Attractive old towns of South Holland

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Slightly smaller, but certainly no less interesting for a city break are the Old Dutch towns of Zuid-Holland.

The cities of Delft, Dordrecht, Gouda, Leiden and Schiedam are a short distance away from The Hague and Rotterdam, so it is easy to visit a combination of them.

Delft is the city of Delft blue porcelain and the royal house of Orange. Saunter along the quaint canals or settle down at a pavement cafe on the pleasant Beestenmarkt square.

Dordrecht, Holland’s oldest city, has almost 1000 listed buildings that recall the glorious past of this historic port.

Gouda is, of course, the cheese city of The Netherlands. Visit the traditional cheese market and enjoy this charming cultural city. With its wealth and academic fame.

Leiden was the second most important city of The Netherlands during the Golden Age. Today the historic facades are accompanied by a modern mix of shopping, pavement cafes and nightlife.

Schiedam - The 18th century was Schiedam's Golden Age, when the gin industry flourished. The standstill drink imports from France made the emergence of the Schiedamse distillery possible. From dozens of distilleries Schiedam jenever was exported throughout the world. The Gin industry gave the city its nickname 'Black Nazareth'. This industry is now largely gone. Five windmills in the town, called De Noord, Walvisch, Drie Koornbloemen, Nieuwe Palmboom and Vrijheid - the highest windmills in the world because they had to stick out above the high warehouses, and many storehouses are relicts of this past. In one of the former factories at the Lange Haven the National Jenever Museum is established.