Things to do in The Hague
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit The Hague
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Dark, windy museum and rijsttafel season with the cheapest hotels. Mid January is weakest.
Best all round. Terraces reopen, Japanese Garden and Keukenhof open, King's Day in April.
Peak beach season, light until late in June, book everything ahead.
September is the sweet spot with Prinsjesdag, then October quietens and November is darkest and wettest.
What's on
- Nieuwjaarsduik 1 January
National New Year's Dive at Scheveningen, thousands in orange hats entering the North Sea.
- Keukenhof late March to mid May
Seven million bulbs at Lisse, reached via Leiden, with timed entry booked well ahead in April.
- King's Day 27 April
Orange parties across the city, smaller and more local than Amsterdam's.
- North Sea Regatta late May
Sailing regatta off Scheveningen in late spring.
- Vlaggetjesdag A Saturday in June, usually mid month
Launch of Hollandse Nieuwe herring at Scheveningen harbour with decorated boats and crowds.
- International Fireworks Festival August
Fireworks off the Pier in August, free to watch and best reached by tram.
- Jazz in de Gracht late August
Jazz along the Bierkade canals in late August.
- Embassy Festival early September
World food fair on Lange Voorhout in early September.
- PrinsjesNach The Monday before Prinsjesdag, the third Tuesday of September (20 September in 2027)
Free music pub crawl the night before Prinsjesdag, with acts across dozens of venues.
- Prinsjesdag Third Tuesday of September; 21 September 2027
Glass Coach procession and balcony appearance, with hotels at their annual maximum that week.
Best things to do in The Hague
Mauritshuis
Compact Golden Age palace with Vermeer, Rembrandt and Fabritius at domestic distance, done well in two hours.
Panorama Mesdag
Stand inside a vast 1881 painting of Scheveningen where real sand merges into canvas under changing daylight.
De Mesdag Collectie
The painter's own house and garden, a quieter companion to Panorama Mesdag nearby.
Escher in Het Paleis
Escher's impossible worlds inside a former royal palace, with a top floor where you become the illusion.
Kunstmuseum Den Haag
Berlage's Art Deco museum holding the world's largest Mondrian collection plus fashion and Delftware.
Museon-Omniversum
Dome cinema and science museum by the Kunstmuseum that works especially well for families.
Hofvijver
Free exterior walk around the pond and Binnenhof, with a free viewing tower while interiors stay closed.
Peace Palace
The working world court palace, seen through its visitor centre and, on selected dates, booked guided tours.
Where to stay in The Hague
Centrum
first trip, all-round base
Walk to Mauritshuis, Escher, Plein and both stations, with the grandest streets in Lange Voorhout and Noordeinde.
Zeeheldenkwartier
local-feeling base, food, repeat visitors
Creative quarter of mansions, coffee bars and small restaurants, 10 to 15 minutes on foot to Centrum.
Statenkwartier
quiet upscale, museum and embassy base
Grand residential belt by the Kunstmuseum and Peace Palace, calm at night with a tram to dinner buzz.
Scheveningen
beach-first summer trip, families in season
Sleep at the sea in the resort quarter or the quieter harbour, trading a 15 minute tram to Centrum.
Benoordenhout and Bezuidenhout
value and calm for longer or work stays
Leafy districts east of Centrum with larger rooms for the money and superb Haagse Bos runs nearby.
Think twice about
- Schilderswijk
Among the Netherlands' most deprived districts with thin late street activity. Visit the market and food streets by day, sleep elsewhere.
- Transvaal
Densely built social housing district by HS station with higher reported nuisance and almost no visitor hotel stock.
- Laakkwartier
Deprived district around HS station with little for a short stay visitor and a rougher feel after dark.
- Den Haag HS station perimeter
Use staffed main entrances at night. The streets around Hollands Spoor are not a base for visitors.
Best restaurants in The Hague
Restaurant Calla's
One-star held for over two decades, modern French cooking in a serene 19th century house.
Zheng
High end Chinese tasting menus built on traditional dietetics, with Peking duck as ceremony.
Catch by Simonis
Upscale harbour view seafood room, the city's celebration fish dinner where the boats land.
Simonis aan de Haven
The original harbour fish restaurant, same catch grilled, fried and raw at working harbour prices.
Restaurant Oogst
Modern French, vegetable aware cooking on Denneweg, the foodie's default special dinner.
Publique
Great-value modern cooking at square terrace ease, the neighbourhood's best dinner.
