De Cocksdorp
The northernmost village, by the lighthouse and the Eierland polder.
Dunes, seals and stories of the roadstead.
5 museumsTexel is the largest of the Wadden Islands and only a twenty-minute crossing from Den Helder. It has seven villages, wide beaches and a sea full of shipwreck stories. Here you see how islanders lived for centuries off whatever the water brought them.
On Texel everything turns on the sea, and the museums show it. At Kaap Skil in Oudeschild you stand over a huge model of the roadstead where hundreds of ships waited for the wind in the seventeenth century. At Ecomare near De Koog you watch seals and learn how the dunes and the mudflats work. Distances are short: by bike you get from one village to the next in about half an hour. Start at a museum, cycle over the Hoge Berg and end with fish by the harbour.
How to get to Texel. Always check current sailing times with the ferry company.
One day, four moments. How to get the most out of your visit.
Six places to complete your museum day.
A museum of beachcombers and seafarers, with a vast model of the Texel roadstead and finds from the Palmhout wreck, including a seventeenth-century silk dress.
Nature museum and seal sanctuary. See the animals up close and learn how the island and the Wadden Sea fit together.
The red lighthouse on the island's northern tip. Climb up for views over the North Sea, the mudflats and the Eierland polder.
The national park along the west coast, with dune valleys, heath and beach. Walk or cycle the paths behind the sea dunes.
A low ridge in the middle of the island, with old sheep barns and turf walls. From the top you see half of Texel.
A small village in the south, with a white church that sailors used as a landmark. A quiet stroll after the ferry.
Buy your tickets online and plan the rest of your day around them.
All museums in Texel. Click a museum for the route.
Texel is big enough for several days. Combine the villages with a day on the mainland in Den Helder.
The northernmost village, by the lighthouse and the Eierland polder.
A fishing village on the Wadden Sea, with its harbour, a windmill and Kaap Skil.
The naval town across the water, with the Navy Museum and old forts.
Travel times are indicative. Live times on 9292.nl.
Texel has everything from campsites and guesthouses to beach hotels, for every budget. Buses and bikes take you all over the island, and Den Helder is only twenty minutes away by ferry. You spend the day in museums and dunes, and the evening in a village that goes quiet once the last boat has left.
Restaurants, shops and hotels near the museums, picked for museum visitors.