# Haarlem A Grote Markt with a Gothic church, the oldest museum in the country, Frans Hals and a windmill on the river. 15 minutes by train from Amsterdam and a base for Keukenhof. Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/the-netherlands/haarlem · Revisado: 2026-11-12 Haarlem is the city many Dutch people recommend when you tell them Amsterdam has overwhelmed you. It has canals, stepped-gable houses, one of the prettiest main squares in the country and first-rate museums, but with half the crowds and a quarter of an hour away by train. You can see it in a day from Amsterdam; with a night, you really enjoy it, and in spring it is the best base for the tulip fields and Keukenhof. ## How do I get there from Amsterdam? By train from Amsterdam Centraal: about fifteen minutes and several trains an hour. The station is ten minutes on foot from the Grote Markt. You pay by tapping a contactless card when you enter and leave. Driving is not worth it for the city; it is in spring, for touring the bulb fields towards Lisse. ## What to see in a day? Start in the Grote Markt, with the town hall, the old meat hall and the Grote Kerk of St Bavo, huge and full of light, with its famous organ and the tomb of Frans Hals (€4, closed on Sundays). Then choose a museum: the Frans Hals, for the group portraits by the city's painter, or the Teylers, the oldest museum in the country, a cabinet of fossils and scientific instruments that children love. Both are closed on Mondays. For lunch, a paper cone of chips from De Haerlemsche Vlaamse on the square or a table at the Jopenkerk, a church converted into a brewery. In the afternoon, cross the Spaarne to the De Adriaan windmill and climb up to its gallery, or tour the centre on the Spaarne boat trip. In between, look for the hofjes, courtyards of former almshouses hidden behind doors in the streets of the centre; go in quietly, because they are still lived in. ## And Keukenhof? The most famous flower park in the world is in Lisse, about 20 kilometres south of Haarlem, and in 2027 it is open from 18 March to 9 May, from 8:00 to 19:00. Tickets are bought online with a time slot, from €21 for adults. Haarlem is a better base than Amsterdam: you are closer, you sleep in a pleasant city and you can set off early to get in at 8:00, ahead of the coaches. The Keukenhof page has the rules and prices. The surrounding fields, between Haarlem and Leiden, can be toured by bike or by car. ## Where to sleep? The Hotel Lion d'Or, next to the station, is the oldest city hotel in town; the Hotel Carillon, simple, is right on the Grote Markt, and the Stayokay Haarlem has free parking and breakfast included. For a special dinner, Ratatouille Food & Wine, with a Michelin star, beside the river. ## When to go? From mid-March to early May, for the flowers; in September, for the light and the calm. In winter Haarlem is quiet and the museums are the plan. Avoid Mondays if you want museums: the Frans Hals and the Teylers are closed, and St Bavo is closed on Sundays. ## Dónde está - Cerca: Zaanse Schans (a 16.0 km), Amsterdam (a 17.5 km), Leiden (a 27.0 km), Alkmaar (a 28.9 km) ## Qué hacer - **Grote Kerk of St Bavo on the Grote Markt** (45 min · All ages · €4 · free up to age 12 with an adult): The Grote Kerk, or Sint-Bavokerk, closes one side of the Grote Markt, Haarlem's main square, and can be seen from all over the centre. Inside it is huge and full of light, with wooden vaults, ship models hanging from the ceiling and one of the most famous organs in Europe, which still sounds in concerts. In the floor is the gravestone of Frans Hals, the city's painter. It is open Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 17:00; on Sunday it is closed to visitors. Admission costs €4 and children up to age 12 enter free with an adult. On Saturdays there is a guided visit for €7. If you coincide with an organ concert, it is worth staying. - **Frans Hals Museum** (1 h 30 · Adults and teenagers · €18.50 adults · free up to age 18 · €9 for ages 19 to 24): Frans Hals painted in Haarlem all his life, and here are his great group portraits: militiamen at a banquet and regents of almshouses, with a looseness of brushwork that Manet and Van Gogh admired centuries later. The museum occupies a former 17th-century almshouse around a garden courtyard, five minutes on foot from the Grote Markt, at Groot Heiligland 62. It is open Tuesday to Sunday from 11:00 to 17:00. It costs €18.50 and under-19s enter free. An hour and a half is enough to see it well; if you only have one museum in Haarlem, choose between this one, for painting, and the Teylers, for curiosity. - **Keukenhof and the tulip fields, in spring** (3 h 30 · All ages · From €21 adults online · from €11 for ages 4 to 17): Every spring, the Keukenhof park, in Lisse, about twenty kilometres south of Haarlem, plants millions of bulbs that bloom in turn: first crocuses, daffodils and hyacinths, then the big tulips. Around it, the fields of the bulb region are painted in stripes of colour. It is only open for about eight weeks a year. 2027 dates and tickets Keukenhof is open from 18 March to 9 May 2027, every day from 8:00 to 19:00 (last entry at 18:15). Tickets are bought online with a time slot: from €21 for adults and from €11 for ages 4 to 17; at the ticket office, €27. Parking costs €10 when bought with the ticket. Dogs are admitted on a lead, one per visitor, but not in the pavilions. When to