Top Things to do in South Holland Province
Top Restaurants in South Holland Province
10 Hidden Gems Things to do in South Holland Province That You Shouldn't Miss
Encompassing two of the Netherlands’ three largest cities (Rotterdam and The Hague), Zuid-Holland (South Holland) is also home to important towns like Leiden, Gouda and Delft. And many lovely smaller towns dot the gorgeous green landscape. Alphen aan den Rijn has several interesting attractions, including Dutch history theme park Archeon. Picturesque Kinderdijk, birthplace of the legend of the Cat and the Cradle, also has many windmills that together are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Restaurants in South Holland Province
1. Panorama Mesdag
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,992 reviews
A magnificent experience in time and space.
Reviewed By 512saskiav - Oisterwijk, The Netherlands
Awesome Panoramic scenery, hand painted end of 19th century. Overview of seaside fishing boats and little town. Take your time to view this awesome panoramic painting and indulge yourselves in this 19th century surrounding.
2. Museum Prinsenhof Delft
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 584 reviews
The Museum Prinsenhof Delft offers a unique opportunity to explore the history of the Netherlands, Delft and delftware. The museum is housed in a building of great historical importance, the site of some of the most dramatic and consequential events of Dutch history. It was once the court of William of Orange, the Father of the Dutch Nation. In the museum you will also discover the role the citizens of Delft played in the history of the Netherlands and how delftware became the global brand it is today.
Reviewed By FamVanV - The Hague, The Netherlands
Great to have almost 30 paintings from all over the world of Golden Age (Gouden Eeuw) painter Pieter de Hooch in his creative home town Delft. The Prinsenhof museum is a historical place that does right to De Hooch’s paintings. Although PDH might not be as famous as his contemporary colleague from Delft, Vermeer, this temporary exhibition (till 16 February 2020!) is definitely worthwhile a visit to Delft in the next few weeks!
3. Huis Sonneveld
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 279 reviews
Reviewed By Carlvanloey - Edegem, Belgium
Amazing how every little detail is still well preserved. It gives an impressive view on how ‘modern architecture’ was those days To me an absolute highlight of our visit to Rotterdam MUST DO
4. National Museum of Antiquities (Rijksmuseum van Oudheden)
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 546 reviews
The National Museum of Antiquities is housed in an old monumental building and ‘Begijnhof’. It is the Dutch centre for archaeology. A large part of the collection consists of objects related to ancient Egypt. Unique is the two thousand year old Egyptian temple in the central hall of the museum. Besides ancient Egypt, the museum covers the Middle East, the Classical world and the early history of the Netherlands. The entire collection consists of more than 80,000 objects, including statues of Roman emperors, Etruscan tomb finds and mummies.
Reviewed By 500dank - The Hague, The Netherlands
Had a wonderful visit with my family. Loved the collection which is marvellous! Especially the artefacts covering ancient Egyptian time. To my personal opinion, only the British Museum in London can match this. The temporary exhibit (untill 15 march 2020) was on Cyprus. The museum consists of three floorws and is housed in a fantastic, historical building, in the middle of the historical town centre of Leiden (Rapenburg). It's completely accessible: we brought our 8 month old son in his buggy and had no problems in navigating the museum. Baby changing facilities are located in the disabled toilet on the ground floor. In the entrance hall of the museum you can find and visit the Temple of Taffeh (free of charge, as it is before the ticket barriers), which was gifted to the Netherlands. The audio tour is free of charge too (but behind the ticket barriers). Museum staff was very friendly and helpful. One note in regard to parking: some reviews here complain about parking, but this has absolutely nothing to do with the museum itself. People who complain about parking, have themselves to blame for not planning their journey properly: The museum is located in the middle of the historical city centre of Leiden. so it's completely logical that there isn't a large parking garage to accommodate visitors. My advice is to plan your journey ahead, be sure you know where to park in Leiden or check the museum website if you don't and/or are not familiar with the historical centre of Leiden. If you come by public transport: the museum is about a ten minute walk away from the Leiden Central station. Concluding this review: this is a must visit if you like museums with ancient artefacts!
5. Sint-Janskerk
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 528 reviews
THE LONGEST CHURCH OF THE NETHERLANDS The great fire of 1552 destroyed much of the medieval church of Saint John. Shortly after the disaster, the council commissioned the reconstruction of the most startling church of Holland. With 123 meters it is also the longest church in The Netherlands THE 72 STAINED-GLASS WINDOWS ARE WORLD-FAMOUS Entering the Church of St. John, one falls silent at the sight of the majestic space with the 72 world-famous stained-glass windows. That first experience will only get stronger when you see the marvellous light by the 'Dutch Masters' invading the Church. The rich history of Holland can be read in the large windows. It is a beginning of an impressive discovery along biblical and historical scenes of human emotions. Then you understand that the Gouda St. John is one of the highest rated attractions in the Netherlands!
