Experience the best of Dordrecht

Dordrecht received its town charter in 1220 and grew rich as a toll and trading port where several rivers meet. Its old harbours, among them the Nieuwe Haven and the Wijnhaven, are lined with gabled merchant houses and moored historic boats, and the Grote Kerk rises above them with a tower that leans noticeably.

In 1618 and 1619 the Synod of Dort met here, a church assembly whose rulings shaped Dutch Reformed belief. The Dordrechts Museum shows the work of local-born painters including the Cuyp family and Ary Scheffer. The Biesbosch, a national park of tidal creeks, willow woods and reed beds, begins just south-east of town and can be explored by boat or canoe, with beavers among its residents.

A water bus carries passengers between Dordrecht and Rotterdam, a pleasant way to see the river traffic. Harbourside restaurants serve fish, and the cafés on the Voorstraat offer coffee with Dutch apple pie. The town is a calm alternative to the bigger cities nearby, and the long evenings of summer bring the quays to life.