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The Peace Palace in The Hague, a red-brick building with a tall clock tower

Places to Visit in The Hague

From the palace pond at the heart of the city to the dunes on the North Sea, with Delft just down the tram line.

The Hague is spread out, but its sights fall into three easy groups. The historic centre clusters around the Binnenhof and the Hofvijver. To the north-west lie the Peace Palace, Panorama Mesdag, the Kunstmuseum and Madurodam. And beyond them is the sea: Scheveningen, the quieter beach at Kijkduin and the wild Meijendel dunes.

Trams link all of them; most visitors base themselves in the centre and travel out. Delft, a separate town with its own canals and Vermeer connections, is about half an hour away by tram or ten to fifteen minutes by train.

The historic centre

The classical sandstone-and-brick façade of the Mauritshuis on a sunny day The historic centre

Mauritshuis

A 17th-century palace on the Hofvijver, home to Girl with a Pearl Earring.

One of the world’s finest small museums: a jewel-box of Dutch Golden Age painting in a classical palace built for Johan Maurits of Nassau-Siegen, with Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring and View of Delft, Rembrandt’s Anatomy Lesson and Fabritius’s The Goldfinch.

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The Gothic Ridderzaal with its twin towers and the fountain in the Binnenhof The historic centre

Binnenhof & Hofvijver

The medieval heart of Dutch politics, on its own pond in the city centre.

For centuries the seat of the Counts of Holland and then of the Dutch parliament, the Binnenhof is a cluster of buildings round the Gothic Ridderzaal (Hall of Knights), reflected in the Hofvijver pond. It is in the middle of a long renovation, so access is limited — but the view across the water is as fine as ever.

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The gates and courtyard of Noordeinde Palace in The Hague The historic centre

Noordeinde Palace & Lange Voorhout

The King’s working palace, a statue of William of Orange and the city’s grandest avenue.

Noordeinde Palace is the working palace of King Willem-Alexander, set on an elegant street of galleries and boutiques. It is not open for regular visits, but its gates, the equestrian statue of William of Orange and the nearby Palace Gardens are worth the walk, as is the lime-tree avenue of Lange Voorhout.

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The façade of the Lange Voorhout Palace with Escher banners at the entrance The historic centre

Escher in Het Paleis

M.C. Escher’s impossible worlds, in a former royal winter palace.

The Lange Voorhout Palace, once the winter palace of Queen Emma, now displays the work of the graphic artist M.C. Escher — tessellations, endless staircases and metamorphoses — with original royal rooms, extraordinary chandeliers and a top floor of optical illusions.

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Peace Palace, museums and Madurodam

The red-brick Peace Palace with its clock tower, seen across the square Peace Palace, museums and Madurodam

Peace Palace

The home of international law, built with Andrew Carnegie’s money.

Opened in 1913, the Peace Palace houses the International Court of Justice — the principal judicial body of the United Nations — as well as the Permanent Court of Arbitration and a great library of international law. A free visitor centre at the gate explains its work; guided tours inside are rare and must be booked.

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Part of the Panorama Mesdag painting with fishing boats on the beach and the sea beyond Peace Palace, museums and Madurodam

Panorama Mesdag

Stand on a dune in 1881 — inside a 120-metre circular painting.

Painted in 1881 by Hendrik Willem Mesdag with a small team of artists, this cylindrical panorama shows the sea, the beach and the fishing village of Scheveningen as they were in the 19th century. Viewed from an artificial dune in the centre, the illusion is astonishing.

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The yellow-brick Kunstmuseum Den Haag reflected in its pond Peace Palace, museums and Madurodam

Kunstmuseum Den Haag

The world’s largest Mondrian collection, in a 1930s landmark by Berlage.

Formerly the Gemeentemuseum, the Kunstmuseum is The Hague’s big art museum: modern art from Monet to Mondrian — ending with Victory Boogie Woogie — plus Delftware, decorative arts, fashion and strong temporary exhibitions, in a beautiful building by H.P. Berlage.

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A detailed miniature of the Mauritshuis surrounded by small trees at Madurodam Peace Palace, museums and Madurodam

Madurodam

The Netherlands in miniature — windmills, canals and palaces at 1:25 scale.

Since 1952, Madurodam has shown the best of the Netherlands as a miniature city: Amsterdam canal houses, Rotterdam’s port, Schiphol, windmills, the Delta Works and the Binnenhof, many with interactive elements. It is named after George Maduro, a young resistance fighter who died in Dachau in 1945.

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The coast, the dunes and Delft

The Scheveningen pier stretching over the sand towards the North Sea under a blue sky The coast, the dunes and Delft

Scheveningen

The Hague’s seaside resort: a long sandy beach, the pier and the Kurhaus.

Scheveningen is the city’s beach resort and old fishing harbour: a wide sandy beach lined with pavilions, a pier with a Ferris wheel, the grand 19th-century Kurhaus hotel, a boulevard of cafés and Sea Life, and a harbour of fish restaurants. About 20 minutes from the centre by tram.

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The dunes and the beach at Kijkduin under a soft evening sky The coast, the dunes and Delft

Kijkduin

The Hague’s quieter beach, backed by high dunes.

Kijkduin is the city’s second beach, south-west of the centre: smaller and calmer than Scheveningen, with beach pavilions, a modest seaside centre and dune paths of the Westduinpark leading off in both directions. Popular with locals, families and walkers.

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A sandy path through green trees and grass in the Meijendel dunes The coast, the dunes and Delft

Meijendel dunes

Wild dunes, woods and lakes just north of Scheveningen.

Meijendel is a large area of dunes, woodland and ponds between The Hague and Wassenaar, part of the Hollandse Duinen National Park. It is also a drinking-water catchment area, which has helped protect it. Footpaths and cycle routes lead through it to the beach.

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The tower of the Nieuwe Kerk rising above the Markt square in Delft The coast, the dunes and Delft

Delft

Canals, Vermeer and Delft Blue — a short ride from The Hague.

Delft is a beautifully preserved canal town between The Hague and Rotterdam: home of Johannes Vermeer, burial place of William of Orange and the Dutch royal family in the Nieuwe Kerk, and the town of blue-and-white Delftware. Reach it in about 10–15 minutes by train or by tram 1.

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Making a plan

With two days: the Mauritshuis, the Binnenhof area, Lange Voorhout and Escher on day one; the Peace Palace, Panorama Mesdag or the Kunstmuseum and an afternoon at Scheveningen on day two. With three or four, add Delft, Madurodam and a walk or bike ride through the dunes. Our travel guide has sample itineraries.

Plan your days in the city

Meet the Girl with a Pearl Earring

Skip the ticket queue at the Mauritshuis, cruise the canals or cycle from the palaces to the sea — compare tickets and tours in The Hague and book in a couple of taps.

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