Grote Markt
First-timersThe main square and the historic centre.
Haarlem city guide
Things To Do In Haarlem
Fifteen minutes from Amsterdam, with the same gabled houses and canals, a great market square, the oldest museum in the country and the beach down the road.
2
Hostels in the city
9.0
Average, from 1,467 reviews
15 min
To Amsterdam
1784
Teylers, the oldest museum
10 min
To the beach
Amsterdam's quieter neighbour
Haarlem is older than Amsterdam and was the more important city in the Middle Ages. It was the home of Frans Hals and a centre of the Dutch Golden Age, and its centre, around the Grote Markt and the great church of St Bavo, has barely changed since.
It has the same canals, gabled houses and bikes as Amsterdam, without the crowds, and a relaxed, prosperous feel. The North Sea beach at Zandvoort is fifteen minutes away by train, and the tulip fields and Keukenhof are close in spring.
Many travellers use Haarlem as a quieter, cheaper base for Amsterdam. Two days is right.
Where to stay
The centre is compact and walkable. Stay near the Grote Markt.
Station area
TransportNorth of the centre, for trains to Amsterdam.
Zandvoort
The beachThe seaside town ten minutes away.
Orange labels are neighbourhoods, dots are the 2 top-rated hostels. Map © MapTiler © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Things to do
Things to do in Haarlem
Start at the Grote Markt, one of the finest squares in the Netherlands, with the Grote Kerk of St Bavo. Inside is the great Müller organ, played by the ten-year-old Mozart.
The Frans Hals Museum, in an old almshouse, has the Golden Age portraits of the city's most famous painter. The Teylers Museum, opened in 1784, is the oldest museum in the country, with fossils, instruments and drawings by Michelangelo and Rembrandt in its original rooms.
The Corrie ten Boom House tells the story of a family who hid Jews during the Second World War. De Adriaan, a windmill on the river Spaarne, can be climbed.
Walk the hofjes, the hidden courtyards of old almshouses around the centre, many open to quiet visitors.
Free things
Free things to do in Haarlem
The Grote Markt, the canals and the old streets are free.
The hofjes, the almshouse courtyards, are free to enter quietly during the day.
The dunes of the Kennemerland national park, between Haarlem and the sea, are free to walk and cycle.
Food and drink
Eating and drinking in Haarlem
Haarlem has a good food scene for its size, with cafés and restaurants around the Grote Markt and in the Botermarkt.
The Saturday and Monday markets on the Grote Markt sell cheese, herring and stroopwafels.
The Jopenkerk, a brewery in a former church, serves its own beers. A meal is €14 to €22.
Nightlife
Going out in Haarlem
Haarlem's nightlife is relaxed: bars around the Grote Markt and Botermarkt, brown cafés and the brewery in the Jopenkerk.
For clubs, Amsterdam is fifteen minutes away.
A beer is €4 to €6.
Getting around
Getting around Haarlem
Haarlem is small and walkable.
Trains reach Amsterdam Centraal in about fifteen minutes and Zandvoort in about ten. Schiphol is about twenty-five minutes by bus or train. In spring, buses run to Keukenhof.
Tap a contactless bank card in and out on trains and buses.
Costs
What Haarlem costs
Haarlem is cheaper to stay in than Amsterdam, and many people use it as a base. A careful day is €50 to €70, including the train into Amsterdam.
Many places are card only, and some do not take credit cards.
Safety
Staying safe in Haarlem
Haarlem is very safe.
At Zandvoort, swim only where lifeguards are on duty.
Cycle lanes are for bikes, and bikes have priority. Do not walk in them, and look both ways before stepping off the pavement.
Emergency number is 112.
Day trips from Haarlem
The beach, the dunes and the tulips.
Zandvoort
The nearest North Sea beach to Amsterdam.
Keukenhof and the bulb fields
Tulips in the gardens and the fields around Lisse.
Amsterdam
The capital.
Kennemerland dunes
Dunes, forest and grazing bison.
What's on
What is on while you are there
Spring brings the flower parade through the bulb fields.
Staff pick
11–13 December
Christmas Market Haarlem
The Christmas Market in Haarlem, Netherlands, transforms the city center into a festive wonderland with nearly 350 stalls spread across 12 picturesque locations. Visitors…
Hostels
Where to stay in Haarlem
The top-rated places to stay in Haarlem right now, live from Hostelworld.
When to go
April and May for the tulips, June to September for the beach.
Jan
Cold, dark, cheapest beds of the year
Feb
Quiet
Mar
Tulip season opens at the end of the month
Apr
Tulips and Kingsday on the 27th
May
The best month
Jun
Long evenings, terraces full
Jul
Peak season
Aug
Still peak
Sep
Excellent and quieter
Oct
Cool, wet. Museum weather
Nov
Grey and cheap
Dec
Sinterklaas and Christmas markets
Bar height is temperature. Colour is how busy it gets:
quiet
busy
peak
Average highs.
What your trip will cost
Pick how you travel. Per person per night, in euros.
Transport assumes local trains and buses.
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- Beds—
- Food and drink—
- Getting around—
- Doing things—
Haarlem travel questions
The ones we get asked most.
Is Haarlem worth visiting?
Yes. It has the beauty of Amsterdam with fewer crowds, great museums and the beach nearby.
Can I stay in Haarlem and visit Amsterdam?
Yes. The train takes about fifteen minutes.
How far is the beach?
Zandvoort is about ten minutes by train.
Is Haarlem near the tulips?
Yes. Keukenhof and the bulb fields are close, with buses in spring.
How many days do you need?
Two.
What is a hofje?
A courtyard of old almshouses, often hidden behind a door in the street.
When is the best time to visit?
April and May for the tulips, summer for the beach.
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