go The blooming depends on each year's weather, so there is no fixed date for the best moment: early in the season the early bulbs dominate and the big tulips come later. Check the bloom report on its website before buying. The park is quieter before 10:30 and after 16:00; on April weekends, at midday, it fills up. How to get there from Haarlem Haarlem is the most convenient base: it is closer than Amsterdam and a pleasant city to sleep in. In season there are bus and ticket combinations; check the park's website for the year's options before you go. By car, it is about twenty kilometres along roads among flower fields. - **Teylers Museum, an 18th-century cabinet of curiosities** (1 h 30 · All ages · €18.50 adults · €2.50 ages 6 to 17 · free up to 5): The oldest museum in the Netherlands opened in 1784 beside the river Spaarne and has kept its Oval Room almost intact: wooden display cases with fossils, minerals and scientific machines, under skylight. Further on are fossil rooms with mammoth skulls and marine reptiles, physics instruments with enormous electrical generators, coins and a collection of drawings by Rembrandt, Michelangelo and Raphael that is exhibited in rotation. It is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 17:00, at Spaarne 16. Children aged 6 to 17 pay only €2.50, so it is a very good family visit, especially if it rains. - **De Adriaan windmill on the Spaarne** (45 min · From age 5; steep stairs · €7.50 adults and over-12s · €3.50 ages 5 to 12): Haarlem's windmill rises on the remains of a tower of the old city wall, on the bank of the Spaarne, ten minutes on foot from the Grote Markt. It is a reconstruction that works: with wind, it grinds, and the guided visit climbs through its floors to the gallery, with the city and the river at your feet. On the ground floor they sell tickets and there is a shop and café. From March to October it is open every day from 10:30 to 17:00; in winter, shorter hours. It costs €7.50 (€3.50 for ages 5 to 12) and does not admit under-5s. It is currently wrapped in scaffolding for restoration, but can be visited. - **Boat trip on the Spaarne and the canals of Haarlem** (50 min · All ages · From €17.98): Haarlem is crossed by the river Spaarne and a handful of canals, and from the boat you see a different city: the De Adriaan windmill, the façade of the Teylers, the warehouses and the drawbridges that open to let you through. Smidtje leaves from the Boothuys, at Spaarne 11A, two minutes from the Grote Markt, with a 50-minute trip around the old town from €17.98 and longer ones of up to an hour and a half. Dogs are not allowed on board. ## Dónde comer - **Jopenkerk** (Bar, Haarlem, €€). Qué pedir: the pairing of three Jopen beers with a bite each, with a reservation. - **Ratatouille Food & Wine** (Restaurant, Haarlem, €€€€). Qué pedir: the four-course menu at midday, Thursday to Sunday, with wine pairing. - **De Haerlemsche Vlaamse** (Takeaway, Haarlem, €). Qué pedir: a medium cone with mayonnaise. ## By plane: Fly to Amsterdam and a quarter-hour train ride Haarlem is about 15 minutes by train from Amsterdam Centraal and very close to Schiphol, Amsterdam's airport, with direct flights from Madrid, Barcelona and many other Spanish cities. You can use it as a base instead of Amsterdam: it is quieter, a little cheaper and in spring closer to the flower fields and Keukenhof. ### Dónde dormir if you're flying - **Hotel Lion d'Or** (Hotel): The place Haarlem's oldest city hotel, renovated with a contemporary feel but without losing its façade. It has 56 rooms for one to four people, all with a modern bathroom, a café lounge to plan the day and a 24-hour reception. Why here It is a step from the station, so it is perfect if you travel by train: Amsterdam, Schiphol and Zandvoort beach are a few minutes away, and the Grote Markt is ten on foot. It has its own parking and a bike garage, useful if you are going to tour the flower fields in spring. Practical details Check-in is from 15:00 and check-out before 12:00. The buffet breakfast costs €17.50 and is served from 7:00 to 11:00. The whole hotel is smoke-free. - **Stayokay Haarlem** (Hostel): The place A Stayokay network hostel in a white house beside a canal, in the north of Haarlem, with shared and private rooms, all with shower and toilet. Breakfast is included and there is dinner in the evening. They hire out bikes. Who it is for For families and travellers with a car: parking is free and has an electric charger, a rarity in Haarlem. Without a car, bus 2 leaves from Haarlem station and stops at the door. The Kennemerland dunes and Bloemendaal beach are close by bike. - **Hotel Carillon** (Small hotel): The place A small, simple hotel above the Carillon eetcafé, in a historic building on the Grote Markt, with the church of St Bavo opposite. The rooms are compact: the doubles have their own shower and toilet, wifi and television, and there are basic singles with a shared bathroom. Who it is for For those who prioritise sleeping in the exact centre of Haarlem while spending little and need nothing more than a clean bed. Downstairs, the café serves breakfasts and lunches and has the square's terrace. It has no parking: if you arrive by car, use the public car parks in the centre. ### Servicios - **Haarlem station**: About 15 minutes by train from Amsterdam Centraal; ten minutes on foot to the Grote Markt. Also trains to Leiden and to Zandvoort