My wife and I moved from the USA (NYC) to Nijmegen two years ago and we never want to leave! I've been all over the Netherlands (as well as Western Europe) and man, I'm so glad I ended up here. There's some really cool stuff you missed though, like the Nature Preserve to the north of the Whaal (complete with wild Horses and Cows roaming), the fort and ruins in Valkoff park, the big Roman Head on Lent island, plus much much more. Anyway, best city in the whole Netherlands!
You should come back to Nijmegen in the last week of July, it's the week of the 4daagse of Nijmegen (the world’s largest walking achievement event! Over 45,000 participants with more than 70 different nationalities, from as young as 11 to over 90, come to Nijmegen every year to walk 30, 40 or 50 kilometres for four days in this city on the Waal river and its beautiful, wooded surroundings) and the Zomerfeesten (the largest, freely accessible event in the Netherlands, Nijmegen will show us what she’s got: choose from over a 1000 different performances divided over 40 different stages.)
Awesome that you guys finally visited my hometown. 👍 You guys should come visit again during the Zomerfeesten / Vierdaagse. Nijmegen turns into a 7 days straight party capital.
Zeeland - Middelburg is fun to do in the summer. Groningen or Friesland are both much underrated I think. But you are heading into the nice part of the year, so check if there is a festival or when there will be one on the city’s you want to visit, makes it so much more lively 😊 also consider visiting the islands like Texel or Schiermonnikoog…😊
If it's about the food in Nijmegen: you definitely should go 'De Plak' in the Bloemerstraat for their kaasgehakt ('cheese mince') and cafetaria Vuurens (in the Smetiusstraat, but that is, in the same street) for their fries. Vuurens is the oldest 'cafetaria' in Nijmegen and started, as a 'chippy' in the early 1900's.
Also wanted to let you guys know that your channel has been so nice to watch- I just moved US->NL for school and I love the country- so cool to hear from other Americans and see what their experience has been like.
Hey you guys! Option for the province of Zeeland: Visit the capital Middelburg (and Vlissingen) in Zeeland. Direct train connection from Rotterdam (1h40m). Spend the morning and afternoon wondering around the streets of the old city centre of Middelburg and then go for a sunset and some food at the beach/boulevard in Vlissingen (only a short bike, bus or train ride from Middelburg). Tip: Check you calendar for national holidays/school vacations before you go. You want to avoid those days and weeks as Zeeland is 'flooded' with Dutch, German, Belgian and French tourists. Delta-works or not.
I can most definitely recommend coming back in the summer when the Vierdaagse is on -- not as much for the marches themselves but the street food & street theatre and music, concerts throughout the city. It is a teensy bit packed though, the city of 170,000 inhabitants gets flooded by roughly 1.5 million people during that week. Super fun though! ps. Fun fact: Eddie van Halen lived in Nijmegen before their family moved to Pasadena.
You should go to Deventer (Overijssel), one the oldest cities and one of the most important Hanze cities back in the day with the historical core still intact. It was also after Utrecht the residence of the archbishop. It also has the oldest stone house in the Netherlands dating back to 1130 (the time of the crusades). In the summer you should go to Giethoorn. :)
If you’re going to Friesland you should rent a boat and travel along the 11 frisian cities route. Another interesting group of towns and cities you could visit in a two days trip are the Hanze cities along the river IJssel (Kampen, Zwolle, Hattem, Deventer, Zutphen and Doesburg) Most have a train station.
For Zeeland: Middelburg, Vlissingen, or Zierikzee, For Utrecht: Utrecht or Amersfoort For Overijssel: Kampen, or Zwolle For Groningen: Groningen For Friesland: Sneek, Stavoren, or Franeker For Drenthe: I don't know For Flevoland: Urk, or Almere
Hold in mind, Nijmegen was heavily bombarded in ww2, it destroyed allot of the city centre. After that operation market garden happend, in whith is the city was a battleground. ( movie, a bridge to far)
Check out the Dickens festival in the town I live in: Deventer (Overijssel). You guys will absolutely love that. And since it is not a big city, you can easily check out the rest of the city centre after. It will be held 16/17th of December, so you have some time to think about it 🤭
Noooo 😱 Giethoorn is nice to drop by for an hour well outside of peak season. Otherwise you'll have no place to put down your feet for all the other tourists in your way.
Zwolle, Groningen, Leeuwarden. These are the bigger ones. Smaller one is Harlingen so you can take the ferry to Terschelling or Vlieland. Love the islands!
