Things to do in the Netherlands

Amsterdam, the capital, rings its centre with seventeenth-century canals lined with gabled merchants' houses, and holds the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum and the Anne Frank House. Its compact streets are made for walking and cycling, and its brown cafés and markets for lingering.

The rest of the country is easy to explore by train or bicycle. The windmills of Zaanse Schans and Kinderdijk, the tulip fields around Lisse in spring, the cheese markets of Gouda and Alkmaar, and the historic towns of Haarlem, Delft, Leiden and Utrecht are all close. Rotterdam is known for bold modern architecture, and The Hague for the Mauritshuis and its Vermeers.

Herring eaten at street stands, warm stroopwafels, cheese, bitterballen and pancakes are Dutch treats, with Indonesian rijsttafel a legacy of history. King's Day in late April turns the country orange with street markets and canal parties just as the tulip fields bloom, and in a rare hard frost the frozen canals fill with skaters. The weather changes quickly, so a rain jacket is useful in any season.