijk Eise Eisinga Planetarium) is an 18th-century orrery in Franeker, Friesland, Netherlands. It is currently a museum and open to the public. The orrery has been on the top 100 Dutch heritage sites list since 1990 and in December 2011 was nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site candidate.

The Eleven Cities Cycling Tour (Dutch: Fietselfstedentocht) was originally a bicycle race in Friesland, Netherlands, but now, due to the number of partakers, has become a bicycle tour. It is the cycling counterpart of the Elfstedentocht ice-skating tour which is held irregularly on frozen waterways in the same region. The race developed in parallel with its ice-skating counterpart but unlike the skating race, has taken place almost every year. Since 1947 it has taken place on White Monday. The event has become immensely popular. As a safety precaution it ceased to be a race but has become a tour with a maximum average speed of 25 km/h between checkpoints.

The Elfstedentocht (West Frisian: Alvestêdetocht, English: Eleven cities tour), at almost 200 kilometres (120 mi), is a speed skating match (with 300 contestants) and a leisure skating tour (with 16,000 skaters). It is held in the province of Friesland in the north of the Netherlands, touching every city (by history) of the province. It is held, in practice in January or February and not more than once in a winter, when the natural ice along the entire course is at least 15 centimetres (6 in) thick; sometimes on consecutive years, other times with gaps that may exceed 20 years. When the ice is suitable the tour is announced, and starts within 48 hours.

ENCI (Eerste Nederlandse Cement Industrie - First Dutch Cement Industry) is a Dutch company based in Maastricht, where they dig marl out of the hill St Pietersberg to make cement. The dug-up earth is used to make a hill called d'n Observant. There are plans to fill the hole in St Pietersberg with water to change it into a water recreation area. A pair of Eurasian Eagle-owls have been nesting at the ENCI quarry since 2001. This is one of the most West European known nesting sites for the bird.

Erasmus Bridge (Dutch: Erasmusbrug) is a cable-stayed bridge across the Nieuwe Maas, linking the northern and southern regions of Rotterdam, Netherlands. The Erasmus Bridge was designed by Ben van Berkel and completed in 1996. The 802-metre-long (2,631 ft) bridge has a 139-metre-high (456 ft) asymmetrical pylon, earning the bridge its nickname of The Swan. The southern span of the bridge has an 89-metre-long (292 ft) bascule bridge for ships that cannot pass under the bridge. The bascule bridge is the largest and heaviest in West Europe and has the largest panel of its type in the world.

The Escher Museum (Escher in het Paleis, Escher in the Palace) is a museum in The Hague, Netherlands, featuring the works of the Dutch graphical artist M. C. Escher. This museum opened on 15 November 2002.

Netherlands uses the euro (€, EUR) as its money. Netherlands is one of 23 European countries that use this common European currency: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain (which are all eurozone countries of the European Union or EU) together with the six non-EU members Andorra, Kosovo, Monaco, Montenegro, San Marino and the Vatican that also solely use euros but have no say in eurozone affairs. These 23 countries together have a population of more than 330 million.

Euromast is an observation tower in Rotterdam, Netherlands, designed by Hugh Maaskant constructed between 1958 and 1960. It was specially built for the 1960 Floriade, and is a listed monument since 2010.The tower is a concrete structure with an internal diameter of 9 m (30 ft) and a wall thickness of 30 cm (12 in). For stability it is built on a concrete block of 1,900,000 kg (4,200,000 lb) so that the centre of gravity is below ground. It has a crow's nestobservation platform 96 m (315 ft) above-ground and a restaurant. Originally 101 m (331 ft) in height it was the tallest building in Rotterdam. It lost this position for a while, but regained it when the Space Tower was added to the top of the building in 1970, giving an additional 85 m (279 ft). Euromast is a member of the World Federation of Great Towers.

The European Economic Community (EEC) was an international organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957. Its aim was to bring about economic integration, including a common market, among its six founding members: Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany. The EEC was also known as the Common Market in the English-speaking world and sometimes referred to as the European Community even before it was officially renamed as such in 1993.

Europoort  is an area of the Port of Rotterdam and the adjoining industrial area in the Netherlands. Being situated at Southside of the mouth of the rivers Rhine and Meuse with the hinterland consisting of the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and partly France, Europoort is by certain measurements the world's busiest port and considered a major entry to Europe. The Europoort area is very heavily industrialised with petrochemical refineries and storage tanks, bulk iron ore and coal handling as well as container and new motor vehicle terminals. Europoort is situated on the South bank of the Nieuwe Waterweg, same as the Maasvlakte area. On the Northern bank of the Nieuwe Waterweg you find Hook of Holland (in Dutch: Hoek van Holland).

The eurozone (About this sound pronunciation (help·info)), officially called the euro area, is an economic and monetary union (EMU) of 17 European Union (EU) member states that have adopted the euro (€) as their common currency and sole legal tender. The eurozone currently consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain.

The Evoluon is a conference centre and former science museum erected by the electronics and electrical company Philips in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, in 1966. Since its construction, it has become a landmark and a symbol for the city. The building is unique due to its very futuristic design, resembling a landed flying saucer. It was designed by architect Louis Christiaan Kalff, while the exhibition was conceived by James Gardner. The building was based on an idea by Frits Philips, who originally made a sketch of the building on a paper napkin. Frits Philips wanted to give the people of Eindhoven a beautiful and educational gift to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the company that bears his family name.

EYE Film Institute Netherlands is located in the Overhoeks neighborhood of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. It includes a cinematography museum formerly called Filmmuseum, founded in 1952. Its predecessor was the Dutch Historic Film Archive, founded in 1946. The museum was situated in the Vondelparkpaviljoen since 1975, and in 2009, plans were announced for a new home for the museum on the northern bank of Amsterdam's waterfront. It was officially opened on April 4, 2012 by Queen Beatrix

The Feijenoord Stadion, more commonly known by its nickname De Kuip (the Tub), is a stadium in Rotterdam, Netherlands that was completed in 1937. The name is derived from the area Feijenoordin Rotterdam, and from the club with the same name (although the club's name was internationalised to Feyenoord in 1973). Capacity at completion: 64,000. Maximum capacity: 69,000 (1949). Present day capacity: 51,177 (49,000 for KNVB matches).

Foam or Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam is a photography museum located at the Keizersgracht in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The museum has four different exhibitions at any given time in which many different photographic genres are shown, such as documentary, art and fashion. Two shows which received much critical acclaim as well as many visitors were Henri Cartier-Bresson - A Retrospective, containing the work by French photographer and Magnum founder Henri Cartier-Bresson and Richard Avedon - Photographs 1946 -2004, a major retrospective of the work by Richard Avedon. Next to large exhibitions by well-known photographers, Foam also shows the work of young and upcoming photographers, in shorter running exhibitions. The museum contains a cafe, a library, a commercial gallery called FoamEditions, as well as a bookshop. The museum also publishes a quarterly photography magazine called Foam Magazine.

The Fortis Circustheater is a Dutch theater in Scheveningen which has been open for 4 Disney Theatrical shows: Beauty and the Beast (musical), The Lion King (musical), Tarzan (musical), & Mary Poppins (musical), which is currently showing there. The theatre is property of the company Stage Entertainment Founded by Joop van den Ende

The Frans Hals Museum is a hofje and municipal museum in Haarlem, Netherlands. The museum was founded in 1862 in the newly renovated former cloister located in the back of the Haarlem city hall known as the Prinsenhof. The collection is based on the wealthy collection of the city hall itself, including more than a dozen paintings by Frans Hals, for whom it is named, but also contains other interesting Haarlem art from the 15th century up to the present day. The collection moved to the present location in 1913, and the modern collection is located in the two buildings on the town square called the Hallen, for the former occupations of the buildings, the Fish Hall and the Meat Hall. The main collection, including the Frans Hals paintings, is currently located on the Klein Heiligland, across the street from the Haarlem historical museum.

The 17th-century canals of Amsterdam (in Dutch: 'Grachtengordel'), located in the heart of Amsterdam, were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in July 2010.

The Grebbe Line (Dutch: Grebbelinie) was a forward defence line of the Dutch Water Line, based on inundation. The Grebbe Line ran from the Grebbeberg in Rhenen northwards until the IJsselmeer.

The Groene Hart (English: Green Heart) is a relatively thinly populated area in the Dutch Randstad. The major Dutch cities of Rotterdam, Den Haag, Leiden, Haarlem, Amsterdam and Utrecht lie around this area. Other cities inside the Groene Hart include Zoetermeer, Alphen aan den Rijn, Gouda, Woerden and the smaller cities of Schoonhoven, Oudewater, Haastrecht, Nieuwkoop, Montfoort, Waddinxveen, Bodegraven and Boskoop. The Groene Hart is characterized by its rural character which contrasts the urban areas around it. Agriculture, nature and recreation are the primary activities in the Groene Hart, where residents and urban visitors can often find rest and many green spaces. The bird species Black-tailed Godwit, Northern Lapwing, and Eurasian Oystercatcher can all be found in the area.

De Grolsch Veste, previously known as Arke Stadion is the stadium of football club Twente. It is located in Enschede, Netherlands, at the Business & Science Park, near the University of Twente. The stadium has an all-seated capacity of 30,205 with a standard pitch heating system and has a promenade instead of fences around the stands.

Haarlemmermeer is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is a polder, consisting of land reclaimed from water, and the name Haarlemmermeer means Haarlem's Lake, still referring to the body of water from which the region was reclaimed in the 19th century. Its main town is Hoofddorp. It is one of the largest towns (pop. 70,030) in the Netherlands whose name is not used as the name of a municipality. This town, together with the rapidly growing towns of Nieuw-Vennep and Badhoevedorp, forms part of the Randstad agglomeration. The Netherlands' main international airport Schiphol is located in Haarlemmermeer.

The Haringvliet is a large inlet of the North Sea, in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. It is an important estuary of the Rhine-Meuse delta. Near Numansdorp, the Hollands Diep splits into the Haringvliet and the Volkerak estuaries. It is closed off near Goedereede from the North Sea by the Haringvlietdam, which provides a road connection between the island of Voorne to the north and the island of Goeree-Overflakkee to the south. The dam with its sluices was built as part of the Delta Works sea barrier protection works, and allow for a brackish ecological environment.

Heineken International is a Dutch brewing company, founded in 1864 by Gerard Adriaan Heineken in Amsterdam. As of 2007, Heineken owns over 125 breweries in more than 70 countries and employs approximately 66,000 people. It brews and sells more than 170 international premium, regional, local and specialty beers, including Cruzcampo, Tiger Beer, ?ywiec, Starobrno, Zagorka, Birra Moretti, Ochota, Murphy's, Star and of course Heineken Pilsener.