In Zeeland you have to visit Middelburg. But most of al don't forget the Waddeneilanden like Texel or Terschelling. And for some Dutch extravaganza go to Bonaire in the Dutch Carribean
If you come too Drenthe, visit Meppel. Drenthe is the 'North-Dekota' of the Netherlands, there is just nothing going on here xd, and most people come for the peace, quiet and nature :) Meppel is also very close too Giethoorn 'the Venice of the North'
For the province of Utrecht, the following cities come to mind: 1. Utrecht. It has a large city centre, with a lot of history. 2. Amersfoort (that's where I'm from). Again a large historic city centre. Not as big as Utrecht, but with lots of historic buildings still there. Get your fries and snacks at van Gogh. 3. Naarden vesting. A historic fortress city. 4. Wijk bij Duurstede. Another 'old place' with a historic centre by the river. Tiggie's Corner is the snackbar of choice here. 5. Rhenen. The old city centre is not a very touristy type place, but still a nice place to visit. The big tourist attraction there is the nearby zoo, Ouwehands. And right along the road is the Grebbeberg, with militairy fields of honor. That hill was the central defensive hardpoint in WWII. For some good food nearby, take the little river ferry across the river, and eat at 't Veerhuis Opheusden.
Nijmegen is a neat city indeed! Let me, as a Frisian, speak for the province of Friesland: for your first trip, just go to Leeuwarden, the capital. It is a lovely city with an old city centre. After that, places like Sneek, Heerenveen, Bolsward and Dokkum are good options to explore. And do countryside and landscape trips other times. Friesland is a whole different experience by boat. Speaking of boats, also consider to go to Terschelling or Ameland (one of the Wadden Islands). It is like you are in a whole new world there.
Skip Heerenveen and go to Franeker or Harlingen instead. But also Sloten and Hindeloopen are wonderfull, maybe very small but also really quaint. And I totally agree with Ameland!
Usually, you can't go wrong with visiting the provincial capitals. Leeuwarden, Groningen, Zwolle, Den Bosch and Middelburg are all really nice cities to visit with their own character and history. The capital of Flevoland, Lelystad (also referred to as Lelijkstad) is a failed experiment in artificial citybuilding. It is mostly interesting as an educational experience for city planners. For other nice things to see in Flevoland, consider the Waterloopbos, Schokland, the Oostvaardersplassen and Urk. For Drenthe, Assen is not a very interesting city. Maybe consider also visiting a characteristic "brinkdorp" such as Dwingeloo or Orvelte. The city of Groningen is great and really worth a visit. But some of the oldest churches in the country are tiny communities in the Groningen countryside such as Leermens or Bedum. And the well preserved star fortress of Bourtange is also worth a visit. So if you're in Groningen, don't make the mistake of visiting only the city.
I agree with nearly all your suggestions. My suggestion for Drenthe would be to visit Assen, because if you like museums, the Drents Museum is definitely a must-see. You might want to combine that with a visit to the nearby prison village Veenhuizen. Definitely take a guided tour there for a better understanding of the history and context. Otherwise, I'd second Bourtange. Drenthe's main charm is definitely in the rural areas and the different landscapes it offers. A bicycle tour in the summer would be a great way to explore that province. If you're in Groningen in the summer, I'd suggest to take the train and boat to the most western German island of Borkum and stay for a few nights. While the Dutch islands have a rural character, the German islands are 19th century seaside tourists resorts. Definitely a different experience, but also nice. I would wait with visiting Groningen until 2024, because both the Grote Markt and the central station are construction sites.
Urk is a beautiful city in Flevoland, it is the only city above sealevel in Flevoland. Sometimes the most people in Urk will wear klederdracht, they will wear it on the saturday after hemelvaart and the saturday before pinksteren.
May I suggest Maastricht for a future tour? I don't live there, but it is the city that gives me the burgundy feeling in the Netherlands. You can also visit the cave systems of Saint Pieter.
@buncharted yeah sorry, I didn't finish the video yet when I commented 😅, at the end I saw you have already been there. Going to Wath that video now, thanks for the great video's 👍.
I love cats and I had to go to the army. In Nijmegen was my first place. I did not like being in the army but I loved Nijmegen. When your young lots of beer cafe's! Nice vlog again! Years later I also walked the (4-daagse). I do not no how to say that in English, a 4 day long walk. Nice. You asked to go where, I would say Groningen City.
There are a lot of nice cities in NL to visit, like Zwolle, Groningen, where you can do some sightseeing, shopping, dining, etc. But there are some towns you may not want to pass up on visiting, which are mainly historical sights. If you look up towns like Bourtange, or closer to Rotterdam, towns like Brielle and Willemstad, the photo's will express what I mean. (although with Willemstad you may get a lot of results for Willemstad Curacao...)
Visit the island Vlieland during summertime but make reservations for the boattrip, accomodation and even rental bikes well upfront (the island is "carfree"....meaning: NO visiting cars allowed....just the locals are allowed to drive. Mind you...this is not a single day visit. The boat trip alone will take an hour or so on the fast ferry (single fare). Visit the Vliehorst there, "the Sahara dessert of the north"......
Nijmegeg received Roman city rights in 98 AD. In 1230 Nijmegen received again cty rights from the German king. From then on, the city had certain freedoms and privileges. It arranged its own administration and its own jurisdiction. The blue stone, which lies in the road surface of the Burchtstraat, played a role in the administration of justice. In the 11th century, Stavoren received city rights from the Brunonen, which were granted between 1058 and 1068 by Count Egbert the first with the permission of Emperor Henry V. Stavoren was an important trading city at the time. The great shippers and merchants maintained important trade relations with the countries around the Baltic Sea.
