The Netherlands

The Netherlands, also known as Holland, borders the North Sea on the north and west, Germany on the east, and Belgium on the south. With Belgium and Luxembourg, the Netherlands forms the BENELUX countries.

As a tourist destination, this country has so much more to offer than just it΄s capital Amsterdam. The Netherland is famous the world over for its windmills and tulips. The major cities are home to a vast amount of museums and galleries as well as castles and monuments but for those of you who are partial to a more rural holiday, there is ample opportunity to escape urban life in a matter of minutes.

The Netherlands is renowned for being unremittingly flat, but this does have its advantages. Providing excellent terrain for cycling and walking, plus opening up sweeping, vast skies that celebrated painters have captured on canvas.
Essentially, what The Netherlands offers is high culture in low land. Amsterdam alone enables you to delve through centuries of history aboard a canal boat or explore an exhaustive array of museums and galleries.

A visit to one of the famous flower markets is recommended. The famous Bloemenmarkt along the Singel canal in Amsterdam is a major tourist attraction. Flower bulbs are available for sale and the most popular flowers are tulips and daffodils.
There are also various colorful flower parades notably the Bollenstreek flower parade (the country’s biggest). Many parades display spectacular flower ‘floats’ made of hyacinths, daffodils and daliahs.

You will find more than 40 seaside resorts along the coast, ranging from family holiday centres to fashionable, trendy retreats.

Fast facts

Population: 16591461
Capital: Amsterdam
Language: Dutch
Religion: Roman Catholics, protestant
Currency: EUR
Electricity: 230V
Calling code: 31
GMT: +1

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	History	Culture
	The Franks controlled the region between 4th and 8th century, and became part of Charlemagne's empire in the 8th and 9th centuries. The area later passed into the hands of Burgundy and the Austrian Hapsburgs and in the 16th century it finally came under Spanish rule. When Philip II of Spain suppressed political liberties and the growing Protestant movement in the Netherlands, a revolt led by William of Orange broke out in 1568. Under the Union of Utrecht, the seven northern provinces became the "United Provinces of the Netherlands". War between the United Provinces and Spain continued into the 17th century. The nation's independence was not completely established until after the Thirty Years' War. In 1688, the English parliament invited William of Orange, stadtholder, and his wife, Mary Stuart, to rule England as William III and Mary II. William then used the combined resources of England and the Netherlands to wage war on Louis XIV's France. In 1814, all the provinces of Holland and Belgium were merged into one kingdom, but in 1830 the southern provinces broke away to form the kingdom of Belgium. A liberal constitution was adopted by the Netherlands in 1848. The country remained neutral during World War I. In spite of its neutrality in World War I, the Netherlands was invaded by the Nazis in 1940, and the Dutch East Indies were later taken by the Japanese. The nation was liberated in 1945. In 1948, after a reign of 50 years, Queen Wilhelmina abdicated and was succeeded by her daughter Juliana. In 1949, after a four-year war, the Netherlands granted independence to the Dutch East Indies, which became the Republic of Indonesia. The Netherlands also joined NATO that year. The Netherlands joined the European Economic Community (later, the EU) in 1958.	1

	Destinations in The Netherlands

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