Nearly everything worth a day lies on a direct train line from Centraal station. Train times are typical scheduled journeys from the Dutch national timetable data (GTFS) for the faster daytime services; stopping trains take longer. Car times are estimates from a routing engine on OpenStreetMap data and assume free roads, so add time at rush hour.
Haarlem
Photo: Oliver Schröder / Pexels, Pexels License
15 to 19 minfrom Centraal, with frequent departures all day
about 27 min
A city with its own market square, canals and the great church of St Bavo, granted city rights in 1245. The Teylers Museum, founded in 1778, is one of the oldest museums in the country, and the windmill by the Spaarne river is a landmark of its own.
Tip: Haarlem is the easy trip for a half day, since the train ride is so short. Look at the Haarlem tourist site for opening hours before you choose between Teylers and a walk along the river. The Grote Markt is at its best in the late afternoon, once the day-trippers have left.
17 to 19 minto Zaandijk Zaanse Schans station, a little over a kilometre from the village
about 18 min
A windmill village on the Zaan, reconstructed in the traditional Zaan style, where mills, workshops, houses and museums stand along the water. You can walk around the village for free; the windmills and some museums charge a fee.
Tip: It is the quickest of the trips and also the busiest, so go in the morning or in the last hours of the day. Entry to the village costs nothing, and the museums are free with a museum card or an I amsterdam card, so work out which ones you want before you queue. The Zaanse Schans site has a map of the mills.
The cheese town of North Holland, which received the right to weigh cheese in 1365 and still does it on the Waagplein. On market mornings the carriers in white clothes and straw hats run loaded sledges across the square.
Tip: The market runs every Friday from the last Friday in March to the last Friday in September, from 10 am to 1 pm, and begins with the ringing of a bell. Come early for a place at the front, because the square fills. On any other day it is a calm canal town. See the cheese market site for the current dates.
A university city with a medieval canal, the Oudegracht, whose wharf-level cellars now hold cafés. The Dom Tower, at 112 metres, is the tallest church tower in the Netherlands and the thing to climb.
Tip: Walk down to the water on the stairs by the bridges and sit at the wharf level, rather than on the street. A day here fits the Dom Tower, a canal-side lunch and an hour in the old centre. Check the NS planner for the time of the last train home.
A student town on the Oude Rijn with canals, home to the oldest university in the country, founded in 1575 by William of Orange. Its compact centre is easy to cover on foot.
Tip: It suits a slow day: wander, cross the canals and stop when the light is good. The evening view of the canal houses is the best of the trip. The Leiden tourist site lists what is open and which museums are worth the entry.
1 h 12 min to 1 h 15 minfrom Centraal, on the domestic intercity trains
about 1 h 6 min
A harbour city that looks nothing like Amsterdam, a modern city of towers and bold architecture beside the river Maas. The Markthal, a market hall under an arch of apartments, and the Erasmus Bridge are the sights to start with.
Tip: This is the longest trip, so make a full day of it. Spend the morning at the Markthal and the old harbour, and keep the Erasmus Bridge for the evening, when it is lit. The Rotterdam tourist site lists events and openings.