Thanks for visiting my hometown. You must have walked past my house, but I missed you :( Funny that your video doesn’t contain the Waalbridge. It’s the icon of Nijmegen. When you cross the bridge, you are home! Also the island in the river Waal is worth the visit.
Visit Groningen and climb the Martinitower. They started building that tower in 1200 AC. You can climb to the 2nd trans some days. Best time to visit when there is the May fair on the Grote Markt.
There are not that many cities in the province of Flevoland. This province consists mainly of countryside, but I advise you to visit Almere. This is the youngest city in the Netherlands, but already the 8th largest city in the country. Almere is known for its rich modern architecture and the newest part of the center is special to see. Because Almere is a designed city, there is plenty of room for public transport, making every place in the city easily accessible by train and bus. The city has a very large network of bus lanes and a railway that runs right through the city. In the center I advise you to eat an ice cream at an ice cream shop called IJspressi, which sells homemade ice cream, and to enjoy the view at the "Weerwater"
Strange thing is in and around amsterdam the frikandel speciaal is eaten with ketchup and not curry saus . It’s less sweat , try it to see/taste the difference
When you visit the province of Overijssel you should go to Deventer. Like Nijmegen it's a very old town. If you go there you should see part called "Bergkwartier" Deventer also holds the oldest house of the Netherlands, it's called "de proosdij" It's built in 1100
Leeuwarden, Groningen, Assen, Deventer, Utrecht (I'm from Nijmegen, but Utrecht is definitely my favourite city in the country) and Middelburg for the provinces you haven't visited yet. I wouldn't visit Flevoland unless you like hyper modern and boring architecture. Almere is pretty fun for shopping though. Still, I would advise not to get hung up on one city per province, since many of them have multiple cities worth exploring and it's often hard to pick. As someone from Nijmegen, I would also advise to come back during the Vierdaagsefeesten. There's people coming from all over the world to walk up to 50km a day for four days in a row. Around this event, there's a seven day lasting festival all throughout Nijmegen and the surrounding towns, which is absolutely amazing and one of the best festivals of the year. Tons of options in terms of shows, music, places etc. during this week.
Ok, new subscriber to your channel. Originally from Doetinchem, but have also lived in Nijmegen, Den Haag en Groningen, Milan, Orlando, san Francisco and San Diego (current). My son just started college in Rotterdam, how I found your channel, very helpful. One question, how have you guys not been to Groningen yet!?!?? Should be very high on your Holland bucket list. Time to meet Excalibur
I think a fun city to visit in the provincie of Overijssel is Deventer. It is a verjaardag old Hanze city in the neterlands . It has a pittoresk posotion on the river IJssel. Witch you Can cross by boat service. A lot of culture old buildings and the fameus Deventer koek. Gr Bats Peters.
Whether Nijmegen is really the oldest city in the Netherlands is debatable. Maastricht and Heerlen also claim to be the oldest city in the Netherlands. 😁
Camper is a great idea. Don't forget the Island. They are awesome. Vlieland has always been my favorite since I was a little boy. Can't bring your car there though
Another suggestion to visit the next cities: Arnhem, capitol of Gelderland, and surroundings because of the heavy fighting in WO2 and Leeuwarden, capitol of Friesland. It's also called the Amsterdam of the North.
This is my recommendation for the next provinces: Zeeland: Zierikzee Overijssel: Deventer Drenthe: Veenhuizen (former prisoners colony) Groningen: Groningen Friesland: Sneek
im from overijsel- regio twente: but for my input i would suggest vissiting kampen within our province a rlly nice city with old and modern combined as for friesland i would suggest or drachten or sneek both very beautifull in my opinion oh forgot this one giethoorn the town without roads instead canals also within overijsel not rlly a city but definitly a tourist destanation
Did you know that Nijmegen has a long history that goes back more than 2000 years That in February 22, 1944 the Allied Bombing of Nijmegen was a United States Army Air Forces bombing . The Netherlands , was occupied by Nazi Germany. In terms of casualties, it was one of the largest bombing raids on a Dutch city during World War II. Officially, almost 800 people, almost all civilians, were killed . The center and the station were hit hard. A large part of the historic city center was destroyed by American airmen, including the Grote of Sint-Stevenskerk. St Augustine's Church and the railway station were also seriously damaged. A sad story….
@@buncharted Really! What a coincidence 😂 Hope you guys enjoyed my hometown. I just discovered your channel and really like seeing you guys discover the country and all the different cultures alive here.
I had a really long reply with loads of recommendations, but youtube ate it? *boohoo* Also, remember i sent you guys that really long reply(might be a habit...) & i started with that song "Van voor naar achter, van links naar rechts"? I do want to clarify that as the title was "Een *Nederlandse* Amerikaan", it was more or less mocking the *Dutch* people who had migrated to the States, were totally "Texified"(think stetson etc.) & came back to visit family. After the second world war, the government encouraged people to move out. The Netherlands were too busy. They mostly went to Canada, US, NZ & Oz. We've nearly double the figures now.
