Home bases for exploring, 1 week Sept

Utrecht is a central hub for trains. But maybe you could tell a little more about what kind of things you would like to explore. That will make it easier to give you advice or suggestions 😊.

Well, there isn’t much we don’t like :-) We are active, in our 50s, foodies, enjoy local beer, exploring markets. My husband loves to garden and cycle. Looking forward to 1/2 day bike trips. I enjoy museums, art, architecture. We live outside Boston, so university towns appeal to us. If timing works, we’d love to attend a Dutch football/soccer game. Our kids (not traveling) study food science and sustainable agricultural, so I may research farm tour type things too.

Utrecht was on the list to split the week. I know Amsterdam is expensive, but I’d like my husband to experience the city for a few days.

Then you might look into Delft (university town) with The Hague close by for art and museums. And close to Westland (biggest glas horticulture in the Netherlands) . Don’t know how the local beers are over there.
Other possibilities might be Groningen up north in the Netherlands, Breda in the southwest or Maastricht in the south (area with wineries ). Cycling can be done everywhere in the Netherlands (although near Maastricht you will face hills 😊).
I wouldn’t recommend tourists to go to a soccergame. Some clubs do have hooligans and quite often the atmosphere can be tense. Certainly can’t compare it with the atmosphere like at a softball game in the US.

Den Bosch could also be a good option. It’s fairly easy to get to from Amsterdam by train. Here’s the link to the official tourism site: https://www.visitdenbosch.nl/nl/plan-je-bezoek/contact/informatiepunt-visit-den-bosch

There’s also a great guide by the ANWB (an organisation similar to AAA in the US) called “Het grote Nederlandse Bierwandelboek” (The great Dutch beer walking book) which features a lot of half day walks that end up a local brewery. I don’t think it’s in English, but if can be easily translated online.

I haven’t visited a farm in the Netherlands, but I know it’s possible. They may not be accessible by public transportation, but they are easy to get to by train/cycling. The website might be a good resource https://zoekdeboer.nl/. It has a list farms by region and visiting information. Most tourism websites have information on local farm products. It might not be searchable in English, but you may be able to find more information by searching “VVV streekproducten”.

Let me know if you have any questions!

We recently did the Amsterdam-Delft split. We found Delft to be a great contrast to Amsterdam, and a lovely place to spend 3 of our vacation days.

We used Delft as a home base to visit Rotterdam - riding from Delft, wandering by foot, returning by bike. We trained from Delft to The Hague for a visit to the Mauritshuis and some more wandering. And we spent much of another day riding in the countryside surrounding Delft.

Food-wise, we were often eating on the go (picnics on rides, or food in Rotterdam and The Hague) but there were plenty of restaurants in Delft to enjoy with many having lovely outdoor seating. We enjoyed a dinner at a small rijstaffel restaurant (De Parel van Flores) which was totally "nondescript" but very tasty. After a more formal (but not too formal) & many dish rijstaffel in Amsterdam (Tujuh Maret), Parel hit the spot with friendly service and good food.
Likewise, we're beer people :-) so we spent a lot of time at beer cafes just sitting outside - usually on canals - watching life go by. We often snacked on a series of appetizers like the bitterballen that are on all menus. Delft has LOCAL beer, and also regional and beers from Belgium and Germany (among other places), so you'll have no trouble drinking local. We liked were the Koperen Kat (located on the return path for one of our rides) which had food but also food trucks and plenty of seating (not super scenic, though). And at the various beer cafes in town, we enjoyed beers from Le Trappe and Brand (and Belgian Delirium which I like at home) at places like Huszar (https://huszar.nl/en/) that we happened upon riding back one evening. We had enjoyed Gulpener & Tesselaar beers in Amsterdam, and visited the Brouwerij ‘t IJ (https://www.brouwerijhetij.nl) windmill for beers and food.
Riding wise, jump in with both feet - in Amsterdam, Delft, or wherever. It's a fun way to see the surrounding area, and riding is easy & accepted, so there's not a steep learning curve (except for some folks in city cycling). Use hotel bikes or rent them (we did from Halfords in Delft). One ride from Delft took in miles and miles of farms, canals, windmills, and wildlife and - two(!) pedestrian/bike ferries. What a fun adventure for us to take part in a true bike-friendly system.
So, a vote for Delft, but the general theme would be that many places will offer that same level of fun. You'll have a blast.

I do live in ‘s-Hertogenbosch (Den Bosch it is also called) but I didn’t suggest it (not being a university town) 😊. But my hometown has certainly a lot to offer that you might like. It’s an old town (1185) with a beautiful cathedral and it has the oldest brick house in the Netherlands. There are a lot of outdoor terraces and even in wintertime we use them. I know that one of the cafe’s (Bar le Duc) has it’s own brewery and I think you can visit it. Beside that there a loads of different kind of beers available all over the city. It has museums (also modern art). And there are loads of restaurants and places you can eat. Also there are different biking routes or just hop on a bike and explore by yourself. Nature is never far away. One popular bike route is to National Park Drunense Duinen (Dunes surrounded by a forest). I also know that close by is a camel diary farm that can be visited. Quite unique!

I absolutely loved Leiden, which is a beautiful university town and is a quick train ride from Amsterdam. It is the home of Leiden University, which is one of the oldest universities in the country. It was very lovely with charming cobblestone streets, 17th century gabled houses, and so many historic buildings, but does not have the "touristy" feel of many other places. It's a much more livable feel. The city has many picturesque canals and waterways, which are lovely to walk along and there are boat tours you can take. And there are lots of parks, gardens, and green spaces in Leiden.

There are several museums, including the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden (National Museum of Antiquities), which has an wonderful collection of Egyptian artifacts. There is the Museum De Lakenhal (Municipal Museum), and the Naturalis Biodiversity Center. The Hortus Botanicus (botanical garden), which was established in 1590, was the site of the planting of Holland’s first tulip bulbs in 1593. Rembrandt was born in Leiden, as was Albert Einstein, who taught at Leiden University. St. Pieterskerk is quite historic and worth seeing, even if you just check out the outside of it. Rembrandt's parents were married and buried there.

In terms of transportation, Leiden has very easy access by train to other cities in the Netherlands, and you can also get to the North Sea coast quite easily. Its charm and beauty and overall residential atmosphere made it a wonderful destination. I hate to gush too much, but I really cannot recommend Leiden enough. Seriously, I could easily live there.

Another vote for Delft. I loved it and very easy to daytrip to The Hague. Mardee's suggestion of Leiden is a good one as that was on my list but I ran out of time.

roubrat, I definitely have to make it to Delft (and Utrecht!) on my next trip there.

And I have to go to Leiden on my next trip. I watch a Youtuber who lives there and she makes it look appealing.

Delft, Utrecht, Hague, Leiden, Haarlem, Hoorn, Maastricht, Middelburg, Zutphen.

Those are just the ones off top of my head that I've been to. The cool thing is that there are 100 more you could discover that are just as awesome.

I didn't hear anybody mention Bergen op Zoom, north of Antwerpen. Bergen op Zoom is, itself, very attractive and being so close to Antwerpen that opens all sorts of doors.

If you are interested in gardens then the Hortus Botanicus in Leiden https://tickets.hortusleiden.nl/en/tickets is a botanical garden from 1590 with a special history.

For tourists depending on the train system, Bergen op Zoom is not ideal because it has very poor train connections. My hometown Breda on the other hand has direct train connections to Rotterdam, The Hague and Amsterdam and to Belgian cities Antwerp, Mechelen and Bruges. And with the Market Square, harbor, castle and Beguinage, all in the historical city center, it’s a great city to spend time in.