The Hague (Den Haag — 's-Gravenhage in formal Dutch, "the Count's Wood" — the seat of the Dutch government and the location of the royal residence, despite Amsterdam being the constitutional capital; population 560,000 city, 1.1 million greater metropolitan area) is the political capital of the Netherlands and the global capital of international law and justice. The Peace Palace (Vredespaleis — built 1913 with a $1.5 million donation from Andrew Carnegie (the largest private charitable donation to international peace in history to that date)) houses the International Court of Justice (the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, adjudicating disputes between sovereign states), the Permanent Court of Arbitration (founded 1899 — the world's oldest international dispute resolution institution) and the Hague Academy of International Law. The Hague is home to the International Criminal Court (ICC — established 2002, the world's first permanent international criminal court), the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY — which prosecuted war crimes from the 1990s Balkan conflicts; the conviction of Slobodan Milošević would have been the most significant of these, but he died in custody in 2006 before verdict), and Europol, Eurojust and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). The greatest cultural institution is the Mauritshuis (a 17th-century palace housing the finest collection of Dutch Golden Age painting in the world, including Johannes Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring (c.1665 — the most recognisable Dutch painting after Rembrandt's Night Watch) and Rembrandt van Rijn's The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp (1632)). The Binnenhof (the medieval parliamentary complex in the city centre — the oldest parliament buildings still in continuous legislative use in the world) has been the seat of Dutch government since 1446.
Mauritshuis (the 17th-century Dutch Renaissance palace on the Hofvijver pond — built 1636-1641 as the private residence of Count Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen (the Dutch governor of Brazil 1637-1644 who introduced the baroque town planning principles of Recife (Mauritsstad)); the palace became a royal art cabinet in 1822 and now houses the finest concentrated collection of Dutch Golden Age painting in the world; the highlights: Johannes Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring (c.1665 — the 44.5cm × 39cm oil-on-canvas that Tracy Chevalier's 2000 novel (and the 2003 film with Scarlett Johansson) made the most internationally discussed Dutch painting after Rembrandt's Night Watch; the identity of the subject is unknown — the painting has no documented title from Vermeer's lifetime, no commission record and was only given its current title in the 20th century; the luminous blue-yellow turban, the reflected light on the large pearl earring, the direct gaze and the slightly parted lips are the defining elements of the most intimately engaging portrait in northern European art); Rembrandt's The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp (1632 — the group portrait commissioned by the Amsterdam Surgeons' Guild showing the public dissection of the executed criminal Aris Kindt (his name documented in the guild records); the work that established Rembrandt's reputation in Amsterdam at age 26).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideBinnenhof ("inner courtyard" — the medieval fortified complex in the centre of The Hague; the oldest parliament buildings in continuous legislative use in the world (the States General of the Netherlands has met here since 1446); the complex consists of multiple connected buildings from different centuries: the Ridderzaal (Knights' Hall — the 13th-century Gothic great hall built for Count William II of Holland (died 1256); the hall is now used for the annual ceremony of the Opening of Parliament (Prinsjesdag, "Princes' Day") on the third Tuesday of September, when the monarch reads the Speech from the Throne outlining the government's annual legislative programme — the ceremony with the Golden Coach (since 2014 replaced by the Glass Coach for sustainability concerns)); the Second Chamber (Tweede Kamer — the lower house of the Dutch parliament); the Hofvijver pond (the rectangular water body on the east side of the Binnenhof, reflecting the medieval towers — the image that defines the visual identity of Dutch parliamentary democracy); the Binnenhof is currently undergoing a major renovation (since 2021) — access may be limited but the exterior views from the Hofvijver are excellent year-round.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideEscher in Het Paleis (Escher in the Palace — the museum dedicated to the work of M.C. Escher (Maurits Cornelis Escher, 1898-1972, born in Leeuwarden) in the former Winter Palace of Queen Emma on the Lange Voorhout; the palace was built in 1764 and was the royal winter residence until 1934; the museum houses the world's largest permanent Escher collection (about 150 works including the Metamorphosis prints (the 3-metre-long Metamorphosis III (1967-1968) — the most complex single woodcut print in art history), the impossible architecture (Ascending and Descending (1960) — the never-ending staircase; the Belvedere (1958) — the architecturally impossible tower; the Waterfall (1961) — the perpetual water-motion machine)); the Escher experience room (the interactive installation allowing visitors to step into the Escher perspective illusions — the most photographed room in the museum); the context: Escher's mathematical art anticipated the study of tessellation, non-Euclidean geometry and optical illusion by decades — the great mathematician Roger Penrose collaborated with Escher on the Penrose staircase (the Penrose triangle that became the model for the Ascending and Descending print).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe Denneweg and the Frederikstraat quarter (the most charming restaurant neighbourhood in The Hague — the 18th-century street with the independent restaurants in the converted canal-side houses; the Indonesian rijsttafel (the Dutch-Indonesian colonial feast — "rice table" in Dutch — the elaborate presentation of 12-25 small Indonesian dishes around a central rice dish (the Javanese nasi putih); the rijsttafel was developed during the Dutch colonial period in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) as a way for Dutch colonial administrators to taste the full range of Javanese and Sumatran cuisine in a single sitting; The Hague has the finest rijsttafel restaurants in the Netherlands because of the large Moluccan and Javanese Indonesian community settled here after Indonesian independence in 1949); the Dutch pub culture (the Dutch bitterballen (the deep-fried crunchy sphere of slow-cooked beef stew ragout — the definitive Dutch bar snack), the Dutch jenever (the juniper-flavoured Dutch gin, the predecessor to British gin, served in the traditional tulip glass), and the Dutch craft beer scene).