I would say: start with the province capitals. This includes Utrecht (which should be high on the list) but also Assen, Zwolle, Groningen, Leeuwarden, Lelystad and Middelburg.
For Overijssel i'd love for you guys to come over to Hengelo or Enschede but that would be somewhat of a disservice to the province if you'd only visit once, so i have to recommend Zwolle, which is the capital of Overijssel, and also a "Hanzestad" along with Deventer. Both are well worth a visit. Ga for Kampen if you seek an alternative :-)
Another very funny video. I've been to Nijmegen a few times, but still learned... THANKS! So glad to see you're getting lots of good recommendations from Dutch viewers, so I'll self-edit. 😂 Having said that, the "why are you reviewing fries?" comment MUST be protested. First they're frites, and second the Dutch take their frites very seriously. I was in a place in Middelburg that was VERY PROUD of finishing 2nd in a frites competition. 😀 Cheers from the US.
You didn't even mention the fact that Nijmegen used to be part of the Roman empire and is 2000 years old. Also you could have visited the castle of Charlemagne (Karel de Grote/ Keizer Karel)
My wife and I moved from the USA (NYC) to Nijmegen two years ago and we never want to leave! I've been all over the Netherlands (as well as Western Europe) and man, I'm so glad I ended up here.
There's some really cool stuff you missed though, like the Nature Preserve to the north of the Whaal (complete with wild Horses and Cows roaming), the fort and ruins in Valkoff park, the big Roman Head on Lent island, plus much much more.
Anyway, best city in the whole Netherlands!
*Waal.
Come on, it's been two years now. 😛
@@lebell79 Nothing wrong with that name albeit a bit archaic. It hasn't been used in 150+ years.
@@forkless plz do not correct me on my native language.
@@lebell79 En waarom dan niet?
@@forkless omdat ik het zeg. :P
You should come back to Nijmegen in the last week of July, it's the week of the 4daagse of Nijmegen (the world’s largest walking achievement event! Over 45,000 participants with more than 70 different nationalities, from as young as 11 to over 90, come to Nijmegen every year to walk 30, 40 or 50 kilometres for four days in this city on the Waal river and its beautiful, wooded surroundings) and the Zomerfeesten (the largest, freely accessible event in the Netherlands, Nijmegen will show us what she’s got: choose from over a 1000 different performances divided over 40 different stages.)
I most definitely second that!
Highly agree on this
It is not the last week of July but from July 16 to July 21 .
@@tillypattiasina9206 you are correct 👍
I will walk the Vierdaagse for the first time this year, 4x50 km’s. The years before I enjoyed the Vierdaagsefeesten. It is not to be missed!
Awesome that you guys finally visited my hometown. 👍 You guys should come visit again during the Zomerfeesten / Vierdaagse. Nijmegen turns into a 7 days straight party capital.
Zeeland - Middelburg is fun to do in the summer. Groningen or Friesland are both much underrated I think. But you are heading into the nice part of the year, so check if there is a festival or when there will be one on the city’s you want to visit, makes it so much more lively 😊 also consider visiting the islands like Texel or Schiermonnikoog…😊
easily to be combined with Vlissingen
Oooh Nimma. WIth beautiful Berg en Dal around the corner! And a Roman aquaduct
If it's about the food in Nijmegen: you definitely should go 'De Plak' in the Bloemerstraat for their kaasgehakt ('cheese mince') and cafetaria Vuurens (in the Smetiusstraat, but that is, in the same street) for their fries. Vuurens is the oldest 'cafetaria' in Nijmegen and started, as a 'chippy' in the early 1900's.
Yeah Nijmegen is the bomb! It's a great city to visit, especially at the Waal during the summer it's really nice.
not funny
@@r.a.h7682dit is toch geen grap ?
I grew up in Nijmegen and lived there until I was 19 years old. I really miss this place. This video made me very nostalgic thank you guys so much!
Deventer a small town. Old Hanzestad. Good to combine with Zutphen or Zwolle. And from Rotterdam a direct connection to Deventer.
I would suggest boertange, in the north.
Utrecht! You'll love it- such a great place for a walk around with great restaurants outside on the canal, definitely try to come on a nice warm day!
Also wanted to let you guys know that your channel has been so nice to watch- I just moved US->NL for school and I love the country- so cool to hear from other Americans and see what their experience has been like.
Hey you guys! Option for the province of Zeeland: Visit the capital Middelburg (and Vlissingen) in Zeeland. Direct train connection from Rotterdam (1h40m). Spend the morning and afternoon wondering around the streets of the old city centre of Middelburg and then go for a sunset and some food at the beach/boulevard in Vlissingen (only a short bike, bus or train ride from Middelburg). Tip: Check you calendar for national holidays/school vacations before you go. You want to avoid those days and weeks as Zeeland is 'flooded' with Dutch, German, Belgian and French tourists. Delta-works or not.
I can most definitely recommend coming back in the summer when the Vierdaagse is on -- not as much for the marches themselves but the street food & street theatre and music, concerts throughout the city. It is a teensy bit packed though, the city of 170,000 inhabitants gets flooded by roughly 1.5 million people during that week. Super fun though!
ps. Fun fact: Eddie van Halen lived in Nijmegen before their family moved to Pasadena.