Heineken Music Hall (or commonly abbreviated as HMH) is a concert hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands, near the Amsterdam ArenA (Amsterdam South-East). The big hall has a capacity of 5500 and is 3000 m²; a smaller hall (for after parties) has a capacity of 700. The Heineken Music Hall was specially designed for amplified music. The architect was Frits van Dongen of Architekten Cie. The building was constructed between 1996 and 2001, and cost €30 million

Helpoort - Limburg, Maastricht. The oldest city gate in Netherlands, built in 1229. Part of medieval city walls preserved, with several kilometres long underground passages.

Hermitage Amsterdam is a branch museum of the Hermitage Museum of Saint Petersburg, Russia, located on the banks of the Amstel river in Amsterdam. The museum is located in the former Amstelhof, a classical style building from 1681. The dependency displayed small exhibitions in the adjacent Neerlandia Building from 24 February 2004 until the main museum opened on 19 June 2009. It is currently the largest satellite of the Hermitage Museum, with a total area of 12,846 m2 (138,270 sq ft) and fits with the museum's plan to make its collections accessible to more people. The exhibition area covers 2,172 m2 (23,380 sq ft) and is contained within two large exhibition halls and smaller exhibition rooms). The remaining space holds lecture halls, offices and staff accommodations and a restaurant.

Hoensbroek Castle - Limburg. Large water castle. Oldest parts are from 1360. Castle contains at least 67 halls and rooms.

The Hofvijver  is a small pond in the centre of The Hague. It is adjoined in the east by the Korte Vijverberg (road), in the south by the Binnenhof and the Mauritshuis, in the west by the Buitenhof and in the north by the Lange Vijverberg (road). In the middle there is a small island with plants and trees which has no name, it is usually referred to as the island in the Vijverberg.

Hoge Veluwe National Park (Dutch: Hoge Veluwe Nationaal Park)  is a national park in the Gelderland province of the Netherlands. With its ~55 km² it is one of the largest national parks of the country, and a popular short stay tourist destination for the Dutch. The park is situated north of Arnhem and east of Ede and praised for its natural beauty, divers wildlife and the Kröller Müller museum for modern arts.

Holland is a region in the western part of the Netherlands. The term Holland is also frequently used as a pars pro toto to refer to the whole of the Netherlands. This usage is generally accepted but disliked by part of the Dutch population, especially in the other parts of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th century, Holland proper was a unified political region, a county ruled by the Counts of Holland. By the 17th century, Holland had risen to become a maritime and economic power, dominating the other provinces of the Dutch Republic.

Holland Casino (officially: National Foundation for the Exploitation of Casino Games in the Netherlands) has the legal monopoly on gambling in the Netherlands, and has fourteen casinos located throughout the country. Profits from Holland Casino go directly to the Dutch treasury. In 2007 it was around 267 million euros and in 2006 some 263 million euros.The headquarters of Holland Casino is located in Hoofddorp, but in the future will move to a separate tower building of the new Holland Casino Utrecht. The first casino opened in Zandvoort on October 1, 1976. Since 2008, the Amsterdam casino is the largest branch. Other branches can be found at: Breda, Eindhoven, Enschede, Groningen, Leeuwarden, Nijmegen, Rotterdam, Scheveningen, Schiphol (Amsterdam Airport), Utrecht, Valkenburg, Venlo.

Hollands Diep is a wide river in the Netherlands and an estuary of the Rhine and Meuse river. Through the Scheldt-Rhine Canal it connects to the Scheldt river and Antwerp.

Hoorn is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is located on the IJsselmeer, 35 kilometres north of Amsterdam, and acquired city rights in 1357. Hoorn has 70,196 inhabitants (CBS: 3 March 2010). The area of the municipality is 52.49 km² (32.62 km² consists of water, mainly the Markermeer), and consists of the following villages and/or districts: Blokker, Hoorn, Zwaag, and parts of Bangert and De Hulk.

Hortus Botanicus Leiden - South Holland, Leiden. One of the oldest botanical gardens in the world, set in 1593. Contains several orangeries and some very old plants. Large collection of Asian orchids.

A dolmen, also known as a portal tomb, portal grave, or quoit, is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of three or more upright stones supporting a large flat horizontal capstone (table), although there are also more complex variants. Most date from the early Neolithic period (4000 to 3000 BC). Dolmens were usually covered with earth or smaller stones to form a barrow, though in many cases that covering has weathered away, leaving only the stone skeletonof the burial mound intact.

River IJssel, sometimes called Gelderse IJssel (Gelderland IJssel) to avoid confusion with its Hollandse IJssel namesake in the west of the Netherlands, is a branch of the Rhine in the Dutch provinces of Gelderland and Overijssel. River IJssel flows from Westervoort, east of the city of Arnhem, until it discharges into the IJsselmeer (Lake IJssel, until the 1932 completion of the Afsluitdijk known as the Zuiderzee, a North Sea inlet). River IJssel is one of the three major distributary branches into which the Rhine divides itself shortly after crossing the German-Dutch border, the other two being the rivers Nederrijn and Waal.

IJsselmeer, Lake IJssel, alternative spelling: Lake Yssel) is a shallow artificial lake of 1100 km² in the central Netherlands bordering the provinces of Flevoland, North Holland and Friesland, with an average depth of 5 to 6 m. The IJsselmeer is the largest lake in Western Europe. The IJsselmeer is a freshwater lake fed through the Ketelmeer by the river IJssel, which gives it its name. It is mainly fed by water from the Rhine since the IJssel is a branch of it.

The International Court of Justice (French: Cour internationale de Justice commonly referred to as the World Court or ICJ) is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, the Netherlands. Its main functions are to settle legal disputes submitted to it by states and to provide advisory opinions on legal questions submitted to it by duly authorised international organs, agencies, and the UN General Assembly.

The Jaarbeurs (Yearly Fair) is an exhibition and convention center in Utrecht, the Netherlands. The Jaarbeurs extends to an area of 100.000 m² (62 mi²).

The Jekerkwartier (Limburgish (Maastrichtian variant): Jekerkerteer) is a neighbourhood in the old city centre of Maastricht, Limburg, NetherlJekerkwartier ands. It is named after the Jeker river that flows through the neighbourhood into the Meuse.

The Joods Historisch Museum (Jewish Historical Museum) is a museum in Amsterdam dedicated to Jewish history, culture and religion, in the Netherlands and worldwide. It is the only museum in the Netherlands dedicated to Jewish history. A seven-year renovation of the museum was recently completed (2007). The museum was recognized in 1989 when it received the Council of Europe Museum Prize, awarded for a combination of the presentation of the collection and the outward appearance of the buildings.

The Kalverstraat is a busy shopping street of Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. It is named after the kalvermarkt (calves market) that was held here until the 17th century. The Kalverstraat is the most expensive shopping street in the Netherlands, with rents of 2200 euros per square meter (2007).In 2006 it was the 21st most expensive street in the world measured by rent prices. The Kalverstraat is also the most expensive street in the Dutch version of Monopoly. The street begins at Dam Square and ends roughly 750 meters down near the Munttoren tower at Muntplein square. This tower was once a gate in the medieval city walls. After the walls were built, the street between the Spui and Munttoren came to be known as Byndewyck. This part of the neighborhood, from 1486 until 1629, had a veemarkt (cattle market). Later on the street got the name Kalverstraat, after the cattle market

Keukenhof, also known as the Garden of Europe, is the world's largest flower garden situated near Lisse, Netherlands. According to the official website for the Keukenhof Park, approximately 7,000,000 (seven million) flower bulbs are planted annually in the park, which covers an area of 32 hectares. Keukenhof is located in South Holland in the small town of Lisse, south of Haarlem and southwest of Amsterdam. It is accessible by bus from the train stations of Haarlem, Leiden and Schiphol. It is located in an area called the Dune and Bulb Region(Duin- en Bollenstreek).

Kop van Zuid is a new neighborhood of Rotterdam, Netherlands, located on the south bank of the Nieuwe Maas opposite the center of town. The district is relatively young and includes the Wilhelmina Pier and the V bounded by Rose Street / railway line between themselves and the Rotterdam-Dordrecht Hilledijk / Hill Street / Rijnhaven other. The Kop van Zuid is built on old, abandoned port areas around the Binnenhaven, Entrepothaven, Spoorweghaven, Rijnhaven and the Wilhelmina Pier. These port sites caused the Nieuwe Maas with a large physical distance between the center and north of the Maas and southern Rotterdam. Through this area should be converted into urban area, and good connections to build, seeks North and South to unite.

The Kröller-Müller Museum  is an art museum and sculpture garden, located in the Hoge Veluwe National Park in Otterlo in the Netherlands.The museum has a considerable collection of paintings by Vincent van Gogh, such as The Potato Eaters, Cafe Terrace at Night and Sorrowing Old Man ('At Eternity's Gate'), making it the second-largest collection of Van Gogh paintings in the world (after the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam). Apart from the Van Gogh paintings other highlights include works by Piet Mondrian, Georges-Pierre Seurat, Odilon Redon, George Braque, Paul Gauguin, Lucas Cranach, James Ensor, Juan Gris, Pablo Picasso, etc. The museum was founded by Helene Kröller-Müller, an avid art collector who was one of the first to recognize Van Gogh's genius and collect his works. In 1935, she donated her whole collection to the state of the Netherlands. In 1938, the museum, which was designed by Henry van de Velde, opened to the public. The sculpture garden was added in 1961 and the new exhibition wing, designed by Wim Quist, opened in 1977.

Kubuswoningen, or cube houses, are a set of innovative houses built in Rotterdam and Helmond in The Netherlands, designed by architect Piet Blom and based on the concept of living as an urban roof: high density housing with sufficient space on the ground level. Blom tilted the cube of a conventional house 45 degrees, and rested it upon a hexagon-shaped pylon. His design represents a village within a city, where each house represents a tree, and all the houses together, a forest

The Feijenoord Stadion, more commonly known by its nickname De Kuip  is a stadium in Rotterdam, Netherlands that was completed in 1937. The name is derived from the area Feijenoordin Rotterdam, and from the club with the same name (although the club's name was internationalised to Feyenoord in 1973). Capacity at completion: 64,000. Maximum capacity: 69,000 (1949). Present day capacity: 51,177 (49,000 for KNVB matches).

The Kunsthal is a museum in Rotterdam, which opened its doors in 1992. The museum is situated in the Museumpark of Rotterdam next to the Natuurhistorisch Museum Rotterdam, and in the vicinity of the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen. Entrance to the Kunsthal is from the Westzeedijk. The building was designed by the Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas.

