Things to do in The Hague, Delft, Leiden & Keukenhof

In The Hague, the Mauritshuis beside the Binnenhof displays Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring and Rembrandt's The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp, Escher in The Palace shows M.C. Escher's illusion-filled prints in a former royal winter palace, and Kunstmuseum Den Haag holds some 300 works by Piet Mondrian. Step inside the 360-degree painted coast of Panorama Mesdag, join a guided tour into the grounds of the Peace Palace, explore the Netherlands in miniature at Madurodam, and watch the sunset from the Ferris wheel on the Pier at Scheveningen Beach before seafood around the harbour. In Delft, the Royal Delft Museum is the only remaining 17th-century Delft Blue factory, at work since 1653, the New Church is the resting place of William of Orange and members of the Dutch Royal House while the Old Church holds the grave of Johannes Vermeer, and the Vermeer Centrum Delft presents the painter's entire oeuvre. Leiden adds the mummies of the National Museum of Antiquities, the T. rex Trix at Naturalis and the Old Observatory of the Hortus botanicus Leiden, and in spring Keukenhof near Lisse blooms with about 7 million bulbs.

Good to knowThe Mauritshuis, Kunstmuseum Den Haag and Naturalis all sell tickets with a time slot online (the Kunstmuseum asks you to reserve even with a discount pass), and visitors under 19 enter the Mauritshuis and the Kunstmuseum free. The Peace Palace grounds can only be entered on a guided tour, with tickets released on the website about two weeks ahead. Panorama Mesdag, Escher in The Palace and the Kunstmuseum are closed on Mondays, Keukenhof opens only in spring with tickets sold through its official ticket shop, and a Royal Delft painting workshop (Tuesday–Sunday) lets you decorate your own tile.