@forkless
En zijn oude adres is:
Rozemarijnstraat 59
Frikandel speciaal is one of the most popular snacks in The Netherlands.The taste is onbeatable.
You should go to Deventer (Overijssel), one the oldest cities and one of the most important Hanze cities back in the day with the historical core still intact. It was also after Utrecht the residence of the archbishop. It also has the oldest stone house in the Netherlands dating back to 1130 (the time of the crusades). In the summer you should go to Giethoorn. :)
we love deventer! and we're DEFINITELY going to check out giethoorn ❤️
If you’re going to Friesland you should rent a boat and travel along the 11 frisian cities route. Another interesting group of towns and cities you could visit in a two days trip are the Hanze cities along the river IJssel (Kampen, Zwolle, Hattem, Deventer, Zutphen and Doesburg) Most have a train station.
I recommend going to Friesland during the Fietselfstedentocht. That's on the first Pinksterdag 29 of may 2023.
My home town Nijmegen (where I was born)! 😍😍😍😍🙋♂
Frikandel special, with curry sauce, the one and only Hela, from Venlo, world famous in the Netherlands and Germany
Hela also has a store in Venlo
Im born and live in Nijmegen and its nice to see you guys here!
For Zeeland: Middelburg, Vlissingen, or Zierikzee,
For Utrecht: Utrecht or Amersfoort
For Overijssel: Kampen, or Zwolle
For Groningen: Groningen
For Friesland: Sneek, Stavoren, or Franeker
For Drenthe: I don't know
For Flevoland: Urk, or Almere
I would also suggest Deventer for Overijssel, Coevorden, Assen and Emmen for Drenthe and Leeuwarden for Friesland
Nijmegen is much older than 1400. It was founded by the Romans in the year 5 AC. The Roman name was Noviomagus (latin).
Hold in mind, Nijmegen was heavily bombarded in ww2, it destroyed allot of the city centre.
After that operation market garden happend, in whith is the city was a battleground. ( movie, a bridge to far)
Check out the Dickens festival in the town I live in: Deventer (Overijssel). You guys will absolutely love that. And since it is not a big city, you can easily check out the rest of the city centre after. It will be held 16/17th of December, so you have some time to think about it 🤭
Or Deventer op Stelten!
Yeah! Finally filmed in my residence city!! Thank you so much for this nice video!
I found you guys like a week ago and I have already seen al your videos hahaha
❤️❤️❤️
Giethoorn would be fun in the summer
ooh yes, it’s definitely on our list!
Noooo 😱 Giethoorn is nice to drop by for an hour well outside of peak season. Otherwise you'll have no place to put down your feet for all the other tourists in your way.
Middelburg in Zeeland is really nice.
omg, you were standing right next to my house! I literally had lunch at the place from the first scene 3 hours ago😅
Visit the old Hanze city : Zwolle with the Librije. In Drenthe go to Meppel the gateway to the north.
Thanks for visiting my town!
Deventer in overijssel! It’s a great city with lots of stuff to eat, so right up your street 😁
we love deventer! can’t wait to vlog it ❤️
Giethoorn, venice of the netherlands should also be on the list to visit.
You should visit Arnhem (again Gelderland) and visit the Open Air Museum (Openluchtmuseum)
It would be great if you guys could visit Groningen. Apparently it has the most walkable/car free city center.
Zwolle, Groningen, Leeuwarden. These are the bigger ones. Smaller one is Harlingen so you can take the ferry to Terschelling or Vlieland. Love the islands!
In Zeeland you have to visit Middelburg. But most of al don't forget the Waddeneilanden like Texel or Terschelling. And for some Dutch extravaganza go to Bonaire in the Dutch Carribean
If you come too Drenthe, visit Meppel. Drenthe is the 'North-Dekota' of the Netherlands, there is just nothing going on here xd, and most people come for the peace, quiet and nature :) Meppel is also very close too Giethoorn 'the Venice of the North'
Dakota also.
Please go to the one of the biggest and nicest studentcity Groningen and
try and taste the 'eierbal' (eggball). It's typical Groningse snack!
Especially the kerrie filled ones!
you know that's it's a sore point, the Brtish will see it as cultural appropriation of their scotch egg.
Thanks for this video - eyeing this city for our pending move ❤
Love your enthousiasm and positifity, consider the islands in the north of the Netherlands when the weather is a lot better
For the province of Utrecht, the following cities come to mind:
1. Utrecht. It has a large city centre, with a lot of history.
2. Amersfoort (that's where I'm from). Again a large historic city centre. Not as big as Utrecht, but with lots of historic buildings still there. Get your fries and snacks at van Gogh.
3. Naarden vesting. A historic fortress city.
4. Wijk bij Duurstede. Another 'old place' with a historic centre by the river. Tiggie's Corner is the snackbar of choice here.