The Leidseplein is a square in central Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Lying in the southwest of the Grachtengordel district of Amsterdam, the Leidseplein is immediately northeast of the Singelgracht canal. It is situated on the crossroads of the Weteringschans, the Marnixstraat, and the Leidsestraat. The Leidseplein is one of the busiest centres for nightlife in the city. Historically, the square was the end of the road from Leiden, and served as a parking lot for horse-drawn traffic. Today, modern traffic travels through the square and side streets are packed with restaurants and nightclubs. The Stadsschouwburg, a theater, is the most notable architectural landmark on the square, and the American Hotel is close by

The Lek is a river in the western Netherlands of some 60 km in length. It is the continuation of the Nederrijn after the Kromme Rijn branches off at the town of Wijk bij Duurstede. The main westbound waterway is hereafter called the Lek River. The Nederrijn is, itself, a distributary branch of river Rhine. The name Lekis derived either from the Middle Dutch words lakeand leek, meaning watercourse

The Lesser Antilles (also known as the Caribbees) are a long, partly volcanic island arc in the Caribbean Sea. Most of its islands form the eastern boundary of the Caribbean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean, with the remainder located in the southern Caribbean just north of South America. The Lesser Antilles and the Greater Antilles compose the Antilles, which are in turn part of the West Indies along with the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Limburg, Dutch and Limburgish: (Nederlands-)Limburg) is the southernmost of the twelve provinces of the Netherlands. It is located in the southeastern part of the country and is bordered by the Dutch provinces of Gelderland to the north and North Brabant to the north and northwest, Germany (state of Northrhine-Westphalia) to the east and Belgium (the Dutch-speaking province of Limburg and French-speaking province of Liège) to the south and part of the west. Its capital is Maastricht.

Limburgish, also called Limburgian or Limburgic (Dutch: Limburgs, German: Limburgisch, French: Limbourgeois  is a group of East Low Franconian language varieties spoken in the Limburg and Rhineland regions, along the Dutch-Belgian-German border. The area in which it is spoken roughly fits within a wide circle from Venlo to Düsseldorf to Aachen to Maastricht to Hasselt and back to Venlo. In some parts of this area it is generally used as the colloquial language in daily speech.

Loevestein Castle - Gelderland. Well preserved medieval castle, built in 1357 - 1397. Around the castle are fortifications - bastions.

Het Loo Palace - Gelderland, Apeldoorn. Country seat of the royal family of the Netherlands. Built in 1685 - 1686. Good representative of Dutch Baroque architecture - restricted and homely. Around the palace is set exquisite Baroque garden.

The Loonse en Drunense Duinen (Loonse and Drunense Dunes) is a national park situated in the south of the Netherlands, between the cities of Tilburg, Waalwijk & 's-Hertogenbosch. It has been designated as a national park since 2002. It is 35 km² (14 mile²) in area.

The Low Countries (Dutch: Lage Landen) is the coastal region of north western Europe, consisting of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg, around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers where much of the land is at or below sea level.

The activities of Maastricht Aachen Airport are aimed at the transport of passengers and freight. To this end, Maastricht Aachen Airport cooperates closely with its sister company Maastricht Handling Services. In addition, Maastricht Aachen Airport is a shareholder in the AviationValley Business Park and owner of the AviationValley real estate management and development company. Maastricht Aachen Airport also plays an active role in the Maastricht Maintenance Boulevard foundation, which unifies the aircraft maintenance companies and educational institutions at the airport.

The Maastricht Convention Bureau is a foundation which promotes Maastricht & region as a destination for conferences and corporate meetings. Members of the foundation are several organisations in Maastricht & surrounding area that offer their services to you when it comes to meetings, incentives, conventions and events. We offer professional, independent and objective information, advice and mediation regarding any aspect of organising business meetings: congress centres, hotels, venues for your party or dinner, transportation, organisational support, catering, social and partner programmes. Diversity, that is the keyword for Maastricht & surrounding area. The city with its historic centre, combined with modern architecture, is situated in hilly, green surroundings. A unique combination. The meeting, party and dinner venues vary from classical   to design and the rates and atmospheres are diverse as well. In Maastricht, you can meet, dine, party and sleep in unique venues, such as castles, design hotels, chain hotels, caves, a fortress, a ball room, ships.

The Maastricht Treaty (formally, the Treaty on European Union or TEU) was signed on 7 February 1992 by the members of the European Community in Maastricht, Netherlands. On 9-10 December 1991, the same city hosted the European Council which drafted the treaty. Upon its entry into force on 1 November 1993 during the Delors Commission, it created the European Union and led to the creation of the single European currency, the euro. The Maastricht Treaty has been amended by the treaties of Amsterdam, Nice and Lisbon.

The Maasvlakte is part of Europoort, a harbour and industrial area near the city of Rotterdam in the Netherlands.It was created in the 1960s by reclaiming land from the North Sea through dykes and sand suppletion. The sand for the suppletion was largely taken from the North Sea and the Lake of Oostvoorne. This lake was created by the construction of the Maasvlakte. Fossils were (and can still be) found in the sand. Before the completion of the Maasvlakte it was a sandbank which was hazardous to shipping. In September 2008 work has started on the Second Maasvlakteor Maasvlakte 2: the existing area is being expanded and in 2013 the new harbours in the Maasvlakte 2 will be opened for commercial use. By spraying sand in the North Sea the port of Rotterdam will be extended by some 2.000 hectares.

In the totally renovated Madurodam you see all you have to know about Holland in miniature. In this unique theme park you see beautiful miniatures of the Anne Frank house, the Rijksmuseum, the wind mills and the cheese market. Also you learn fun facts about the Dutch people via interactive touch screens (in seven languages). Experience our fascinating history and see how the Deltaworks keep our country dry. Madurodam is interactive: you can load a cargo ship with containers in the Port of Rotterdam, learn how to fly at the airport of Amsterdam, operate the de Deltaworks and make a bid at the flower auction. Madurodam is divided in three theme areas: City Centre, Water World en Innovation Island. In City Centre you find the most beautiful buildings of the old cities of Holland. Water World is about ‘water as friend and foe' and Innovation Island stands for architecture, innovations, sports, entertainment and design.

The Maeslantkering is a storm surge barrier on the imaginary dividing line between the Nieuwe Waterweg waterway located at Hoek van Holland and the river the Scheur located along the cities of Maassluis and Vlaardingen up to the confluence of the rivers Oude Maas and Nieuwe Maas, Netherlands, which automatically closes when needed. It is part of the Delta Works and it is one of largest moving structures on Earth, rivalling the Green Bank Telescope in the USA and the Bagger 288 excavator in Germany.

The Magere Brug (Skinny Bridge) is a bridge over the river Amstel in the city centre of Amsterdam. It connects the banks of the river at Kerkstraat (Church Street), between Keizersgracht (Emperors' Canal) and Prinsengracht (Princes' Canal).

Magna Plaza (Hoofdpostkantoor - now shops) - North Holland, Amsterdam. Beautiful public building in Neo-Renaissance style, built in 1895 - 1899.

The Maritime Museum Rotterdam is a maritime museum in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Dedicated to naval history, it was founded in 1873 by Prince Henry of the Netherlands.

Marken is a peninsula in the Markermeer, in the Netherlands and a former island in the Zuiderzee, located in the municipality Waterland in the province North Holland.

The Martinitoren (Martini Tower) is the highest church steeple in the city of Groningen, The Netherlands. The tower is located at the north-eastern corner of the Grote Markt (Main Market Square), is part of the Martinikerk (Martini Church). The tower contains a brick spiral staircase consisting of 260 steps, and the carillon within the tower contains 62 bells. It is considered one of the main tourist attractions of Groningen and offers a view over the city and surrounding area. The front of the tower shows three pictures above the entrance: the blind man Bernlef, Saint Martinus and Rudolf Agricola. All three are men are linked to the history of Groningen. The tower is tilting about 0.6 m, according to reports the tower has a foundation of only three metres deep. The citizens of Groningen call their tower d'Olle Grieze, meaning the old grey one in the local dialect.

The Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis (English: Maurice House) houses the Royal Cabinet of Paintings and is a major pictural art museum in The Hague, the Netherlands. Previously the residence of count John Maurice of Nassau, it now has a large art collection, including paintings by Dutch painters such as Johannes Vermeer, Rembrandt van Rijn, Jan Steen, Paulus Potter and Frans Hals and works of the German painter Hans Holbein the Younger.

Maastricht Exposition and Congress Centre (MECC) hosts many events throughout the year.

The Melkweg (English translation: Milky Way) is a popular music venue and cultural center in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is located on the Lijnbaansgracht, near the Leidseplein, a prime nightlife center of Amsterdam. It is housed in a former warehouse and is divided into a number of spaces of varying sizes. Besides a large hall for rock and pop music concerts, there are also spaces for dance/theater, cinema, photography and media-art. The Melkweg is run by a non-profit organisation that has existed since 1970.

Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter (24 March 1607 – 29 April 1676) is the most famous and one of the most skilled admirals in Dutch history. De Ruyter is most famous for his role in the Anglo-Dutch Wars of the 17th century. He fought the English and French and scored several major victories against them, the best known probably being the Raid on the Medway. The pious De Ruyter was very much loved by his sailors and soldiers; from them his most significant nickname derived: Bestevaêr (older Dutch for 'grandfather'.)

Kinderdijk is a village in the Netherlands, belonging to the municipality of Molenwaard, in the province South Holland, about 15 km east of Rotterdam. Kinderdijk is situated in a polder in the Alblasserwaard at the confluence of the Lek and Noord rivers. To drain the polder, a system of 19 windmills was built around 1740. This group of mills is the largest concentration of old windmills in the Netherlands. The windmills of Kinderdijk are one of the best known Dutch tourist sites. They have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997.

Muiderslot - North Holland. Medieval castle, built in 1370 - 1386 in Renaissance style. Castle has moat, around the structure is set beautiful garden. The Muiderslot is a castle in the Netherlands, located at the mouth of the river Vecht, some 15 kilometers southeast of Amsterdam, in Muiden, where it flows into what used to be the Zuiderzee. It's one of the better known castles in the Netherlands and has been featured in many television shows set in the Middle Ages.The Muiderslot is currently a national museum (Rijksmuseum). The insides of the castle, its rooms and kitchens, have been restored to look like they did in the 17th century and several of the rooms now house a good collection of arms and armour.

