My husband and I have a chance to go to either Hillegom or Tilburg in the Netherlands. We have both been to Amsterdam before, but not to the countryside. We would be going mid-May. Will there still be tulips blooming? Which town would be more interesting, or else, a better base to see things? We thought of visiting Antwerp or Bruge, Belgium, while we were there. Can anyone give me any advice or information on visiting places in the Netherlands or Belgium?
Posted by
Tilburg, Netherlands
2829 posts
Why have you selected these both cities in particular? There will be some tulips around, but Tilburg is not an area with many flower fields. If you want to explore the countryside, I'd stay a couple days in some small village on the Veluwe region (between Arnehm and Apeldoorn), exploring the national park there, visiting the world-class Kroller-Muller museum (which is probably the most underrated art museum in Northern Europe, with an awesome sculputre garden second to no other and plenty of works by Van Gogh, Picasso and other masters), the Het Loo palace and gardens (which will be meticulously cared for at that time of the year), take long walks in the park etc.
Posted by
OP
Boulder, CO, USA
103 posts
Thanks for the information regarding Tilburg. We have a chance to use someone's house in the area, so I wanted to get more information. Living in the States, we're used to driving long distances to go places. We want to take a day trip to Belgium. I was also reading up on Keukenhof Gardens and am hoping that the tulips will still be in bloom in mid-May. Do you have any other advice regarding the area and day-trips? I was looking into Delft, Rotterdam and the Hague.
Posted by
Tilburg, Netherlands
2829 posts
Linda, the whole Netherlands land area is smaller than Los Angeles metro, for instance. Tilburg, Hillegom or other reasonably central places are easily accessible for day trips within reason. Only if you stayed in, say, Leeuwarden or Maastricht or Enschede distances could start being more of a hassle. Tilburg (where I currently live) is within 90 min driving distance from any of the points you mentioned. It is also within 90 min driving of Antwerpen, Bruxelles and 2h from Liège in Belgium. It has frequent rail services to other stations in the national rail network, Hillegom is a bit more ticky because it requires a bus shuttle to reach the nearest rail station. Since we had a longer-than-usual cold season, it is likely there will be many flower fields up well into late May.
Posted by
OP
Boulder, CO, USA
103 posts
Thanks Andre. Your information has been really helpful. Now I just have to see if we end up going there.