The beautiful city center of Haarlem

With its almost 1200 national monuments, you can rightly call Haarlem a beautiful historic city. This route takes you through the old center, but also through the Haarlemmerhout and Zuid-Kennemerland National Park.

Historic Haarlem
As befits a historic city center, the old center of Haarlem is also surrounded by canals and canals. You will find many old streets and characteristic monuments there. On the Grote Markt there are historic buildings such as the meat hall from 1603 and the beautiful medieval St. Bavo Church. The City Hall originally dates from 1370. Take a break to enjoy the charm of Haarlem at your leisure.

Defense Line of Amsterdam
The route also takes you along the wooded edge of Zuid-Kennemerland National Park. It is wonderful to travel for miles through this quiet and beautiful nature reserve. Along the Spaarne you will pass two forts from the Defense Line of Amsterdam: Fort Bezuiden Spaarndam and Fort Benoorden Spaarndam. You also drive through the Spaarnwoude nature reserve. 

Oldest urban forest in the Netherlands

The route also takes you through the Haarlemmerhout, the oldest urban forest in the Netherlands. After this forest was cut down during the Eighty Years' War, it was replanted in 1603 for the wealthy traders who had built their country estates in the area. Under the leadership of the famous landscape gardener Leonard Springer, the forest was thinned out at the beginning of the twentieth century. Paths were paved and flower bulbs planted, so that the forest looked more like a park.