The Municipal Museum (Dutch: Gemeentemuseum Den Haag) is an art museum, located in The Hague, Netherlands. The museum, built 1931-1935, was designed by the Dutch architect H.P. Berlage. It is renowned for its large Mondrian collection, the largest in the world. His last work, Victory Boogie-Woogie, is on display here. GEM (museum for contemporary art) and Fotomuseum Den Haag (The Hague museum for photography) are part of the Gemeentemuseum, though not housed in the same building and with a separate entrance fee

The Muntplein (literally mint square) is a square in the centre of Amsterdam. The square is in fact a bridge - the widest bridge in Amsterdam - which crosses the Singel canal at the point where it flows into the Amstel river. All bridges in Amsterdam are numbered, and the Muntplein carries the number 1.

The Munttoren (Mint Tower) or Munt is a tower in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. It stands on the busy Muntplein square, where the Amstel river and the Singel canal meet, near the flower market and the eastern end of the Kalverstraat shopping street. The tower was originally part of the Regulierspoort, one of the main gates in Amsterdam's medieval city wall. The gate, built in the years 1480, consisted of two towers and a guard house.

Museon is a museum for science and culture in The Hague, Netherlands. It has collections in the domains of geology, biology, archaeology, history, science and ethnology.

The Museumplein (English: Museum Square) is a square in the borough Amsterdam South in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Located at the square are three major museums - the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum, and Stedelijk Museum - and the concert hall Concertgebouw. The area was the location of the International Colonial and Export Exhibition in 1883. The square was reconstructed in 1999. The design of the new Museumplein is by the Swedish/Danish landscape architect Sven-Ingvar Andersson. It includes underground parking spaces and an underground supermarket. In the winter, the pond can be transformed into an artificial ice skating area.

Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ (English: Music Building on the IJ) is a concert hall for contemporary classical music on the IJ in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The building opened in 2005 and is located above the IJtunnel, a ten-minute walk from Amsterdam Centraal station. The building was designed by Danish architects 3XN. The Bimhuis is part of and partly integrated in the Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ.

Nationaal Park De Hoge Veluwe (English: The Hoge Veluwe National Park) is a Dutch national park in the province of Gelderland near the cities of Ede, Wageningen, Arnhem and Apeldoorn. It is approximately 55 square kilometers in area, consisting of heathlands, sand dunes, and woodlands. It is situated in the Veluwe, the area of the largest terminal moraine in the Netherlands. Most of the landscape of the park and the Veluwe was created during the last Ice Age. The alternating sand dune areas and heathlands may have been caused by human utilization of the surrounding lands. The park forms one of the largest continuous nature reserves in the Netherlands.

Nationaal Park Lauwersmeer is a national park in the provinces of Groningen and Friesland, the Netherlands. It consists of the southern and eastern parts of the Lauwersmeer (previously Lauwerszee).

The Drentsche Aa National Landscape is a national park located in the Dutch province of Drenthe on the west side of the Hondsrug. It consists of the cultural landscape surrounding the valley of the small river the Drentsche Aa.

Het Scheepvaartmuseum (The National Maritime Museum) is a museum in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The museum is housed in a former naval storehouse, 's Lands Zeemagazijn or Admiraliteits Magazijn, designed by the Dutch architect Daniël Stalpaert and constructed in 1656. The museum moved to this building in 1973. The museum is dedicated to maritime history and contains many artifacts associated with shipping and sailing. The collection contains, among other things, paintings, scale models, weapons and world maps. The paintings depict Dutch naval officers such as Michiel de Ruyter and impressive historical sea battles.

De Groote Peel is a National Park in the Peel, a region in the Southeast of the Netherlands on the border between the provinces of Limburg and North Brabant. It has a size of 13,4 km² and preserves a peat-bog that has remained partly untouched by peat cutting, which used to be extensive in the area.

The Loonse en Drunense Duinen (Loonse and Drunense Dunes) is a national park situated in the south of the Netherlands, between the cities of Tilburg, Waalwijk & 's-Hertogenbosch. It has been designated as a national park since 2002. It is 35 km² (14 mile²) in area.

Alde Feanen National Park is a national park in the Netherlands province of Friesland. The Alde Faenen is also a Natura 2000 area. The Alde Feanen is part of the communities Boornsterhem, Smallingerland and Tietjerksteradeel. Its size is about 25 km2 (9.7 sq mi). Part of the national park is the lake area Princenhof (or Princehof). The Alde Feanen contains morasses, lakes, forests, peat and meadows. In the area at least 450 plant species and 100 bird species can be found.

De Biesbosch ('forest of sedges' or 'rushwoods'), is one of the largest national parks of the Netherlands and one of the last freshwater tide areas in Europe. The Biesbosch consists of a rather large network of rivers and smaller and larger creeks with islands. The vegetation is mostly willow forests, although wet grasslands and fields of reed are common as well. The Biesbosch is an important wetland area for waterfowl and has a rich flora and fauna. It is especially important for migrating geese.

De Maasduinen National Park is a national park in the Dutch province of Limburg, founded in 1996 and covering approximately 4500 ha. The landscape consists of forests and heathlands on a sandy plateau along the river Meuse close to the German border. The estate 'de Hamert' is the heart of the park. Until 1998 the national park was called 'De Hamert' after this estate. The present name is derived from the parabolic dunes which date from the last glaciation.

Meinweg National Park (Nationaal Park De Meinweg) is a national park in Limburg, Netherlands. It is about 1800 hectares in size and was established in 1995. In 2002 it became part of the Maas-Swalm-Nette park, a transboundary protected area on the German/Dutch border, covering 10,000 hectares

De Zoom - Kalmthoutse Heide, is a cross-border park on the Belgian-Dutch border. It is a merger of two former parks, the Kalmthoutse Heide in Belgium and De Zoom in the Netherlands), together extending over 37.50 square kilometres (14.48 sq mi). A very large part of the park is covered with heath. The park is managed by a special commission in which both Flemish and Dutch organisations are represented. The park is owned by the state of Flanders, the municipality Kalmthout, Staatsbosbeheer, Natuurmonumenten and several private owners. The best known part of the border park lies in Belgium, in the north of the province of Antwerp (Kalmthout and Essen). The Dutch part lies in the municipality Woensdrecht (province North Brabant) and stretches from the border to the villages Huijbergen and Putte.

The Drents-Friese Wold National Park is a national park in the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Drenthe, covering more than 61 km2 (24 sq mi), founded in 2000. It consists of forests, heath lands and drift-sands.

Nationaal Park Duinen van Texel Is a national park located on the Frisian island Texel in the Netherlands. All dune systems on the western side of the island and the large coastal plains on both the northern and southern points of the island are part of the park. The park covers approximately 43 square kilometres and got its status of national park in 2002. The visitor center is located in natural history museum Ecomare.

Dwingelderveld National Park is a National park in the Dutch province of Drenthe, founded in 1991. The park covers about 37 km2 (14 sq mi) and is mainly managed by the State Forest Service (Staatsbosbeheer) and the most important Dutch private nature management organisation Natuurmonumenten. It is the largest wet heathland of Western-Europe. Dwingelderveld is also designated as a Natura 2000-area.

The Oosterschelde (Eastern Scheldt) is an estuary in Zeeland, Netherlands, between Schouwen-Duiveland and Tholen on the north and Noord-Beveland and Zuid-Beveland on the south. Is is also the largest national park in the Netherlands, founded in 2002.

Sallandse Heuvelrug National Park is a national park in the Dutch province of Overijssel, founded in 2004. The park is mainly managed by Staatsbosbeheer, Natuurmonumenten and the water company Vitens. In addition, several small particular owners are involved in the management, as well as regional communities and stakeholders.

Schiermonnikoog National Park is a national park in the Dutch province of Friesland. It is founded in 1989. It covers about 72 km2 (28 sq mi), the majority of the island Schiermonnikoog.

Utrechtse Heuvelrug National Park is a national park in the Dutch province of Utrecht, founded in 2003. The park covers 6,000 ha (15,000 acres) of heathlands, shifting sands, forests, grass lands and floodplains, but most striking is the moraine.

Veluwezoom National Park is a national park located in the Dutch province of Gelderland. This park is the oldest national park of the Netherlands. It is an area of 50 square kilometers at the southeastern edge of the Veluwe, a complex of terminal push moraines from the Saalian glaciation. It has a pronounced relief by Dutch standards, with the highest point in the park at 110 meters above sea level. It is a private national park, owned by Vereniging Natuurmonumenten, the largest nature conservation organisation in the Netherlands.

De Weerribben-Wieden National Park is a national park in the Steenwijkerland municipality of the province of Overijssel, Netherlands. Comprising the largest bog of northwestern Europe, the park consists of two areas, De Weerribben and De Wieden, and has an area of roughly 100 square kilometres (39 sq mi). The park was founded in 1882, but De Wieden was added only in 2009

Nationaal Park Zuid-Kennemerland is a national park in the province Noord-Holland, the Netherlands, west of Haarlem, within the municipalities of Bloemendaal, Velsen and Zandvoort. It includes the southern portion of the region known as Kennemerland. The park was established in 1995.

The Netherlands is densely populated and urbanised, and train services are frequent. There are two main types of trains: Intercity trains and Sprinter (or sometimes 'Stoptrein') trains which stop at all stations. An intermediate type 'Sneltrein' is found in a few places. All these types of train have the same prices. Also, there are high-speed trains called 'Fyra' between Amsterdam and Breda, which are more expensive. Travelling all the way from the north of the country (Groningen) to the south (Maastricht) takes approximately 4 hours. Most lines offer one train every 15 minutes (every 10 min during the rush hours), but some rural lines run only every 60 min. Where more lines run together, the frequency is, of course, even higher. In the western Netherlands, the rail network is more like a large urban network, with up to 12 trains per hour on main routes. The Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS)  operates most routes.

Nehalennia (spelled variously) is a goddess. Of unclear origin, perhaps Germanic or Celtic, Nehalennia is attested on and depicted upon numerous votive altars discovered around what is now the province of Zeeland, the Netherlands, where the Rhine River flowed into the North Sea. Worship of Nehalennia dates back at least to the 2nd century BC, and veneration of the goddess flourished in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD.

Science Center NEMO is a science center in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is located at the Oosterdok in Amsterdam-Centrum, situated between the Oosterdokseiland and Kattenburg. The museum has its origins in 1923, and is housed in a building designed by Renzo Piano since 1997. It contains five floors of hands-on science exhibitions and is the largest science center in the Netherlands. It attracts annually over 500,000 visitors, which makes it the fourth most visited museum in the Netherlands.

The Netherlands is a sovereign country comprising the mainland located in Northwest Europe and several islands located in the Caribbean that, together with Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten in the Caribbean Sea, constitute the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Netherlands is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. Its European mainland is bordered by the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east.