5. Rhenen. The old city centre is not a very touristy type place, but still a nice place to visit. The big tourist attraction there is the nearby zoo, Ouwehands. And right along the road is the Grebbeberg, with militairy fields of honor. That hill was the central defensive hardpoint in WWII. For some good food nearby, take the little river ferry across the river, and eat at 't Veerhuis Opheusden.
Go to Nijmegen during the summer festival during the 4 days march
Nijmegen is a neat city indeed!
Let me, as a Frisian, speak for the province of Friesland: for your first trip, just go to Leeuwarden, the capital. It is a lovely city with an old city centre.
After that, places like Sneek, Heerenveen, Bolsward and Dokkum are good options to explore. And do countryside and landscape trips other times. Friesland is a whole different experience by boat.
Speaking of boats, also consider to go to Terschelling or Ameland (one of the Wadden Islands). It is like you are in a whole new world there.
Skip Heerenveen and go to Franeker or Harlingen instead. But also Sloten and Hindeloopen are wonderfull, maybe very small but also really quaint. And I totally agree with Ameland!
Usually, you can't go wrong with visiting the provincial capitals. Leeuwarden, Groningen, Zwolle, Den Bosch and Middelburg are all really nice cities to visit with their own character and history.
The capital of Flevoland, Lelystad (also referred to as Lelijkstad) is a failed experiment in artificial citybuilding. It is mostly interesting as an educational experience for city planners. For other nice things to see in Flevoland, consider the Waterloopbos, Schokland, the Oostvaardersplassen and Urk.
For Drenthe, Assen is not a very interesting city. Maybe consider also visiting a characteristic "brinkdorp" such as Dwingeloo or Orvelte.
The city of Groningen is great and really worth a visit. But some of the oldest churches in the country are tiny communities in the Groningen countryside such as Leermens or Bedum. And the well preserved star fortress of Bourtange is also worth a visit. So if you're in Groningen, don't make the mistake of visiting only the city.
I agree with nearly all your suggestions. My suggestion for Drenthe would be to visit Assen, because if you like museums, the Drents Museum is definitely a must-see. You might want to combine that with a visit to the nearby prison village Veenhuizen. Definitely take a guided tour there for a better understanding of the history and context.
Otherwise, I'd second Bourtange. Drenthe's main charm is definitely in the rural areas and the different landscapes it offers. A bicycle tour in the summer would be a great way to explore that province.
If you're in Groningen in the summer, I'd suggest to take the train and boat to the most western German island of Borkum and stay for a few nights. While the Dutch islands have a rural character, the German islands are 19th century seaside tourists resorts. Definitely a different experience, but also nice. I would wait with visiting Groningen until 2024, because both the Grote Markt and the central station are construction sites.
One fact rarely mentioned is the "accidental" bombing of the citycentre in 1944 by American planes, in which over 800 people died.
too many people just assume tat the bombs were dropped by the Germans.
it's like being home🤩
Urk is a beautiful city in Flevoland, it is the only city above sealevel in Flevoland. Sometimes the most people in Urk will wear klederdracht, they will wear it on the saturday after hemelvaart and the saturday before pinksteren.
Great vlog! You where you should go to see the Netherlands in one day: Madurodam in Den Haag, it's great! You will enjoy this! 👍
oh wow, madurodam sounds amazing!
Y'all should visit Utrecht next.
May I suggest Maastricht for a future tour? I don't live there, but it is the city that gives me the burgundy feeling in the Netherlands. You can also visit the cave systems of Saint Pieter.
we’ve been to maastricht! and we absolutely loved it.
@buncharted yeah sorry, I didn't finish the video yet when I commented 😅, at the end I saw you have already been there. Going to Wath that video now, thanks for the great video's 👍.
all university towns have that feel, it's all the youngsters and their new ideas.. (way better than the xenophobic rural towns)
For Friesland, I'd recommend Sneek which has the Sneek week. Which this year is from 6 - 11 August.
I love cats and I had to go to the army. In Nijmegen was my first place. I did not like being in the army but I loved Nijmegen. When your young lots of beer cafe's! Nice vlog again! Years later I also walked the (4-daagse). I do not no how to say that in English, a 4 day long walk. Nice. You asked to go where, I would say Groningen City.
There's still ruins and a chapel from the 800's
While Charlemain was settled in Nijmegen.
(Noviomagus)
There are a lot of nice cities in NL to visit, like Zwolle, Groningen, where you can do some sightseeing, shopping, dining, etc. But there are some towns you may not want to pass up on visiting, which are mainly historical sights. If you look up towns like Bourtange, or closer to Rotterdam, towns like Brielle and Willemstad, the photo's will express what I mean. (although with Willemstad you may get a lot of results for Willemstad Curacao...)
Visit the island Vlieland during summertime but make reservations for the boattrip, accomodation and even rental bikes well upfront (the island is "carfree"....meaning: NO visiting cars allowed....just the locals are allowed to drive.
Mind you...this is not a single day visit. The boat trip alone will take an hour or so on the fast ferry (single fare).
Visit the Vliehorst there, "the Sahara dessert of the north"......
If you want to visit the city that is technically really the oldest in the Netherlands, i would reccomend you to visit Stavoren in Friesland.
