The Hague Highlights Holiday Edition

Take this ‘intelligent readers guide’ and explore the city. Do it virtually, just sitting at home in your comfortable chair or plan your route, get out and let The Hague tell its story. This is basically what The Hague Highlights tells you to do. It’s a down to earth guide, with short summaries on  the historical background and fun facts of 100 places you must-see according to the authors. Authors Ineke Mahieu and Ad van Gaalen based their selection on: the connection of the places with the sea and the connection with the international character of the city.

Do take in mind that the content of the festivals is subject to change. Festivals in 2021 can be cancelled or take place online. As the Corona measures still apply, please use this post as a source of information for a future trip.

Like many other guides, I couldn’t just read The Hague Highlights sitting at home. The fact that it doesn’t have a map or a route designed for you probably even made me more eager to create my own route and in that sense also my own story. I browsed through the book and picked a few places I wanted to visit. To feel the history, see what was described in the guide. I took a map, ticked the places and was off.  Now I treasure the Christmas season. I am always attracted by the decoration, the lights that give this magical glow to the city and get into this really festive mood with all the different events in The Hague. For this blogpost I chose a couple of places described in The Hague Highlights which get me into the festive holiday mood just thinking of them. For my blog on Anglo Info South Holland I picked a couple of other treasures from the book.

Central shopping street The Hague 1 Big Highlight

The Grote Marktstraat has completely changed in the last years.  Inspired by the old Hague Court and the royal lace patterns,  Architect Lana du Croq wanted to make it an open ball room. New and renovated buildings as the Markies & Sythoff city give  the street a royal grandeur. And in the midst of the shopping street is the Bijenkorf.  Even though it is now between other buildings that sparkle modernity, de Bijenkorf still holds its glamourous status. Every year in November the department store shows it shines like never before and reveils its stunning Christmas shopping windows

The Hague Highlights points out that his department store is seen as the highlight of the Amsterdam School of Architecture (1910-1930) Apart from the façade and the staircase,  the intelligent reader’s guide tells a funny fact about the escalator. Did you know that people actually queued to get a ride and there was actually  an employee to supervise the crowd?

Kurhaus and the -re-creation of memories

Highlight number 42 in the guide by Mahieu and Van Gaalen is the Kurhaus. When I read about the building, my heart just skips a beat. From a wooden bathhouse to the Metropolitan Bathhouse to the Kurhaus, this eyecatcher has had quite a transformation over the years. When I visit it, it makes me think of Eline Vere  written by The Hague author Louis Couperus. This dark and gloomy novel gives a good idea of traditions and way of life of the The Hague elite in the 19^th century . Back to the present. The  Cool Event Scheveningen takes place between November and January. For years the big ice rink in front of the Kurhaus attracted most visitors, but  the Palace Fun Slide starting on the Pier is like a rising star and ready to become the biggest attraction of Scheveningen in this time of year.

A Polder of Winter in Uithof

The international character of the city near the sea is high on the agenda of the municipality of the City of The Hague. International visitors will start calling Scheveningen The Hague Beach  and the parks near Scheveningen become the International Park.  Not a word is said about The Uithof. Fortunately it is mentioned in The Hague Highlights.  Situated at the south side of The Hague it is best known for the big skating rink and the ski & sporting complex. I say: if winter & snow don’t come to you, get into the wintersport mood at De Uithof, The Hague. For me the highlight of the Uithof is the actual park, which as the authors of The Hague Highlights point out takes its name from the uithof polder. For me, it’s  the gateway to the Dutch countryside and a perfect example of a polder. How Dutch do you want it?

The Christmas Fair at the end of The Hague Forest

Back again in 2022

A couple of winters ago a new tradition started: the Royal Christmas Fair, which not only shines a new –high- light on brings you into a real festive mood. The Lange Voorhout is the most impressive, most romantic avenue in the Hague.  A long long time ago this was the end of a primeval forest. Haagse Bosjes, The Hague woods, was also part of this huge forest. Now this lane is full of lime trees and is tugged in between Noordeinde Palace, Hofvijver and surrounded by ministeries, embassies and museums. In spring, summer & fall the lime trees invite for a stroll past the stately 18th, 19th & 20th century buildings. In winter,  you can enjoy Dutch gezelligheid (cosiness) at the stalls of the Royal Christmas Fair.

This post was inspired by:

The Hague Highlights: the 100 must-see places in The Hague

Ineke Mahieu & Ad Van Gaalen

English translation by Stephen Agnew.

Seapress/Uitgeverij Lakerveld bv, Rijswijk: 2015.

ISBN 978-90-73930-41-4. Price: € 14,50.

More info

You might also like:

Holiday tours & national events in South Holland

The castle near Hague that once was a brewer’s farm

Spice up your love life in holiday season – Sinterklaas nuts