The Netherlands Architecture Institute (NAI) is a cultural institute for architecture and urban development, comprising a museum, an archive plus library, and a platform for lectures and debates. The NAI was established in 1988 and has been based in Rotterdam since 1993. The NAI is a private organisation with a government brief, which is to manage the collection of archives that document the history of Dutch architecture. Moreover, as a sector institute for architecture it is also tasked with supporting the professional field. The building also houses a bookshop and a cafe.

The Netherlands Open Air Museum (Dutch: Nederlands Openluchtmuseum) is an open air museum and park located near Arnhem with antique houses, farms and factories from different parts of the Netherlands.

The Nieuwe Kerk  is a 15th-century church in Amsterdam, located on Dam Square, next to the Royal Palace. The Nieuwe Kerk is a burial site for Dutch naval heroes, including Admiral Michiel de Ruyter, Commodore Jan van Galen and Jan van Speyk. The poet and playwright Joost van den Vondel is also buried in the church.

The Nieuwe Waterweg (New Waterway) is a ship canal in the Netherlands from het Scheur (a branch of the Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta) west of the town of Maassluis to the North Sea at Hook of Holland: the Maasmond, where the Nieuwe Waterweg connects to the Maasgeul. It is the artificial mouth of the river Rhine. The Nieuwe Waterweg, which opened in 1872 and has a length of approximately 20.5 kilometres (12.7 mi), was constructed to keep the city and port of Rotterdam accessible to seafaring vessels as the natural Meuse-Rhine branches silted up. The Waterway is a busy shipping route since it is the primary access to one of the busiest ports in the world, the Europoort of Rotterdam. At the entrance to the sea, a flood protection system called Maeslantkering has been installed (completed in 1997). There are no bridges or tunnels across the Nieuwe Waterweg.

Nirwana-flat - South Holland, the Hague. The first modern multiapartment house in Netherlands, built in 1926 - 1929. Designed by Jan Duiker and Jan Gerko Wiebenga. Represents a new philosophy in architecture of residential buildings, with phone system, waste collection system, central heating, large windows. The design has proven to be timeless and remains very modern even after 100 years.

Noordeinde Palace is one of the three official palaces of the Dutch royal family. Located in The Hague in the province of South Holland, it has been used as the working palacefor Queen Beatrix since 1984.

The Noordermarkt (Northern Market) is a square in the Jordaan neighborhood of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The square is lined by cafés and restaurants. Markets are held on the square every Monday. On Saturdays, a popular organic farmer's market is held on the square. On Mondays a market (mainly for textiles) is also held in the adjacent Westerstraat street.

Normaal Amsterdams Peil (NAP) or Amsterdam Ordnance Datum is a vertical datum in use in large parts of Western Europe. Originally created for use in the Netherlands, it was adopted by Prussia in 1879 under the name Normalnull, and in 1955 by other European countries.

The North Sea is a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean located between Great Britain, Scandinavia, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. An epeiric (or shelf) sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Sea in the north. It is more than 970 kilometres (600 mi) long and 580 kilometres (360 mi) wide, with an area of around 750,000 square kilometres (290,000 sq mi).

The 1953 North Sea flood (Dutch, Watersnoodramp, literally flood disaster) was a major flood caused by a heavy storm, that occurred on the night of Saturday 31 January 1953 and morning of 1 February 1953. The floods struck the Netherlands, Belgium, England and Scotland. A combination of a high spring tide and a severe European windstorm over the North Sea caused a storm surge (known locally as a storm tide). The combination of wind and high tide had the effect that the water level exceeded 5.6 metres (18.4 ft) above mean sea level in some locations. The flood and waves overwhelmed sea defences and caused extensive flooding. The Netherlands, a country that is partly located below mean sea level and relies heavily on sea defences, was mainly affected, recording 1,836 deaths. Most of these casualties occurred in the southern province of Zeeland. In England, 307 people were killed in the counties of Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex. 19 were killed in Scotland. 28 were killed in West Flanders, Belgium.

The Olympic Stadium (Dutch: Olympisch Stadion) was built as the main stadium for the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. The first event at the stadium was the start of the 1928 Olympic hockey tournament on 17 May 1928. When completed, the stadium had a capacity of 31,600. Following the completion of the rival De Kuip stadium in Rotterdam in 1937, the Amsterdam authorities increased the capacity of the Olympic Stadium to 64,000 by adding a second ring to the stadium. AFC Ajax used the Olympic Stadium for international games until 1996, when the Amsterdam Arena was completed. In 1987 the stadium was listed as a national monument. Renovation started in 1996, and the stadium was refurbished into the original construction of 1928. The second ring of 1937 was removed, reducing capacity to 22,288, and the stadium was made suitable for track and field competitions again.

The Omniversum in the Hague is Europe's first 360° IMAX-cinema.

The Oosterschelde (Eastern Scheldt) is an estuary in Zeeland, Netherlands, between Schouwen-Duiveland and Tholen on the north and Noord-Beveland and Zuid-Beveland on the south. Is is also the largest national park in the Netherlands, founded in 2002.

The Openbare Bibliotheek Amsterdam (Public Library Amsterdam) is a collective name for all public libraries in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The first library opened in 1919 at the Keizersgracht. As of 2007, there are 28 public libraries and 43 lending points, such as in hospitals. In 2005, OBA had 1.7 million books and 165,000 members and lent out 5 million books.The largest of these libraries, the Centrale Bibliotheek, moved to the Prinsengracht in 1977 and 30 years later, on 7 July 2007 (070707), to the Oosterdokseiland, just east of Amsterdam Centraal station. It is the largest public library in Europe. The complex has a floor surface of 28,500 m2, spread out over 10 floors, 1200 seats, of which 600 with Internet-connected computers and a staff of 200. Also included are an auditorium, an exhibition room, the Library Museum, the Gerard Reve Museum and 2000 parking spaces for bicycles. On the seventh floor is a V&D La Place self-service restaurant with a south-facing terrace. The cost of the project was €80 million. The building was designed by Jo Coenen, the former state architect (Rijksbouwmeester) of the Netherlands, who also designed the nearby KNSM Island, as well as the Central Library of Maastricht, and renovated the distinctive Glaspaleis in Heerlen, which houses its Central Library. The Central Library is open 7 days per week from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and the lending and returning of books is fully automated.

Operation Market Garden (17-25 September 1944) was an unsuccessful Allied military operation, fought in the Netherlands and Germany in the Second World War. It was the largest airborne operation up to that time. Field Marshal Montgomery's goal was to force an entry into Germany and over the Rhine. He wanted to circumvent the northern end of the Siegfried Line and this required the operation to seize the bridges across the Maas (Meuse River) and two arms of the Rhine (the Waal and the Lower Rhine) as well as several smaller canals and tributaries. Crossing the Lower Rhine would allow the Allies to encircle Germany's industrial heartland in the Ruhr from the north. It made large-scale use of airborne forces, whose tactical objectives were to secure the bridges and allow a rapid advance by armored units into Northern Germany.

The 800 year old Oude Kerk (old church) is Amsterdam's oldest building and oldest parish church, founded ca. 1213 and finally consecrated in 1306 by the bishop of Utrecht with Saint Nicolas as its patron saint. After the Reformation in 1578 it became a Calvinist church, which it remains today. It stands in De Wallen, now Amsterdam's main red-light district. The square surrounding the church is the Oudekerksplein.

The contactless smart card OV-Chipkaart (OV-Chipcard) can be used on all forms of public transport (OV stands for Openbaar Vervoer meaning Public Transport). OV-chipkaart types and obtaining a card The OV-chipkaart comes in three versions: Disposable OV-chipkaart sold with a travel product that cannot be recharged or reloaded with another product. It does not contain an electronic purse and is meant for people who rarely use public transport in the Netherlands. They are available for a range of fares, such as a three-day pass to all public transport in one city. The single-trip variants are sold on the bus by the driver, and sometimes on the tram. Anonymous OV-chipkaart available for €7.50 at ticket offices and vending machines valid up till 5 years. This card is reusable and has an electronic purse. It is transferable, and therefore cannot be used for discounted travel, or for monthly or annual season tickets. However, the anonymous card can contain multiple products simultaneously, as long as those are 'simple' travel products, like those available for the disposable card. Personal OV-chipkaart is useful for anyone entitled to travel with a discount. It is also the only type that can hold a monthly or annual season ticket. Because of these characteristics, the personal card is non-transferable and features the holder's photograph and date of birth. The personal OV-chipkaart has an electronic purse. In addition, it can be set to automatically top its balance up when it drops below a certain level. The personal card is the only one that can be blocked if it is lost or stolen.

Panorama Mesdag is a panorama by Hendrik Willem Mesdag. Housed in a purpose-built museum in The Hague, the panorama is a cylindrical painting (also known as a Cyclorama) more than 14 metres high and about 40 metres in diameter (120 metres in circumference). From an observation gallery in the centre of the room the cylindrical perspective creates the illusion that the viewer is on a high sand dune overlooking the sea, beaches and village of Scheveningen in the late 19th century. A foreground of fake terrain around the viewing gallery hides the base of the painting and makes the illusion more convincing.

Paradiso is a rock music venue and cultural center in Amsterdam, Netherlands.It is housed in a converted former church building that dates from the nineteenth century and that was used until 1965 as the meeting hall for a liberal Dutch religious group known as the Vrije Gemeente(Free Congregation). It is located on de Weteringschans, bordering the Leidseplein, one of the nightlife and tourism centers of the city. The main concert hall in the former church interior has high ceilings and two balcony rings overlooking the stage area, with three large illuminated church windows above the stage. The acoustics are rather echoey, but improvements have been made over the years. In addition to the main concert hall, there are two smaller cafe stages, on an upper floor and in the basement.

The Peace Palace (Dutch: Vredespaleis) is a building situated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is often called the seat of international law because it houses the International Court of Justice (which is the principal judicial body of the United Nations), the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the Hague Academy of International Law, and the extensive Peace Palace Library. In addition to hosting these institutions, the Palace is also a regular venue for special events in international policy and law. The Palace officially opened on August 28, 1913, and was originally built to provide a symbolic home for the Permanent Court of Arbitration, a court created to end war which was created by treaty at the 1899 Hague Peace Conference. Andrew Dickson White, whose efforts were instrumental in creating this court and securing the funding to provide it with a worthy accommodation, wrote of the idea to his friend Andrew Carnegie, who eventually provided 1.5 million dollars to build the Peace Palace: “A temple of peace where the doors are open, in contrast to the Janus-temple, in times of peace and closed in cases of war as a worthy testimony of the people that, after many long centuries finally a court that has thrown open its doors for the peaceful settlement of differences between peoples.

