Difference between revisions of "South Holland"

Revision as of 19:28, 22 July 2010

South-Holland [1] (Dutch: Zuid-Holland) is a province in the Netherlands.

Regions

South-Holland consists of the southern half of the historic County of Holland. It can roughly be divided into 6 regions:

Regions of South-Holland

Bulb Region This area's landscape is renowned for it's enormous flower fields, considered typical for the country. The Keukenhof is visited by millions of travelers each year.

Green Heart In the middle of the Randstad conurbation lies the Green Heart, a green agricultural zone between the four big cities. The countryside offers flat polders, canals and lakes, which can be explored on foot, by bicycle or by boat.

Haaglanden The Hague is the political heart of the country with numerous attractions like the Binnenhof, the Royal Palace and Madurodam. Interesting towns lie around it, such as the historic Delft with it's blue-white ceramics and Scheveningen with it's beach.

Rijnmond Greater Rotterdam is an economic and urban giant with the largest port of Europe. Plenty of modern architecture awaits you, as well as good restaurants and nightlife.

South Holland South Flat polders surrounded by rivers, a typical Dutch scenery as shown by the renowned Kinderdijk windmills.

South Hollandic Islands The islands Voorne-Putten and Goeree-Overflakkee are a good destination for water sports, but also for hikers and cyclists. Historic towns like Brielle, Hellevoetsluis and Middelharnis can be found here.

Cities

• Alphen aan den Rijn — One of the oldest towns of the Netherlands with plenty of remains and museums about prehistory.
• Delft — Old city of the Dutch East India Company, famous for it's Delftware pottery.
• Dordrecht — Historical city with numerous museums.
• Gouda — Historical city, most famous for it's Gouda Cheese and cheese market.
• Leiden — Not just a historical city, but a very vibrant one, as it is a university city.
• Rotterdam — Formerly the world's largest harbor. The modern town centre consists of modern architecture built almost completely after World War II.
• Schiedam — Historical city known for it's jenever, a Dutch alcoholic drink, and the five largest windmills of the world.
• The Hague — Seat of the government and numerous attractions like Madurodam.
• Zoetermeer — A typical suburbian city, which exploded from 10.000 inhabitants in 1962 to 120.000 inhabitants currently. Snowworld is one of the few interesting events for tourists.

Other destinations

Nieuwkoop Lakes

• Biesbosch National Park — one of the last freshwater tide areas in Europe
• Kaag Lakes — A major tourist destination in the summer for it's water sports. Good for walking, fishing, sailing and swimming.
• Keukenhof — This park is the main attraction of the Bulb Region in Spring. Millions of tourists visit the Keukenhof and the enormous flower fields around it each year.
• Kinderdijk — These mills show the typical Dutch landscape in all it's glory.
• Nieuwkoop Lakes — The lakes offer lots of opportunities for water sports.
• Noordwijk — Historical city with a nice beach and dunes.
• Noordwijkerhout — Heart of the Bulb Region, carnival and close to the North Sea.
• Scheveningen — Largest and most popular beach of the country, officially a district of The Hague.

Understand

Talk

Get in

Get around

See

• The windmills of Kinderdijk (on the Unesco heritage list)

Itineraries

Do

• Go sailing on the Kager Plassen.
• Go cycling through the polders or the coastal dunes or from historic town to historic town.

Eat

Drink

Stay safe

Get out