Peace Palace (Vredespaleis — built 1907-1913 with a $1.5 million gift from Andrew Carnegie and additional donations of artworks and building materials from 54 countries; designed by the French architect Louis Cordonnier in a neo-Gothic and neo-Renaissance eclectic style; the building houses the International Court of Justice (the principal judicial organ of the United Nations — the court that adjudicates disputes between sovereign states on matters of international law; since its foundation in 1945, the ICJ has delivered judgments on cases including the Nicaragua v. United States (1986), the Bosnia genocide case (2007) and the Ukraine v. Russia case (filed 2022)); the Permanent Court of Arbitration (founded 1899 at the First Hague Peace Conference — the world's oldest intergovernmental organisation for international dispute resolution); the Peace Palace Library (one of the world's most comprehensive international law libraries); the visitor centre (the Visitor Centre allows entry to the gardens and the exhibition on the peace movement and international law — the main courtroom can be visited on Saturdays when the ICJ is not in session).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideMadurodam (the miniature city park in the Scheveningen neighbourhood — the 1:25 scale model of the most famous Dutch landmarks and urban scenes; opened in 1952 as a memorial to George Maduro (a Curaçao-born Dutch Jewish student who died in the Dachau concentration camp in 1945 and was posthumously awarded the Military Order of William (the highest Dutch military honour) for his role in the 1940 Dutch resistance); the scale model (the 1:25 scale reproductions of the Rijksmuseum, the Kinderdijk windmills, the Keukenhof gardens, the Delta Works, Amsterdam's canal ring, Rotterdam's Erasmusbrug and Euromast, and the Schiphol Airport terminal with working aircraft on the runways); the interactive elements (the working trains, the working windmills, the ships in the model harbour, the Deltaworks tide barrier that opens and closes); the Dutch engineering exhibition (the models of the Maeslantkering (the largest moveable flood barrier in the world) and the Oosterscheldekering (the delta barrier of the Delta Works) that have protected the Netherlands from flooding since 1997 and 1986 respectively).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideScheveningen (the North Sea beach resort 5 km west of The Hague centre — the largest and most popular beach resort in the Netherlands; the Scheveningen pier (the 380-metre pier extending over the North Sea — the original pier was built in 1901, demolished in 1943 by the German occupation forces (the Germans demolished the pier to prevent its use as a landing point), rebuilt in 1959-1961; the pier today has the observation tower (the bungee jump platform (the highest commercial bungee jump over the sea in the Netherlands (the jump is 40 m above the North Sea surface; the platform extends 380 m from the beach))); the Scheveningen lighthouse (the 1875 lighthouse on the promenade — the 48-metre lighthouse is the most recognisable structure on the Dutch North Sea coast north of Hook of Holland); the North Sea fishing (the Scheveningen fishing harbour (the largest fishing port in the Netherlands (the schol (plaice) and the haring (herring) — the North Sea herring season (June-November) produces the Hollandse Nieuwe (the first herring of the season, eaten raw with raw onion); the herring stands on the promenade).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideScheveningen fishing harbour dinner (the most authentic seafood experience in the Netherlands — the restaurant district around the Scheveningen vissershaven (fishing harbour) serves the daily catch from the North Sea trawlers; the Hollandse garnalen (the grey North Sea shrimp (Crangon crangon) — the small grey shrimp that are caught daily in the Scheveningen waters and are the most flavourful small shrimp in European waters (sweeter and more complex than the large warm-water prawns); the kabeljauw (cod) and the schol (plaice) — the two most important commercial fish species in the North Sea, both at their best when served on the same day as caught; the Zeeuwse oesters (Zeeland oysters — the flat European oyster (Ostrea edulis) from the Zeeland tidal waters (the richest shellfish beds in the North Sea); the haringsnack (the Dutch herring stand snack — the raw lightly salt-cured herring, the dill pickle, the raw onion and the white bread, eaten by lowering the fish into the mouth while holding it by the tail (the traditional Dutch herring eating method)).