A polder is a low-lying tract of land enclosed by embankments (barriers) known as dikes that forms an artificial hydrological entity, meaning it has no connection with outside water other than through manually operated devices.The ground level in drained marshes subsides over time and thus all polders will eventually be below the surrounding water level some or all of the time. Water enters the low-lying polder through water pressure of ground water, or rainfall, or transport of water by rivers and canals. This usually means that the polder has an excess of water, which is pumped out or drained by opening sluices at low tide. Care must be taken not to set the internal water level too low. Polder land made up of peat (former marshland) will sink in relation to its previous level, because of peat decomposing in dry conditions.

The Netherlands is frequently associated with polders. This is illustrated by the English saying: God created the world but the Dutch created Holland. The Dutch have a long history of reclamation of marshes and fenland, resulting in some 3,000 polders nationwide. About half the total surface area of polders in north-west Europe is in the Netherlands. The first embankments in Europe were constructed in Roman times. The first polders were constructed in the 11th century. As a result of flooding disasters water boards called waterschap (when situated more inland) or hoogheemraadschap (near the sea, mainly used in the Holland region) were set up to maintain the integrity of the water defences around polders, maintain the waterways inside a polder and control the various water levels inside and outside the polder. Water bodies hold separate elections, levy taxes and function independently from other government bodies. Their function is basically unchanged even today.

The Port of Rotterdam is the largest port in Europe, located in the city of Rotterdam, Netherlands. From 1962 until 2004 it was the world's busiest port, now overtaken by first Shanghai and then Singapore. In 2009, Rotterdam was the world's tenth-largest container port in terms of twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) handled (2008: ninth, 2006: sixth). In 2011 Rotterdam was the world's fifth-largest port in terms of annual cargo tonnage.

The Amsterdam RAI Exhibition and Convention Centre (Dutch: RAI Congrescentrum), or RAI for short, is a complex of conference and exhibition halls in the Zuidas business district of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The complex gives its name to the nearby Amsterdam RAI railway station. In 1970 the Eurovision Song Contest was held at the RAI. Opened in 1961, the RAI welcomed its 75 millionth visitor in February 2001. Up to 2 million people visit the RAI every year. Some 50 international conferences and 70 trade shows are held at the RAI annually. The complex consists of 22 conference rooms and 11 halls and has a total floor space of 87,000 m². The largest hall can seat 12,900 people. The complex also includes a musical and concert theatre and underground parking space for over 3,000 cars.

The Railway Museum (Dutch: Spoorwegmuseum) in Utrecht is the Dutch national railway museum. It was established in 1927 and since 1954 has been housed in the Maliebaan station, a former railway station.

The Randstad  is a conurbation in the Netherlands. It consists of the four largest Dutch cities (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht), and the surrounding areas. With a population of 7,100,000 it is one of the largest conurbations in Europe , comparable in size to Milan or the San Francisco Bay Area and covers an area of approximately 8287 km². The Randstad's main cities are Almere, Amersfoort, Amsterdam, Delft, Dordrecht, Gouda, Haarlem, Leiden, Rotterdam, The Hague (Den Haag in Dutch), Utrecht, and Zoetermeer. Other centres include Alphen aan den Rijn, Amstelveen, Barendrecht, Capelle aan den IJssel, Hilversum, Hoofddorp, Hoek van Holland, Houten, Katwijk, Leidschendam, Maassluis, Nieuwegein, Oostzaan, Purmerend, Rijswijk, Schiedam, Spijkenisse, Vlaardingen, Voorburg, Zeist and Zaanstad.

The Rembrandt House Museum (Dutch: Museum het Rembrandthuis) is the house in Jodenbreestraat in Amsterdam, Netherlands, whereRembrandt House Museum Rembrandt lived and painted for nearly twenty years. It is now a museum. Rembrandt purchased the house in 1639 and lived there until he went bankrupt in 1656, when all his belongings were auctioned. Thanks to the detailed inventory and catalogue for the auction, and also some drawings by Rembrandt, we have an unusually good idea of the contents, which has allowed the museum to reconstruct the appearance of the rooms with similar period items.

Rembrandtplein (Rembrandt Square) is a major square in central Amsterdam, the Netherlands, named after the famous painter Rembrandt van Rijn who owned a house nearby from 1639 to 1656.The square is bordered on the east by Utrechtsestraat, Reguliersdwarsstraat on the south, Regulierbreestraat on the north and Halvemaansbrug on the west. The largest building on the square, across Utrechtsestraat, was designed in 1926 by architects Bert Johan Ouëndag and Hendrik Petrus Berlage as the head office of the Amsterdamsche Bank, later ABN AMRO.ABN AMRO vacated the structure in 2002 and in 2011 it reopened as retail office building named simply The Bank with 25,000 m2 (270,000 sq ft) of space after a five-year renovation

The Rhine Meuse Scheldt delta or Helinium is a river delta in the Netherlands and Belgium formed by the confluence of the Rhine, the Meuse and the Scheldt rivers. The result is a multitude of islands, branches and branch names that may at first sight look bewildering, especially as a waterway that appears to be one continuous stream may change names as many as seven times, e.g. Rhine to Bijlands Kanaal to Pannerdens Kanaal to Nederrijn to Lek to Nieuwe Maas to Het Scheur to Nieuwe Waterweg (→ North Sea). Since the Rhine contributes most of the water, the shorter term Rhine Delta is commonly used. However, this name is also used for the river delta where the Rhine flows into Lake Constance, so it is clearer to call the larger one Rhine-Meuse delta, or even Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt Delta, as the Scheldt ends in the same delta. The economic importance of the Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta is enormous, since the three rivers are important navigable waterways. The delta is the entrance from the North Sea to the vast German and Central European hinterland (and to a lesser extent France). Major ports in the delta are Rotterdam, Antwerp (Belgium), Vlissingen, Amsterdam (through the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal), and Ghent (through the Ghent-Terneuzen Canal). The land areas in the Delta are protected from flooding by the Delta Works.

The Ridderzaal (Knights' Hall) is the main building at the Binnenhof in The Hague, Netherlands, which is used for the state opening of Parliament on the third Tuesday in September, Prinsjesdag, when the Dutch monarch drives to Parliament in the Golden Carriage and delivers the speech from the throne. It is also used for official royal receptions, and interparliamentary conferences.

Gerrit Thomas Rietveld (24 June 1888–25 June 1964) was a Dutch furniture designer and architect. One of the principal members of the Dutch artistic movement called De Stijl, Rietveld is famous for his Red and Blue Chair and for the Rietveld Schröder House, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Rietveld Schröder House (Dutch: Rietveld Schröderhuis) (also known as the Schröder House) in Utrecht was built in 1924 by Dutch architect Gerrit Rietveld for Mrs. Truus Schröder-Schräder and her three children. She commissioned the house to be designed preferably without walls. Rietveld worked side by side with Schröder-Schräder to create the house. He sketched the first possible design for the building; Schroder-Schrader was not pleased. She envisioned a house that was free from association and could create a connection between the inside and outside. The house is one of the best known examples of De Stijl-architecture and arguably the only true De Stijl building. Mrs. Schröder lived in the house until her death in 1985. The house was restored by Bertus Mulder and now is a museum open for visits. It is a listed monument since 1976 and UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000.

A rijksmonument is a national heritage site of the Netherlands, listed by the agency Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed (RCE) acting for the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.

The Rijksmuseum is a Dutch national museum in Amsterdam, located on the Museumplein. The museum is dedicated to arts, crafts, and history. It has a large collection of paintings from the Dutch Golden Age and a substantial collection of Asian art. It also displays the stern of the HMS Royal Charles which was captured in the Raid on the Medway, and the Hartog plate.

The Rotte is a river the in Rhine-Maas-delta in the Netherlands. The Rotte is the namesake of the city of Rotterdam: the city was founded in the 13th Century when a dam was built across the river.

The Rotterdam Marathon, currently branded ABN AMRO Rotterdam Marathon, is an annual marathon that has been held in Rotterdam, the Netherlands since 1981. It has been held in April of every year since the third edition in 1984, and attracts many top athletes. It has also been ranked as one of the top 10 marathons in the world by Runner's World magazine. The event is the most popular marathon in the Netherlands, followed by the marathons of Amsterdam and Eindhoven.

The Royal Palace in Amsterdam (Dutch: Koninklijk Paleis Amsterdam or Paleis op de Dam) is one of three palaces in the Netherlands which are at the disposal of Queen Beatrix by Act of Parliament. The palace was built as a city hall during the Dutch Golden Age in the 17th century. The building became the royal palace of King Louis Napoleon and later of the Dutch Royal House. It is situated on the west side of Dam Square in the centre of Amsterdam, opposite the War Memorial and next to the Nieuwe Kerk. Palace is built of sandstone, which has greyed over the time. Contains valuable paintings.

Safaripark Beekse Bergen is the largest wildlife zoo of the Benelux region and provides a home to approximately 1,250 animals from over 150 species, varying from small mammals to large birds. It is located between the cities of Tilburg and Hilvarenbeek in the south of the Netherlands, in province of North-Brabant. The visitors can for instance watch zebras and giraffes on the spacious savannahs. Safaripark Beekse Bergen offers te possibility to explore the park on numerous safaris: walksafari, carsafari, bussafari and boatsafari. The park is owned by the company Libéma Exploitatie BV, which is one of the largest leisure-related companies in the Netherlands.

The Basilica of Saint Servatius is a Roman catholic church dedicated to Saint Servatius, in the city of Maastricht, the Netherlands. The architecturally hybrid but mainly Romanesque church is situated next to the Gothic church of Saint John, facing the town's main square, Vrijthof.

The Netherlands is a member of the Schengen Agreement. There are no border controls between countries that have signed and implemented the treaty - the European Union (except Bulgaria, Cyprus, Ireland, Romania and the United Kingdom), Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. Likewise, a visa granted for any Schengen member is valid in all other countries that have signed and implemented the treaty. But be careful: not all EU members have signed the Schengen treaty, and not all Schengen members are part of the European Union. This means that there may be spot customs check but no immigration checks (travelling within Schengen but to/from a non-EU country) or you may have to clear immigration but not customs (travelling within the EU but to/from a non-Schengen country).

Scheveningen is one of the eight districts of The Hague, as well as a subdistrict (wijk) of that city. Scheveningen is a modern seaside resort with a long sandy beach, an esplanade, a pier, and a lighthouse. The beach is popular for water sports such as windsurfing and kiteboarding. A nudist section is 1 km to the north. The harbor is used for both fishing and tourism.

Schokland is a former island in the Dutch Zuiderzee. Schokland lost its status as an island when the Noordoostpolder was reclaimed from the sea in 1942. The remains are still visible as a slightly elevated part in the polder and by the still partly intact retaining wall of the waterfront of 'Middelbuurt'.