Nijmegen got Roman cityrights over a thousand years before Stavoren got medieval cityrights so technically you are wrong.
@@MabuyaQ But we don't uphold Roman cityrights, instead we uphold the cityrights given in the medieval period which makes Stavoren the oldest.
Nijmegeg received Roman city rights in 98 AD. In 1230 Nijmegen received again cty rights from the German king. From then on, the city had certain freedoms and privileges. It arranged its own administration and its own jurisdiction. The blue stone, which lies in the road surface of the Burchtstraat, played a role in the administration of justice.
In the 11th century, Stavoren received city rights from the Brunonen, which were granted between 1058 and 1068 by Count Egbert the first with the permission of Emperor Henry V. Stavoren was an important trading city at the time. The great shippers and merchants maintained important trade relations with the countries around the Baltic Sea.
Thanks for visiting my hometown. You must have walked past my house, but I missed you :( Funny that your video doesn’t contain the Waalbridge. It’s the icon of Nijmegen. When you cross the bridge, you are home! Also the island in the river Waal is worth the visit.
Visit Groningen and climb the Martinitower. They started building that tower in 1200 AC. You can climb to the 2nd trans some days. Best time to visit when there is the May fair on the Grote Markt.
Or visit the forum.
There are not that many cities in the province of Flevoland. This province consists mainly of countryside, but I advise you to visit Almere. This is the youngest city in the Netherlands, but already the 8th largest city in the country. Almere is known for its rich modern architecture and the newest part of the center is special to see. Because Almere is a designed city, there is plenty of room for public transport, making every place in the city easily accessible by train and bus. The city has a very large network of bus lanes and a railway that runs right through the city.
In the center I advise you to eat an ice cream at an ice cream shop called IJspressi, which sells homemade ice cream, and to enjoy the view at the "Weerwater"
Utrecht, you 'd love it!
Welcome to my home city…. Come back in summer. It is paradise on earth, but don’t tell anyone.
Strange thing is in and around amsterdam the frikandel speciaal is eaten with ketchup and not curry saus . It’s less sweat , try it to see/taste the difference
that is strange! will definitely have to compare
less sweet, you mean?
When you visit the province of Overijssel you should go to Deventer. Like Nijmegen it's a very old town. If you go there you should see part called "Bergkwartier"
Deventer also holds the oldest house of the Netherlands, it's called "de proosdij" It's built in 1100
Leeuwarden, Groningen, Assen, Deventer, Utrecht (I'm from Nijmegen, but Utrecht is definitely my favourite city in the country) and Middelburg for the provinces you haven't visited yet. I wouldn't visit Flevoland unless you like hyper modern and boring architecture. Almere is pretty fun for shopping though. Still, I would advise not to get hung up on one city per province, since many of them have multiple cities worth exploring and it's often hard to pick.
As someone from Nijmegen, I would also advise to come back during the Vierdaagsefeesten. There's people coming from all over the world to walk up to 50km a day for four days in a row. Around this event, there's a seven day lasting festival all throughout Nijmegen and the surrounding towns, which is absolutely amazing and one of the best festivals of the year. Tons of options in terms of shows, music, places etc. during this week.
thank you for the tips! ❤️
Volendam in September when the fair is on you find out
City of Utrecht in Utrecht and Zwolle in Overijssel
Province of Limburg:
Maastricht
Province of Utrecht:
Utrecht
Province of Zeeland:
Middelburg
Gotta visit the oldest city, Dordrecht!
The oldest city* in Holland otherwise it’s Geertruidenberg ;)
*to receive city rights
But still up for debate 😂
Cool you guys visit my hometown. Hope you enjoyed your visit. (I even spotted my home and my work in the vlog lol)
Ok, new subscriber to your channel. Originally from Doetinchem, but have also lived in Nijmegen, Den Haag en Groningen, Milan, Orlando, san Francisco and San Diego (current). My son just started college in Rotterdam, how I found your channel, very helpful. One question, how have you guys not been to Groningen yet!?!?? Should be very high on your Holland bucket list. Time to meet Excalibur
oh, it is - but we’ve been pacing ourselves visiting all of the provinces of the netherlands! and groningen is kind of far from us 😅 but soon!!
I think a fun city to visit in the provincie of Overijssel is Deventer. It is a verjaardag old Hanze city in the neterlands . It has a pittoresk posotion on the river IJssel. Witch you
Can cross by boat service. A lot of culture old buildings and the fameus Deventer koek. Gr Bats Peters.
we love deventer - amazing city!
' It is a verjaardag old Hanze city ' ..daar had ik echt geen antwoord op, wat bedoelde je daarmee?
You guys should just visit Veere, in zeeland. Its has one of the most beautiful Dutch architecture all close in this little town.
I think they will be done in 2024 with working on the Bypass or Ringweg (in Groningen)
Its a great city and you have to go back. It already existed during the Roman period ( called Noviomagus) and there is a museum about that
Whether Nijmegen is really the oldest city in the Netherlands is debatable. Maastricht and Heerlen also claim to be the oldest city in the Netherlands. 😁
Maastricht and heerlen are the oldest villages/settlements, but nijmegen had first their cityrights. So everybody are right.