Delft (15 km south of The Hague — 15 min by Intercity train; the most perfectly preserved 17th-century Dutch canal city (Delft was one of the most important cities in the Dutch Republic in the 17th century — the headquarters of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) Delft Chamber, a major brewing centre, and the seat of the House of Orange (William the Silent was assassinated in the Prinsenhof in Delft in 1584 — the first assassination of a head of state by handgun in history)); the Royal Delft factory (De Koninklijke Porceleyne Fles — the last remaining original 17th-century Delftware pottery factory; the blue-and-white tin-glazed earthenware (the Delfts blauw (Delft Blue) style was developed in the early 17th century as the Dutch response to the Chinese Ming dynasty blue-and-white porcelain that the VOC was importing — the Dutch potters initially tried to replicate the Chinese style and then developed the Dutch scenes (windmills, tulips, canal scenes) that became the most recognised decorative pottery style in Europe); the Vermeer birthplace and grave (Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675) was born and died in Delft; his grave is in the Oude Kerk (Old Church); the Prinsenhof Museum includes the bullet holes from William the Silent's assassination).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideLeiden (25 km north of The Hague — 20 min by Intercity train; the most intellectually distinguished city in the Netherlands: the Leiden University (founded 1575 — the oldest university in the Netherlands, founded by William the Silent as a reward to the citizens of Leiden for withstanding the Spanish siege of 1573-1574 (the siege lasted 12 months and killed approximately 6,000 Leiden residents from starvation and plague before the Dutch Sea Beggars (Watergeuzen) broke the dikes and flooded the Spanish camp on October 3, 1574 — the relief of Leiden is still celebrated every October 3 with erwtensoep (pea soup) and herring)); the Leiden city museums (the Naturalis Biodiversity Center (the largest natural history museum in the Netherlands with the T-rex skeleton "Trix"); the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden (the National Museum of Antiquities — the finest Egyptian collection in the Netherlands including the Temple of Taffeh); the Lakenhal museum (the 17th-century cloth hall with the Leiden collection and the Rembrandt juvenilia)); Rembrandt van Rijn (born in Leiden 1606 — the Rembrandt birthplace plaque on the Weddesteeg).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideGemeentemuseum Den Haag (the Municipal Museum of The Hague — housed in the 1935 Berlage building (designed by H.P. Berlage, the founding figure of Dutch modern architecture; the building itself is a masterpiece of the Amsterdam School (the expressionist brick architecture of the Netherlands, 1910-1930)); the world's largest collection of Piet Mondrian (1872-1944) — the Dutch abstract painter who developed the De Stijl style (the reduction of painting to the horizontal and vertical black grid lines and the primary colours (red, blue and yellow) plus white, black and grey; the Victory Boogie-Woogie (1942-1944 — the last and largest Mondrian painting, unfinished at his death, the 127×127 cm diamond-format canvas that Mondrian began in New York after fleeing wartime Europe; the most valuable painting in the Dutch state collection); the fashion collection (the most important 20th-century fashion collection in the Netherlands with the works of Elsa Schiaparelli, Madame Grès and Hussein Chalayan); the applied arts (the largest collection of Dutch jugendstil/Art Nouveau design).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe Hague city centre evening and dinner at the Grote Markt (the historic market square of The Hague — the pedestrianised square surrounded by the 17th-18th century merchant buildings; the Grote Kerk (St. Jacobskerk — the 15th-century Gothic church that dominates the square; the church where several Dutch admirals including Maarten Tromp and Piet Hein are buried)); the Hague street food and bar culture: the Dutch herring stand (the haringkar (herring cart) at the Buitenhof — the traditional Dutch raw herring (Hollandse Nieuwe — the first herring of the season, lightly cured in salt, served with the dill pickle and the raw onion; the Netherlands produces approximately 450,000 tonnes of North Sea herring annually); the Dutch jenever (the traditional Dutch juniper-flavoured spirit (the predecessor to London gin — the Dutch jenever was introduced to England by King William III of Orange (William of Orange) in 1689 and became the basis for the British gin tradition); the oud (old) jenever (aged in oak casks, smooth and malty) vs. jong (young) jenever (clear and lighter)); the Dutch bitterballen at the Grote Markt bruin café.