Tour highlights of Den Helder

Your route starts at Camperplaats Jachtwerf Willemsoord. With sea on three sides, Den Helder has a unique location. Napoleon Bonaparte also noticed this. In 1811, he called the town the Gibraltar of the North. The ideal place to station a naval fleet. And the rest is history. Every Dutch person now knows Den Helder because of the eponymous fortification and naval base. This walking route takes you to one of those old forts, Fort Dirksz. Admiraal. The fort was built by the French in 1813. At the end of the nineteenth century, it was provided with bomb-proof shelters, with rooms for the men and gunpowder magazines. During the Second World War, the Germans placed an anti-aircraft battery on top of the old barracks. You walk back through the city centre of Den Helder.