Restaurant Bøg
New Nordic cooking in The Hague, minimalist and produce led, the critics' darling of its trio.
Elea
Refined, playful Greek tasting menus on Noordeinde, not a taverna, with a devoted repeat base.
Outdoor things to do in The Hague
Meijendel
The great free dune reserve of valleys, lakes and beach, with marked routes from De Tapuit visitor centre.
Westduinpark
Protected dunes, Atlantic Wall bunkers and Highland cows on the wilder stretch south of Scheveningen.
Kijkduin
The small locals' resort beyond the dunes, the serene alternative to the main Scheveningen boulevard.
De Zandmotor
Vast artificial sand peninsula with a kite surfers' lagoon and fossil hunting along the shore.
Hemels Gewelf
James Turrell's grass crater above Kijkduin where you lie back and watch the sky, memorable at dusk.
Hart Beach
Long running surf and SUP school at the harbour head, with board and thick wetsuit included.
Aloha Surf
Established local surf school for North Sea lessons in the most sheltered water by the harbour pier.
BLOW Kitesurfing
Kitesurf lessons on the shallow flat lagoon at the Zandmotor, the serious beginner spot.
Best hotels in The Hague
Hotel Des Indes
The grand hotel since 1881 on Lange Voorhout, with spa, pool and afternoon tea as an institution.
Hilton The Hague
Reliable modern five star by Noordeinde and the Peace Palace, the business and embassies default.
voco The Hague
Design led hotel in a former bank on Kneuterdijk, priced below the grand Lange Voorhout names.
Hotel De Plesman
Rooms and residences in KLM's former head office, a design led mid to upper tier alternative.
Boutique Hotel Corona
Small classic hotel literally beside the Binnenhof, the best located honest mid range sleep in Centrum.
Stayokay Hostel Den Haag
Good hostel in a striking Amsterdam School building, with dorms and family rooms near HS station.
Hostel The Hague
Hostel by Grote Markt nightlife, the social budget base if you bring earplugs for late bars.
The Golden Stork
Small social hostel on the Bierkade, the calmer version of the city's budget hostel tier.
Is The Hague expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | €65 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | €135 a person |
| Splurge | €365 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Mauritshuis: a few days ahead
- Peace Palace: weeks ahead
- Madurodam: a few days ahead
- Hart Beach: a few days ahead
- Aloha Surf: a few days ahead
- BLOW Kitesurfing: a few days ahead
- Bungy Scheveningen: a few days ahead
- Zipline De Pier: a few days ahead
- Mauritshuis timed entry sells out at weekends and in tulip season. Book it online.
- Peace Palace guided tours run only on selected dates and sell out. Check the calendar before booking flights.
- Calla's and Zheng need two to four weeks for weekend tables.
- Prinsjesdag week in mid September is the annual maximum for hotels. Book centre rooms two to three months ahead.
- Book surf, kite, bungee and zipline early in your stay so wind cancellations leave a fallback day.
Is The Hague safe?
- Bike theft is endemic, use two locks. Pickpockets work station crowds and packed beach trams.
- Trams and fast silent bikes are the main physical danger. Look both ways at every kerb.
- Swim only in lifeguarded zones, obey flags and respect rip currents near the harbour moles.
- Emergency number is 112, police non emergency is 0900-8844.
The Hague travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Any paid Binnenhof interior tour while renovation lasts to at least late 2028 cannot be delivered as sold.
- Boulevard sit down fish restaurants at Scheveningen Badplaats are view priced and generic. Walk to the harbour instead.
- De Passage is a pretty five minute walk through, not a shopping destination of chains you have at home.
- Hop on hop off buses are the slowest way to see a flat, tram served, legible city.
- Madurodam as a half day for adults without children is padding beyond about 90 minutes.
Getting around The Hague: public transport and more
- Tap in and out with a contactless card or phone on all trams, buses and trains or you pay the maximum fare.
- Tram 1 is the visitor line from Centrum to Scheveningen Noord via the Peace Palace, with trams 9 and 11 for other beach axes.
- Do not confuse Den Haag Centraal with Den Haag HS. Check which station every ticket says, they are 10 minutes apart.
- Cycle on separated lanes, lock rentals with both locks to a fixed rack, and never walk in a cycle lane.
- Avoid driving. Centre garages are expensive and Scheveningen beach parking on a hot day is a queue.
Who The Hague suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make The Hague your trip
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