A sex museum is a museum that displays erotic art, historical sexual aids, and documents on the history of erotica. They were popular in Europe at the end of the 1960s and during the 1970s, the era of the sexual revolution. Since the 1990s, these museums are often called erotic museums or erotic art museums instead of sex museums. There is a small sex museum in the heart of the Amsterdam red light district, de Wallen, and a second larger and more upscale one (Venus Temple) nearby, on the Damrak. Venus Temple is the oldest still operating sex museum; it opened in 1985.

Sint Servaasbrug (or the St. Servatius Bridge) is an arched stone footbridge across the Meuse River in Maastricht, Netherlands. It is named after Saint Servatius, the first bishop of Maastricht, and (despite being largely rebuilt after World War II) it has been called the oldest bridge in the Netherlands

Slot Zuylen - Utrecht. Well preserved water castle, built after 1510 and rebuilt in 1752.

The SSS islands consist of the three islands of the Lesser Antilles which are under Dutch sovereignty: Saba Saint Martin Sint Eustatius Saint Martin Island contains both the country Sint Maarten, which is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the French overseas collectivity of Saint-Martin. The islands of Saba and Sint Eustatius are public bodies of the Netherlands.

The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (colloquially Stedelijk):  is a museum for modern art, contemporary art, and design in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. It is located at the Museum Square in the borough Amsterdam South, close to the Van Gogh Museum, the Rijksmuseum, and the Concertgebouw. The museum was founded in 1874. The current building was designed by Adriaan Willem Weissman and opened its doors in 1895. Between 1945 and 1954, the museum was renovated and the floor space was doubled. Between 2003 and 2012, the building was again renovated and a new wing designed by Benthem Crouwel Architects was added. The museum was reopened for the general public on 23 September 2012. The collection comprises modern and contemporary art and design from early 20th century up to the 21st century. It features artists such as Vincent van Gogh, Wassily Kandinsky, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Marc Chagall, Henri Matisse, Jackson Pollock, Karel Appel, Andy Warhol, Willem de Kooning, Marlene Dumas, Lucio Fontana, and Gilbert & George

The Stopera is a building complex in Amsterdam, Netherlands, housing both the city hall of Amsterdam and the Muziektheater, the principal opera house in Amsterdam that is home of De Nederlandse Opera, Het Nationale Ballet, and the Holland Symfonia. The name Stoperais a portmanteau of stadhuis (Dutch: city hall) and opera. The Stopera at night The Stopera is located in the center of Amsterdam at a bend of the Amstel River between Waterlooplein Square and the Zwanenburgwal Canal, on a plot of land called Vlooienburg, which was reclaimed in the 16th century. The opera house building is shaped like a huge, massive block, with a curved front facing the city. Its facade is covered in a red-orange brick and corrugated metal panels. The curved face of the theatre is faced with white marble punctuated by large windows that provide panoramic views of the river from the curved interior foyers and multi-level terraces.

The European Fine Art Fair (abbreviated: TEFAF) is an annual art fair, organised by The European Fine Art Foundation in the MECC in Maastricht, Netherlands. It was first held in 1975.

Teylers Museum (Dutch: Teylers Museum, is an art, natural history, and science museum in Haarlem, Netherlands. Established in 1778, Teylers Museum was originally founded as a centre for contemporary art and science. The historic centre of the museum is the neoclassical Oval Room (1784), which was built behind the house of Pieter Teyler van der Hulst (1702-1778), the so-called Fundatiehuis (English: Foundation House). Pieter Teyler was a wealthy cloth merchant and banker of Scottish descent, who bequeathed his fortune for the advancement of religion, art and science.

The Cauberg is a hill in Valkenburg aan de Geul, a city in the Netherlands. The length of the climb is around 1200 m, with a maximum grade of 12%. Road cycling The Amstel Gold Race finishes on the Cauberg since 2003. The race often finishes with an uphill sprint of a small group on the Cauberg. During the race the riders have climbed the Cauberg two times before the final summit. The Cauberg has been used in several other Dutch cycling races as the Eneco Tour, the Ster ZLM Toer, the Olympia's Tour and Dutch National Road Racing Championships. Three Grand-Tour's have included the Cauberg in their route: the 1992 Tour de France, the 2006 Tour de France and the 2009 Vuelta a España. The UCI Road World Championships has been centered around the Cauberg five times

The Wadden Sea  is an intertidal zone in the southeastern part of the North Sea. It lies between the coast of northwestern continental Europe and the range of Frisian Islands, forming a shallow body of water with tidal flats and wetlands. It is rich in biological diversity. In 2009, the Dutch and German parts of the Wadden Sea were inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List.

The Vaalserberg is also the location of the tripoint between Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands and its summit is therefore referred to as Drielandenpunt (Three-Country Point) in Dutch, or Dreiländereck (Three-Country Corner) in German, or Trois Frontières (Three Borders) in French.

The name Maastricht is derived from Latin Trajectum ad Mosam (or Mosae Trajectum), meaning 'crossing at the Meuse', and referring to the bridge built by the Romans. The Latin name first appears in medieval documents and it is not known whether this was Maastricht's official name during Roman times. There is some debate as to whether Maastricht is the oldest city in the Netherlands. Some people consider Nijmegen the oldest, mainly because it was the first settlement in the Netherlands to receive Roman city rights. Maastricht never did, but it may be considerably older as a settlement. In addition, Maastricht can claim uninterrupted habitation since Roman times. A large number of archeological finds confirms this. Nijmegen has a gap in its history: there is practically no evidence of habitation in the early Middle Ages.

The Treaty of Utrecht, which established the Peace of Utrecht, comprises a series of individual peace treaties, rather than a single document, signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht in March and April 1713.The treaties between several European states, including Spain, Great Britain, France, Portugal, Savoy and the Dutch Republic, helped end the war. The treaties were concluded between the representatives of Louis XIV of France and Philip V of Spain on the one hand, and representatives of Anne, Queen of Great Britain, the Duke of Savoy, the King of Portugal and the United Provinces on the other.

The Tropenmuseum (English: Museum of the Tropics) is an anthropological museum located in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and established in 1864. One of the largest museums in Amsterdam, the museum accommodates eight permanent exhibitions and an ongoing series of temporary exhibitions, including both modern and traditional visual arts and photographic works. The Tropenmuseum is owned and operated by the Royal Tropical Institute, a foundation that sponsors the study of tropical cultures around the world. The museum had 176,000 visitors in 2009

The TT Circuit Assen is a motorsport race track built in 1955 and located in Assen, Netherlands. Host of the Dutch TT race, it is considered The Cathedralof motorcycling by the fans. It has a capacity of 100,000 spectators, including 60,000 seats. Since 1992 it is also part of the Superbike World Championship calendar.The original Assen track was first used for the 1925 Dutch TT (Tourist Trophy) race, held on country roads through the villages of Borger, Schoonloo and Grolloo, and organized by the Motorclub Assen en Omstreken. The brick-paved track had a length of 17.75 miles (28.57 km). The winner was Piet van Wijngaarden on a 500 cc Norton with an average speed of 91.4 kilometers per hour (56.8 mph). In years afterwards the Dutch TT was held on a road circuit through de Haar, Barteldbocht (near Assen), Oude Tol, Hooghalen, Laaghalen and Laaghalerveen. In 1951 the Italian Umberto Masetti took the record on a 500 cc Gilera with an average speed of 100.88 miles per hour (162.35 km/h). In 1954, Geoff Duke of Great Britain reached 106.06 miles per hour (170.69 km/h). The circuit remained unchanged until 1955, when a whole new circuit was built close to the site of the original, but less than a third of the length and much more like a modern road racing circuit. The circuit was fundamentally redesigned again in 2006, becoming the so-called A-Style Assen TT Circuit. All alterations aside, only one section of the circuit is original; the finish line never moved.

Tulip mania or tulipomania (Dutch names include: tulpenmanie, tulpomanie, tulpenwoede, tulpengekte and bollengekte) was a period in the Dutch Golden Age during which contract prices for bulbs of the recently introduced tulip reached extraordinarily high levels and then suddenly collapsed.

The Vaalserberg (Mount Vaals) is a hill 322.7 metres (1,059 ft) in height and the highest point in the European part of the Netherlands. The Vaalserberg is located in the province of Limburg, at the south-easternmost edge of the country in the municipality of Vaals, near the eponymous town, some three kilometres west of Aachen. Before 10 October 2010, the Vaalserberg was the highest point in the Netherlands, until upon the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles when Mount Scenery on Saba (the highest point in the Kingdom of the Netherlands) became part of the Netherlands.

The Van Gogh Museum is an art museum dedicated to the works of Vincent van Gogh and his contemporaries in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is located at the Museum Square in the borough Amsterdam South, close to the Stedelijk Museum and the Rijksmuseum. The museum has the largest collection of Van Gogh's paintings and drawings in the world. In 2011, the museum had over 1,600,300 visitors, which makes it the most visited museum in the Netherlands and the 23rd most visited art museum worldwide.

The former Van Nelle Factory (Dutch: Van Nellefabriek) on the Schie river in Rotterdam, is one of the most important historic industrial buildings in the world.The Van Nelle Factory is a Dutch national monument (Rijksmonument) and is on the list of sites under consideration for the status of UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Justification of Outstanding Universal Value will be presented 2013 to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.

The Veluwe is a forest-rich ridge of hills (1100 km²) in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands. The Veluwe features many different landscapes including woodland, heath, some small lakes and Europe's largest sand drifts. The Veluwe is the largest push moraine complex in the Netherlands, stretching 60 km from north to south, and reaching heights of up to 110 metres. The Veluwe was formed by the Saalian glacial during the Pleistocene epoch, some 200,000 years ago. Glaciers some 200 metres thick pushed the sand deposits in the Rhine and Maas Delta sideways, creating the hills which now form most of the Veluwe. Because the hills are made of sand, rain water disappears rapidly, and then it flows at a depth of tens of metres to the edges where it reaches the surface again.

Vlissingen was historically called Flushingin English. In the 17th century Vlissingen was important enough to be a town that English speakers referred to and that had acquired its own English name. For example, Samuel Pepys referred to the town as Flushingin his diaries. In 1673 Sir William Temple referred to Vlissingen as Flushingonce and Flussinguetwice in his book about the Netherlands. Some English writers in the Netherlands also used the Dutch name. Flushing, originally a Dutch colonial village and now part of Queens, New York City, was first called Vlissingen after the town in the Netherlands. The English settlers who also came to live in the village shortened the name to Vlissingand then began to call it by its English name, Flushing, and this continued and grew after the conquest of New Netherland. The corruption of Vlissingeninto Flushingdid not occur after the conquest of New Netherland, but in England well before then. This village was the site of the Flushing Remonstrance.

