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The beach is right next to Haarlem. A bracing walk by the sea after a morning in the museum.
Frans Hals, almshouses and a church full of music.
7 museumsHaarlem is Frans Hals's city. He worked here for almost his whole life and is buried in the Great Church. Among the canals, almshouse courtyards and narrow streets you can still sense the wealthy Golden Age town.
For museum lovers, Haarlem is a surprisingly complete city. You look at Frans Hals's civic guard portraits in a former old men's almshouse, then stroll to Teylers, where fossils, instruments and drawings still sit in their original cabinets. Everything is close together: from the Grote Markt you reach every museum within ten minutes. On the way, slip through a small gate into a quiet courtyard. Spend the morning with art, have lunch on the square and end the day by the River Spaarne.
One day, four moments. How to get the most out of your visit.
Six places to complete your museum day.
Civic guard and regents' portraits by Frans Hals, in an almshouse from 1609 that once housed elderly men. See how loosely and quickly he painted.
The oldest museum in the Netherlands, with its Oval Room from 1784. Fossils, early scientific instruments and drawings by Michelangelo, Rembrandt and others.
A vast Gothic church in the middle of the Grote Markt. It holds the Müller organ that the ten-year-old Mozart played, and the grave of Frans Hals.
During the Second World War the Ten Boom family hid people in this watchmaker's house. You can see the hiding place behind a false wall.
Haarlem has many hofjes: quiet inner gardens ringed by small houses, founded long ago for the elderly and single people. Keep your voice down, people still live here.
A windmill high above the Spaarne. The original from 1779 burned down in 1932, and the people of Haarlem rebuilt it in 2002. Fine views over the city.
Buy your tickets online and plan the rest of your day around them.
All museums in Haarlem. Click a museum for the route.
Haarlem sits between the dunes and Amsterdam. Within half an hour you can be by the sea, out in nature or in the capital.
The beach is right next to Haarlem. A bracing walk by the sea after a morning in the museum.
The Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum and the canals. Perfect for a day out, and you are back by evening.
Dunes, woods and small lakes right next to the city. Good for walking, and you may spot grazing animals.
Travel times are indicative. Live times on 9292.nl.
Haarlem has places to stay for every budget, from a B&B in a canal house to a hotel on the Grote Markt. Trains get you quickly to Amsterdam, Leiden or the beach, and buses run out into the dunes. You are out exploring by day, and in the evening you dine in a city that turns calm and cosy after six.
Restaurants, shops and hotels near the museums, picked for museum visitors.