Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index Tourism in the Netherlands The Netherlands is a densely populated country with famous cities like Amsterdam. known for the Rijksmuseum (the national museum), canals, the castle and its cosy pubs. Other famous cities are The Hague with its elegant downtown and Delft and Utrecht - formerly rich trading cities. But the Netherlands also has to offer a great coastline along the North Sea, the IJsselmeer and the Veluwemeer - great resorts for sailing with picturesque little typical Dutch towns like Elburg or Harderwijk. The Netherlands is a great country for cycling, sailing or ice skating in winter. They have mainly flat landscapes with many canals, windmills, little villages, rivers like the Rhine or IJssel, Maas or Schelde. Visitors should try some original Dutch pancakes, either with meat, famous Dutch cheese or with jam, and Dutch beer like "Grolsch" and "Heineken". Tulips grow around Lisse behind the dunes and Keukenhof is a well-known tourist attraction; in spring there are many beautiful flowers on display there. Prostitution, which has also made the Netherlands infamous, was legalized on October 1st, 2000. Many tourists visit Madurodam, a miniature city in The Hague, which reflects what the Netherlands look like. Popular souvenirs from the Netherlands are delftware and cloggs (wooden shoes). http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/europe/netherlands/index.htm http://www.holland.com National Board of Tourism This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.