Noordwijk, Zandvoort and the Bulb Region

The old fishing village of Noordwijk aan Zee is now a busy seaside resort: more than a million people come to spend the night there every year. The Noordwijk lighthouse is made of brick and reinforced concrete. It has six floors and 108 steps. The tower is now used for communication by the KNRM and by radio amateurs.

You cycle along the North Sea coast and along the Amsterdam Water Supply Dunes. This dune area provides the city of Amsterdam with drinking water. Water has been extracted in this oldest water extraction area in the Netherlands since 1853. You can't cycle there, but for those who want to leave the bike behind for a while, it is a wonderful walking area. Between cycle junctions 82 and 72 you will find De Oranjekom Visitor Center, located in a beautifully restored pump station. You will learn everything about the Amsterdam Water Supply Dunes.

The return journey takes you through the dazzling display of colors of the bulb fields. The Bulb Region developed towards the end of the 16th century and in the 17th century. The overwhelming flowering of the bulbs now attracts more than a million visitors from all over the world every spring. After the crocuses bloom, the colorful flowering of tulips, daffodils and hyacinths begins at the end of March and continues until May. In late summer you can enjoy gladioli, dahlias, carnations and asters.

You cycle for a while along the Keukenhof Castle estate. Most people know the Keukenhof flower park estate, which attracts approximately 800,000 visitors from all over the world every year.

Zandvoort was called Sandevoerde in 1100: a composition of sand and furrow. For centuries the village lived from fishing, but in the 19th century other sources of livelihood emerged. Across the sea, in the United Kingdom, sea bathing emerged. This custom was also adopted in Zandvoort. The first bathhouse was put into use in 1828. After an electric tram connection with Haarlem in 1899, and later with Amsterdam, Zandvoort bathing tourism grew enormously.