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Haarlem
City in North Holland, Netherlands

Haarlem

Haarlem is a city and municipality in the Netherlands.

Plan a trip to Haarlem→From Rotterdam

It is the capital of the province of North Holland. Haarlem is situated at the northern edge of the Randstad, one of the most populated metropolitan areas in Europe; it is also part of the Amsterdam metropolitan area. Haarlem had a population of 162,543 in 2021.

Get in

Getting to Haarlem

Haarlem is well-connected by train, with trains from Amsterdam Centraal every 10 minutes. These take 15 min and may be for Leiden and Den Haag or for Alkmaar. From Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS IATA), take the frequent train towards Amsterdam Centraal and change at Sloterdijk.

  1. 01
    Station Haarlem
See

Worth seeing

Haarlem's main sights are its lovely historic centre and its fine art museums. You'll get a good idea of what the city has to offer by just wandering the streets in the centre for a while, as many monumental buildings and the most prominent museums are all there. The tourist information office can provide maps and walking routes as well as guides, if you don't want to miss anything.

  1. 01
    Grote Kerk
  2. 02
    Stadhuis

    After fires destroyed the Count's castle on this location in the 14th century, this city hall was built.

  3. 03
    Vleeshal

    From 1604 until the 18th century, the Meat Hall was the only place in town where it was permitted to sell fresh meat.

  4. 04
    Hoofdwacht

    Built in the 13th century, this is one of the oldest monuments in the city and the first century of its existence, it served as the first town hall.

  5. 05
    Stadsbibliotheek
  6. 06
    Hofje van Oorschot

    The city is notable for its many hofjes (almshouses) built around courtyards.

Do

Things to do

On summer days, hang out in the sun on Haarlem's Grote Markt (near the Grote Kerk) after a long day of shopping or go sightseeing in Haarlem's ancient city centre. Comic convention (Stripdagen Haarlem). late May to early June. In the even years (2024, 2026, etc.) the biggest Dutch comic book convention 'Stripdagen Haarlem' takes place all over Haarlem.

  1. 01
    De Toneelschuur
Eat

Where to eat

Scattered through the inner city, you'll find a large number of restaurants. There's something for everyone and every budget, with many different styles of restaurants and a broad variety of cuisines.

  1. 01
    Eet-Biercafé Bruxelles
  2. 02
    Restaurant het Pakhuis

    Gravinnesteeg 9, info@hetpakhuishaarlem.nl.

  3. 03
    Eetcafé de Linde

    Botermarkt 21, infocafedelinde@gmail.com.

  4. 04
    Babbels

    Lange Veerstraat 23, 2011 DA,.

  5. 05
    El Pincho
How locals move

Getting around Haarlem the local way

  • Get inDFDS operate an overnight ferry from Newcastle, UK to IJmuiden, which is only about 30 minutes from Haarlem by local bus.
  • Get inFrom the ferry terminal, it is a walk to Planetenweg (bus stop Zwaanstraat).

From Wikivoyage: Haarlem, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.

Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see Commons), Wikimedia Commons.