Reviewed By exploringwithjune - The Netherlands, null
After visiting the museum we stopped by the church. As we'd already learned so much at the museum, we just wanted to pop in for half an hour. Therefore we didn't take an audio tour, which is included in the price, and instead walked around by ourselves. We received a leaflet with some information, which highlighted a couple of the gorgeous stained glass windows. We struggled finding the right numbers to go with the texts at times, but overall it was a lovely way to see the church and to learn something while wandering around. The architecture is really impressive and the windows are pure art. Some windows that interested us weren't included in the leaflet, but it is logical that choices had to be made. If we hadn't gone to the museum, we would've probably also gotten the audio tour as I can imagine that it's way more complete. The church also has a little gift shop with a good variety of products . We entered for free as we both have a museumkaart. Regular prices are 9 euros for adults, 5,25 for kids aged 13-17 and kids under 13 can visit for free. I definitely think this is really pricey for a church. If you visit with a family and, just like us, want to walk around for a short while, it will set you back 30 euros for a relatively quick visit. I can imagine that that can be a lot of money for some families. Also, I think it is really important for kids to see churches like these and learn about the history and architecture, so it should be made more accessible. With commissioning these prices; I think they put off people from visiting. Also, many other impressive churches in our country are free. If I hadn't had my museumkaart, I would probably not have gone in. Concluding, it was a lovely visit but I do wish that they would reconsider their prices.
6. Louwman Museum The Hague
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,944 reviews
The Louwman Museum is home to the world's oldest private collection of motor cars, compiled by two generations of the Louwman family. The museum dates back to 1934 and now comprises over two hundred and fifty antique and classic motor cars. Experts regard the collection as one of the most beautiful in the World. The museum exudes passion. Each car has its own story to tell, its own contribution to history. The motor car is a mirror of culture. The collection is housed in a purpose-built museum in The Hague, the city where P.W. Louwman established his Dodge and Chrysler import company. The building, designed by American architect Michael Graves, blends in sympathetically with its historic surroundings. The landscape gardens, designed by Lodewijk Baljon, complement the architecture of the building.
Reviewed By _satulagi66 - Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Don't know where to start. Beautiful building, gardens, a really nice collection of cars and everything that goes with cars, a nice restaurant or more like little village with shops at the end of your tour. Very very nice collection of cars. You start at the 2nd floor and you easily spent 2 hours without having seen any car twice or having spent too much time reading what you have seen. The website is very informative and you can do some pre reading if you want to. Beside the cars they have a large collection of engines types, clearly visible how they work, model cars, car accessories you name it they have it.
7. FutureLand
8. Schiedam Windmills
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 97 reviews
The eight Schiedam windmills are officially the highest classical windmills in the world. The eight mills are surrounding the inner city of Schiedam, and it is easy to walk from one to the other. A must-see for travellers visiting the Rotterdam, Delft and Den Haag area. The Windmill De Walvisch (which is both a museum and a shop) is where most tours start, either by foot or by boat, as there is a tour boat (called the whisper boat) embarking at the entrance of the museum and sails around the canal that surrounds all of Schiedam with a tour guide. The museum is operated by the Jenever Museum (Dutch gin museum) and is currently closed due to Corona. The shop in Walvich offers a wide range of traditional and healthy biological flour products made in windmill De Vrijheid. The Walvich shop is currently open from Wednesday to Saturday.
Reviewed By Mactoek - Schiedam, The Netherlands
Nice scenic walking tour across the old historical city of Schiedam. Enjoy the museum and see how they turn on the wheel of the windmill.
9. Japanese Garden
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 587 reviews
Reviewed By ViolettaM239 - The Hague, The Netherlands
Open usually in May and two weeks in October, the Japanese garden receives more and more visitors each year. Photography and theme photo shoot lovers can't miss the garden in blossom. It's a modest size garden, well curated and looked after. Weekdays visit may be better as on a weekend the place is too busy to have any pleasurable impression and idea of the garden the essence of which- to rejoice with nature in harmony, solitude and silence.
10. Het Keringhuis
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 138 reviews
The Keringhuis shows how we still manage to keep our feet dry in the water-rich Province of Zuid Holland. At the interactive Watervertelplein you can decide whether there is a storm, a heavy downpour or blazing snshine. Discover how the Maeslant storm surge barrier works. Or go outside and get hands-on experience with pumps and sandbags in the water playground. Guided tours are avaiable to individual visitors, check our website for current dates and times. It is also possible to book a private tour for groups. Both tours will take you outside, beside the imposing Maeslant storm surge barrier wher we will explain exactly how it works.
Reviewed By AliciaV146
As an Engineer, I really wanted to experience Dutch Flood control engineering and was determined to see the Maeslant Storm Surge Barrier in Hoek van Holland. I had booked a 2 pm tour. This gate is part of the intricate Delta Works that protect the Netherlands against storm surges from the North Sea. We had a bit of difficulty getting there (we were going to take the train from Amsterdam to Delft, rent bikes and ride to the site). Our train disembarked in Harlaam - and we were told that there was a problem on the tracks ahead and we would have to go back to Amsterdam. We did - and took a train to Rotterdam - and then took a taxi to the site (very expensive). Because of this delay - we missed our tour. When we arrived - I explained the situation to the receptionist, Diny - who was amazing!!! She asked one of the tour guides to give us a private tour, because she felt bad for us. Our guide was great - answering all our questions, teaching us about the complex levels of flood protection that the Netherlands has developed. They are truly the leaders in Flood Control and Protection Engineering! The museum itself is self guided and you can download an audio guide in your language. Make sure you try to get on one of the tours - it's the only way you can get up close and see the barrier. One more thing - we have to thank Diny again. We tried to call a cab to bring us to the bus station in Hoek Van Holland on our way home (to prevent us from another expensive cab ride back to Rotterdam). They did not answer - and Diny offered to drive us to the bus station about 5 miles away. She was great!!! I cannot praise her enough - we had such difficulty getting there - and she made our trip there and back worth it all! Something to note for future travelers - they are currently building a high speed rail out to the Hoek Van Holland station (which is now closed to train traffic). Hopefully in the near future it will be easier to get to this Engineering Marvel.
