Haarlem

Understand

Haarlem is the centre of a flower-growing district and a major export point for flower bulbs. However, with some 750,000 people visiting the city each year, tourism makes up an increasingly important part of the town's economy. With about 161,000 inhabitants (2019), Haarlem is the 13th largest city in the Netherlands but when it comes to tourism, it's the 4th most visited city. As for most popular places, this may mean the incidental line and some crowds around main attractions in high season. However, the town is fairly quiet in off season and its growing popularity does come with ample opportunities to eat and sleep.

Get around

Haarlem is best seen on foot: it's a 10- to 15-minute walk from the train station to the city centre. If you don't want to walk, bus lines 2, 73 and 300 will take you from the central train and bus station to busstop "Centrum/Verwulft" in about 5 minutes. Buses here are mostly operated by Connexxion. Arriva operates a local bus route to Leiden as well.

Although Haarlem's waterways aren't quite as numerous as those of Amsterdam, there are enough of them to make a tour of the city by boat a nice experience. Boats are operated by Post Verkade cruises (€9.50, Dutch only) and Haarlem Canal Cruises (smaller groups, open boat, €12.50) and leave from opposite Teylers Museum. It's best to call ahead.

See

thumb|250px|After burning down in 1932, windmill the Adriaan was rebuilt only in 2002 to reclaim its prominent place among Haarlem's attractions. Haarlem's main sights are its lovely historic centre and its fine art museums. You'll get a good idea of what the city has to offer by just wandering the streets in the centre for a while, as many monumental buildings and the most prominent museums are all there. The tourist information office can provide maps and walking routes as well as guides, if you don't want to miss anything.

Do

thumb|Route sign of cycle route around Haarlem, the Netherlands. On summer days, hang out in the sun on Haarlem's Grote Markt (near the Grote Kerk) after a long day of shopping or go sightseeing in Haarlem's ancient city centre. Cycling: Explore the Haarlem area by bike: Haarlem Dunes Cycle Route Coast, polders and nature reserves. Distance: 40 or 29 km. Keukenhof Cycle Route Tulip fields in springtime. Distance: 38 or 31 km. Rondje Haarlem is a cycling route along the beautiful place around Haarlem. The route is almost 50 km long and very worthwhile. Of course it's also possible to do parts of it.

Buy

thumb|Kleine Houtstraat Haarlem is a popular city for shopping in the region. It has been voted many times as Best Shopping City in the Netherlands and boasts a very diverse range of shops. The Grote Houtstraat, the main shopping street, has most of the obvious shops. The surrounding streets (Kleine Houtstraat and Gierstraat) house smaller shops, where you can browse or buy everything from high-end bicycles to teapots.

Shops are open from Monday to Saturday. Opening times usually are from 09:00 to 17:00, except on Mondays when shops open at 13:00. Many shops in the city centre also open on the first Sunday of the month and usually shops may be open from 19:00 to 21:00 on Thursdays as well, the so-called "avondverkoop" ("evening sale") although no special discounts will be given).

On the main square (Grote Markt) there is on Saturdays a General Market and on Mondays a textile market.

Eat

Scattered through the inner city, you'll find a large number of restaurants. There's something for everyone and every budget, with many different styles of restaurants and a broad variety of cuisines.

Drink

Beerbrewing has been a very important industry for Haarlem. The historical Haarlems beer, recreated in 1995 is Jopenbier or Jopen.

Go next

20 km away, Amsterdam is an obvious tourist destination nearby. However, there are a number of other interesting options. Zandvoort - one of the most popular Dutch coastal destinations is just 10 km away. You can take a train, or go by bike as it's a pleasant ride. Zaandam - is the biggest town in Zaanstreek-Waterland, with its typical old Dutch villages, windmills, dikes and wooden houses. It's a 20-min train journey, but you'll have to change at Amsterdam Sloterdijk. Zuid-Kennemerland National Park is just outside Haarlem. To enter, head to Overveen. It's no more than 3 minutes by train. Alkmaar - famous for its cheese market, has canals and a nice historic centre too. The direct train takes about 30 min.