When travelling to the Netherlands don’t forget to pack up your camera and load those batteries. This small, flat country has lots of beautiful places to enchant you and your camera. Home to amazing sceneries filled with dozens of windmills, blooming flowers and amazing wildlife nature. You can spend hours and hours getting lost in Holland’s landscapes. But where to go?
To give you an guidance to what you shouldn’t miss, here’s a top 5 of great photogenic places in The Netherlands. You can get there by public transportation, but the most convenient way is by car.
1. Charming Amsterdam
Canals and Bridges Start your photoshoot at the capital of the Netherlands: Amsterdam. It’s a true paradise for photographers. Filled with dozens of bridges, old houses, churches and 17th century architecture. Take a walk through the city and get mesmerized by its historic beauty
For the best photos of Amsterdam’s canals and bridges visit the Reguliersgracht. A canal connected to three others: Herengracht, Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht. When you stand at the intersection of Regulier- and Herengracht you can see 15 iconic bridges in different directions! The Magere (Skinny) bridge is the most famous one. See the Canal Houses get reflected in the water and watch the many boats cruising by. Take your tripod and wait until sunset or nighttime for a romantic setting as the lights of the bridges are lit.
Another great location for shooting canals and bridges is Utrecht. The Oudegracht and Nieuwegracht are beautiful at day and night time. And don’t forget to visit Holland’s Water Village Giethoorn. A small town also called ‘Venice of the North’, because of its unique canal system.
2. Blowing your mind – Windmills Kinderdijk
It doesn’t get more Dutch than this: the windmill is one of the national symbols for the landscapes of Holland. Once upon a time you could find 10.000 windmills in the Netherlands, now there just 1.200 left. At Kinderdijk, near Rotterdam, you can find 19 standing in a row. Take your pick!
3. ‘Light up’ your photo frame – The Wadden Islands
Holland’s got 5 islands: Texel, Vlieland, Terschelling, Ameland and Schiermonnikoog. Each one of them has there own lighthouse. Can you imagine photographing them at sunset with a darkening sky? The most famous and oldest one is the lighthouse at Terschelling, the Brandaris. The view from the top over the North Sea is breathtaking. On Ameland you can find the typical red and white striped lighthouse, the Bornrif. Take a trip to the beach and take photo’s of the rough seascape. If you don’t want to ride to the Island try to go to the beaches of Scheveningen, Zandvoort, Noordwijk, Katwijk aan Zee and Egmond aan Zee.
4. Wildlife at its best – The National Parks
Beautiful in all seasons: the Hoge Veluwe National Park in Hoenderloo. Get on your white bike (included to your entrance fee) and explore the splendour of the park. You’ll see a variety of unique landscapes: from deciduous and coniferous forests to large fields of colored heaths and big sand dunes. Get up real early, and spend a day finding the ‘big four’: Red Deer, Roe Deer, Wild boar, Mouflon sheep. When lucky you might even see a fox, badger and pine marten. Not so lucky? Each month there’s a guided tour with a park warden.
Other great places are: The Oostvaardersplassen, know for the film ‘The New Wilderness’ with the stunning images of the ‘Konik’ horses, foxes and kingfishers. And the National Park Biesbosch, a large wetland filled willow trees and small rivers. You can spot a lot of birds and the Biesbosch’s pride: the beaver.
5. Field of flowers – Bollenstreek
In the Springtime (best month April) you can enjoy the many fields of colored flowers in the Bollenstreek. Follow the Flower Route (about 25 miles) from Haarlem down to Leiden. Depending on the time in season you can see fields packed with daffodils, narcissi, dahlias and of course tulips. Get your camera and capture the wonderful colors of the flowers planted in perfect straight lines.
Getting around
When driving through Holland you’ll see there are plenty places to stop, stare and photograph. Because Holland is such a small country you can easily drive to multiple places in a day. You can rent a car at multiple locations in Amsterdam.