Limburg didn't used to be a province of the Netherlands it was added the latest, so that also makes not the oldest city of the Netherlands
Ah.. slowly working your way up.. You guys are really groing on me. Really enjoy the vids. Can't wait to hear your thoughts about Leeuwarden
we are so excited to go to friesland!
Camper is a great idea. Don't forget the Island. They are awesome. Vlieland has always been my favorite since I was a little boy. Can't bring your car there though
Haarlem is so cool. You must go ther
Another suggestion to visit the next cities: Arnhem, capitol of Gelderland, and surroundings because of the heavy fighting in WO2 and Leeuwarden, capitol of Friesland. It's also called the Amsterdam of the North.
I'm from Nijmegen. Thank you for this very nice commercial. But, you should come back one day, or two or a week. There's much more to explore.
Bro my dad works in Dekkerv/dVegt in the Marikenstraat and i’m sure you guys walked down that street
shoud specify that's the bookstore, it usually helps..
This is my recommendation for the next provinces:
Zeeland: Zierikzee
Overijssel: Deventer
Drenthe: Veenhuizen (former prisoners colony)
Groningen: Groningen
Friesland: Sneek
im from overijsel- regio twente: but for my input i would suggest vissiting kampen within our province a rlly nice city with old and modern combined as for friesland i would suggest or drachten or sneek both very beautifull in my opinion
oh forgot this one giethoorn the town without roads instead canals also within overijsel not rlly a city but definitly a tourist destanation
Did you know that Nijmegen has a long history that goes back more than 2000 years
That in February 22, 1944 the Allied Bombing of Nijmegen was a United States Army Air Forces bombing . The Netherlands , was occupied by Nazi Germany.
In terms of casualties, it was one of the largest bombing raids on a Dutch city during World War II. Officially, almost 800 people, almost all civilians, were killed . The center and the station were hit hard. A large part of the historic city center was destroyed by American airmen, including the Grote of Sint-Stevenskerk. St Augustine's Church and the railway station were also seriously damaged. A sad story….
yes, it is a very sad story. we were reading about that on our trip to nijmegen.
You should visit Amersfoort! It's a beautiful 750 year old city. Located in the province of Utrecht, about a 20 minute train ride from Utrecht.
exporting our amersfoort video right now actually 😄
@@buncharted Really! What a coincidence 😂 Hope you guys enjoyed my hometown. I just discovered your channel and really like seeing you guys discover the country and all the different cultures alive here.
@@buncharted i hope you have visited the city gates and the old city wall houses.
Maybe visit Middelburg in Zeeland
I had a really long reply with loads of recommendations, but youtube ate it? *boohoo*
Also, remember i sent you guys that really long reply(might be a habit...) & i started with that song "Van voor naar achter, van links naar rechts"? I do want to clarify that as the title was "Een *Nederlandse* Amerikaan", it was more or less mocking the *Dutch* people who had migrated to the States, were totally "Texified"(think stetson etc.) & came back to visit family.
After the second world war, the government encouraged people to move out. The Netherlands were too busy. They mostly went to Canada, US, NZ & Oz. We've nearly double the figures now.
🤠
And you are invited to the city of Groningen, my current home town! 😍😍😍😍🙋♂
I would say: start with the province capitals. This includes Utrecht (which should be high on the list) but also Assen, Zwolle, Groningen, Leeuwarden, Lelystad and Middelburg.
Vincenzo has really good ice cream
For Overijssel i'd love for you guys to come over to Hengelo or Enschede but that would be somewhat of a disservice to the province if you'd only visit once, so i have to recommend Zwolle, which is the capital of Overijssel, and also a "Hanzestad" along with Deventer. Both are well worth a visit. Ga for Kampen if you seek an alternative :-)
For overijssel both Zwolle and Deventer are fun cities. i personally live in zwolle do if you need any recommendations i can ablidge
Another very funny video. I've been to Nijmegen a few times, but still learned... THANKS! So glad to see you're getting lots of good recommendations from Dutch viewers, so I'll self-edit. 😂 Having said that, the "why are you reviewing fries?" comment MUST be protested. First they're frites, and second the Dutch take their frites very seriously. I was in a place in Middelburg that was VERY PROUD of finishing 2nd in a frites competition. 😀 Cheers from the US.
those fries did deserve their positive review, i'll admit
When in Zealand or flevoland learn about the land reclamation
of course!
Did you speak loudly at the center of that labyrinth? It has a cool sound effect when you talk, shout, hoot or whatever at the center!
The city Arnhem the next time. That’s a really beautiful city
hi the next time you'r in Nijmegen you need to go to tati they have the best high tea in de city
Maybe Sneek in Friesland. Great video, Nijmegen is a great city.
Groningen is a nice city.
You didn't even mention the fact that Nijmegen used to be part of the Roman empire and is 2000 years old. Also you could have visited the castle of Charlemagne (Karel de Grote/ Keizer Karel)
you should visit Haarlem
Yeah Gesha is top 👌