The Vondelpark is a public urban park of 47 hectares (120 acres) in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is located in the stadsdeel Amsterdam Oud-Zuid, west from the Leidseplein and the Museumplein. The park was opened in 1865 and originally named the Nieuwe Park, but later renamed to Vondelpark, after the 17th century author Joost van den Vondel. Yearly, the park has around 10 million visitors. In the park is an open air theatre, a playground and several horeca facilities.

The Waag (weigh house) is a 15th-century building on Nieuwmarkt square in Amsterdam. It was originally a city gate and part of the walls of Amsterdam. The building has also served as a guildhall, museum, fire station and anatomical theatre, among others. The Waag is the oldest remaining non-religious building in Amsterdam.  The building has held rijksmonument status since 1970.  The Waag is depicted in Rembrandt's 1632 painting The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp. The surgeons' guild commissioned this painting for their guildhall in the Waag.

The Wadden Sea (Dutch: Waddenzee, German: Wattenmeer, Low German: Wattensee or Waddenzee, Danish: Vadehavet, West Frisian: Waadsee) is an intertidal zone in the southeastern part of the North Sea. It lies between the coast of northwestern continental Europe and the range of Frisian Islands, forming a shallow body of water with tidal flats and wetlands. It is rich in biological diversity. In 2009, the Dutch and German parts of the Wadden Sea were inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List.

The West Frisian Islands (Dutch: Waddeneilanden) are a chain of islands in the North Sea off the Dutch coast, along the edge of the Wadden Sea. They continue further east as the German East Frisian Islands and are part of the Frisian Islands. From west to east the islands are: Noorderhaaks, Texel, Vlieland, Richel, Griend, Terschelling, Ameland, Rif, Engelsmanplaat, Schiermonnikoog, Simonszand, Rottumerplaat, Rottumeroog, and Zuiderduintjes. The islands Noorderhaaks and Texel are part of the province of North Holland. The islands Vlieland, Richel, Griend, Terschelling, Ameland, Rif, Engelsmanplaat, and Schiermonnikoog are part of the province of Friesland. The small islands Simonszand, Rottumerplaat, Rottumeroog, and Zuiderduintjes belong to the province of Groningen. The Frisian Islands are nowadays mostly famous as a holiday destination. Island hopping is possible by regular ferries from the mainland and by specialised tour operators. Cycling is the most favourable means of transport on most of the islands. On Vlieland and Schiermonnikoog cars are only allowed for regular inhabitants.

Walibi Holland (previously called Walibi World) is a theme park in Biddinghuizen, Netherlands. Attractions include the Speed of Sound, El Condor, Xpress, Goliath and Robin Hood roller coasters.

The Dutch Water Line (Dutch: Hollandsche Waterlinie) was a series of water based defences conceived by Maurice of Nassau in the early 17th century, and realised by his half brother Frederick Henry. Combined with natural bodies of water, it could be used to transform the economic heartland of the Dutch Republic almost into an island.

Waterland, as the name suggests, has both lived of and struggled against the water for many ages. Most of its grass and farm lands are situated well under sea level, on old bog layers, and are divided by numerous ditches and trenches. Evidence suggests that people were living here at least around the year 1000 already. Where the IJsselmeer is now, a much smaller lake area existed with a connection to the sea on the west. Extreme floods in the 12th and 13th century created the Zuiderzee, which would later be sealed of to become the IJsselmeer. These floods of course had a devastating effect on the region and brought its people to build dikes in order to protect them from the sea. Floods nevertheless occurred several times, until the famous Afsluitdijkwas finished in 1932 and the Zuiderzee became the regulated IJsselmeer.

Waterlooplein is a square in the centre of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, near the Amstel river. The daily flea market on the square is popular with tourists. The Stopera city hall and opera building and the Mozes en Aäronkerk church are at Waterlooplein. Waterlooplein was created in 1882 when the Leprozengracht and Houtgracht canals were filled in. The square is named after the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. The square became a marketplace when the city government decided that the Jewish merchants in the nearby Jodenbreestraat and Sint Antoniebreestraat had to move their stalls to the square. The Waterlooplein became a daily market (except on Saturdays, the Jewish sabbath) in 1893.

The 1953 North Sea flood (Dutch, Watersnoodramp, literally flood disaster) was a major flood caused by a heavy storm, that occurred on the night of Saturday 31 January 1953 and morning of 1 February 1953. The floods struck the Netherlands, Belgium, England and Scotland. A combination of a high spring tide and a severe European windstorm over the North Sea caused a storm surge (known locally as a storm tide). The combination of wind, high tide and low pressure had the effect that the water level exceeded 5.6 metres (18.4 ft) above mean sea level in some locations. The flood and waves overwhelmed sea defences and caused extensive flooding. The Netherlands, a country that is partly located below mean sea level and relies heavily on sea defences, was mainly affected, recording 1,836 deaths and widespread property damage. Most of the casualties occurred in the southern province of Zeeland. In England, 307 people were killed in the counties of Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex. 19 were killed in Scotland. 28 were killed in West Flanders, Belgium.

The Westerbork transit camp (Dutch: Kamp Westerbork, German: Durchgangslager Westerbork) was a World War II Nazi refugee, detention and transit camp in Hooghalen, ten kilometres north of Westerbork, in the northeastern Netherlands. Its function during the Second World War was to assemble Roma and Dutch Jews for transport to other Nazi concentration camps.

The Westergasfabriek is a former gasworks in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, now used as a cultural venue.In the 19th century the Imperial Continental Gas Association (ICGA) built four coal gas plants in Amsterdam: the Eastern Gas Factory, the Western Gas Factory, the Northern and the Southern. Westergasfabriek was ready in 1885 and was strategically situated between the Haarlemmer trekvaart, and the first railway line in the Netherlands. In 1885 it was the largest gas extraction plant in the Netherlands. The gas was extracted from coal and was used for street lighting. Because of the higher gas prices the City of Amsterdam took over the operation in 1898 and expanded the plant. The plant was perfectly situated between the water and the railway line but gas production was very successful. The big Gasholder was built in 1902. The gas factory produced gas for the city utill the late fifties. Amsterdam went over to gas from Hoogovens in IJmuiden, so the production of coal gas from the Factory decreased. In the sixties natural gas was found in Slochteren in the North of the Netherlands. This is why in 1967 the production of gas from the Factory stopped permanently. After the Western Gas Factory closed the Amsterdam Electricity and Gas Company (GEB) destroyed some of the buildings among them the gas plant itself and the water tower. The other buildings were used for storage and repair and as laboratories and workshops. The remaining buildings were recognised as monuments in 1989. In 1992 the GEB left the buildings and they were taken over by the District Council of Westerpark. The gas works were re-opened as the Culture Park Westergasfabriekin 2003. It's television studios host programmes like Pauw en Witteman(a late night talkshow), De wereld draait door(an early evening talk show with Matthijs van Nieuwkerk) and Eva Jinek's sunday morning talk show. Six times per year there can be huge concerts organized on the main event field. Thousands of people visit the park and its activities every day.

Willemstad  is the capital city of Curaçao, an island in the southern Caribbean Sea that forms a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Formerly the capital of the Netherlands Antilles prior to its dissolution in 2010, it has an estimated population of 140,000. The historic centre of the city consists of two quarters: Punda and Otrobanda. They are separated by the Sint Anna Bay, an inlet that leads into the large natural harbour called the Schottegat.

Witte Huis - South Holland, Rotterdam. The first skyscraper in Europe, built in 1898 in Art Nouveau style. 43 m tall, with 10 floors.

The World Trade Center Amsterdam is a commercial centre located at the Zuidas in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. It was officially opened in 1985, and renovated between 1998 and 2004. The centre consists of nine buildings—labeled from A to I—with 120,000 m2 of offices and office facilities. Tower H is the highest building, it has 27 levels and measures 104 m. The centre is a member of the international World Trade Centers Association

Beurs-World Trade Center is located on the Coolsingel and Beursplein in the centre of Rotterdam. It is a major business centre in Rotterdam with approximately 200 offices. The building is 93 meters high. The center is a member of the international World Trade Centers Association

The ir. D.F. Woudagemaal is a pumping station in the Netherlands, and the largest still operational steam-powered pumping station in the world. On October 7, 1920 Queen Wilhelmina opened the pumping station. It was built to pump excess water out of Friesland, a province in the north of the Netherlands. In 1967, after running on coal for 47 years, the boilers were converted to run on heavy fuel oil. It has a pumping capacity of 4,000 m3 per minute. The pumping station is currently used to supplement the existing pumping capacity of the J.L. Hooglandgemaal in case of exceptionally high water levels in Friesland; this usually happens a few days per year. Since 1998 the ir. D.F. Woudagemaal has been listed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list.

The name Zaan also refers to the district through which the river runs. The district (Dutch: Zaanstreek  is believed to be the world's first industrialized area. During the Dutch Golden Age in the 17th century, the Zaan district was dotted with windmills, which processed materials such as linseed, used in the paint industry, and agricultural products such as mustard seed and wood. By the mid-17th century, approximately 900 windmills could be found along the river, some of them still preserved in the Zaanse Schans. The Zaan district continues to be a heavily industrialized area with many factories, particularly around the city of Zaandam. A number of major Dutch companies, like Ahold and Verkade, were founded in the Zaan district.

Zaanstreek-Waterland  (Dutch: Waterland en Zaanstreek) is a showcase of every stereotype one would expect from the country: dykes, windmills, flowers and wooden houses dot its flat rural lands. Some of these typical rural villages and attractions include Broek in Waterland, Edam, Marken, Monnickendam, Volendam and Zaanse Schans.

Ziggo Dome is a 17,000-seat multi-use indoor arena in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Marco Borsato was the first artist to perform at the Dome on June 24, 2012 with his Dichtbijtour. The American rock band Pearl Jam was the first foreign artist to play in the Ziggo Dome: they played two shows in June 2012 as part of their European tour.

The Zuiderzee Works (Dutch: Zuiderzeewerken) are a manmade system of dams, land reclamation and water drainage works, the largest hydraulic engineering project undertaken by the Netherlands during the twentieth century. The project involved the damming of the Zuiderzee, a large, shallow inlet of the North Sea, and the reclamation of land in the newly enclosed water using polders. Its main purposes are to improve flood protection and create additional land for agriculture. Together with the Delta Works, the American Society of Civil Engineers declared the works among the Seven Wonders of the Modern World.