beach. ## Car-free: Haarlem by train and on foot Haarlem can be done entirely on foot from the station, and the train links it with Amsterdam, Leiden and Zandvoort beach several times an hour. The budget per person per day includes a mid-range double room, food and the train from Amsterdam. Presupuesto orientativo: 100–170 € por persona y día. ### Dónde dormir without a car - **Hotel Lion d'Or** (Hotel): The place Haarlem's oldest city hotel, renovated with a contemporary feel but without losing its façade. It has 56 rooms for one to four people, all with a modern bathroom, a café lounge to plan the day and a 24-hour reception. Why here It is a step from the station, so it is perfect if you travel by train: Amsterdam, Schiphol and Zandvoort beach are a few minutes away, and the Grote Markt is ten on foot. It has its own parking and a bike garage, useful if you are going to tour the flower fields in spring. Practical details Check-in is from 15:00 and check-out before 12:00. The buffet breakfast costs €17.50 and is served from 7:00 to 11:00. The whole hotel is smoke-free. - **Stayokay Haarlem** (Hostel): The place A Stayokay network hostel in a white house beside a canal, in the north of Haarlem, with shared and private rooms, all with shower and toilet. Breakfast is included and there is dinner in the evening. They hire out bikes. Who it is for For families and travellers with a car: parking is free and has an electric charger, a rarity in Haarlem. Without a car, bus 2 leaves from Haarlem station and stops at the door. The Kennemerland dunes and Bloemendaal beach are close by bike. - **Hotel Carillon** (Small hotel): The place A small, simple hotel above the Carillon eetcafé, in a historic building on the Grote Markt, with the church of St Bavo opposite. The rooms are compact: the doubles have their own shower and toilet, wifi and television, and there are basic singles with a shared bathroom. Who it is for For those who prioritise sleeping in the exact centre of Haarlem while spending little and need nothing more than a clean bed. Downstairs, the café serves breakfasts and lunches and has the square's terrace. It has no parking: if you arrive by car, use the public car parks in the centre. ### Servicios - **Haarlem station**: About 15 minutes by train from Amsterdam Centraal; ten minutes on foot to the Grote Markt. Also trains to Leiden and to Zandvoort beach. ## By car: Haarlem by car, with the flower fields next door A car makes sense in Haarlem mainly in spring, for touring the bulb fields between Haarlem and Lisse and reaching Keukenhof first thing. In the centre, leave it parked: everything is done on foot. The budget includes sleeping, food, petrol and parking. Presupuesto orientativo: 110–180 € por persona y día. ### Dónde dormir if you're driving - **Hotel Lion d'Or** (Hotel): The place Haarlem's oldest city hotel, renovated with a contemporary feel but without losing its façade. It has 56 rooms for one to four people, all with a modern bathroom, a café lounge to plan the day and a 24-hour reception. Why here It is a step from the station, so it is perfect if you travel by train: Amsterdam, Schiphol and Zandvoort beach are a few minutes away, and the Grote Markt is ten on foot. It has its own parking and a bike garage, useful if you are going to tour the flower fields in spring. Practical details Check-in is from 15:00 and check-out before 12:00. The buffet breakfast costs €17.50 and is served from 7:00 to 11:00. The whole hotel is smoke-free. - **Stayokay Haarlem** (Hostel): The place A Stayokay network hostel in a white house beside a canal, in the north of Haarlem, with shared and private rooms, all with shower and toilet. Breakfast is included and there is dinner in the evening. They hire out bikes. Who it is for For families and travellers with a car: parking is free and has an electric charger, a rarity in Haarlem. Without a car, bus 2 leaves from Haarlem station and stops at the door. The Kennemerland dunes and Bloemendaal beach are close by bike. ## As a family: Haarlem with the family Haarlem is Amsterdam in miniature and without the stress, and works very well with children: cheap museums for them, a windmill you can climb, a boat on the river and, in spring, Keukenhof. ### What works best The Teylers Museum, with fossils and machines, €2.50 for ages 6 to 17 The De Adriaan windmill, from age 5 The boat on the Spaarne Keukenhof, from March to May ### Where to sleep Stayokay Haarlem, with breakfast and free parking ### Where to eat De Haerlemsche Vlaamse, chips on the square Jopenkerk, open all day ### Bear in mind The church of St Bavo and the Frans Hals museum close one day a week (Sunday and Monday) ### Qué hacer as a family - Grote Kerk of St Bavo on the Grote Markt - Keukenhof and the tulip fields, in spring - Teylers Museum, an 18th-century cabinet of curiosities - De Adriaan windmill on the Spaarne - Boat trip on the Spaarne and the canals of Haarlem ## With young children: Haarlem with small children With small children, Haarlem is comfortable: short distances, pedestrian streets and easy stops. Leave the Frans Hals for another occasion. ### What works best Keukenhof in spring, flat and good for pushchairs The boat on the Spaarne The Oval Room and the fossils at the Teylers, free up to age 5 ### Where to sleep Stayokay Haarlem, with cots and parking ### Where to eat De Haerlemsche Vlaamse, to eat on the square ### Bear in mind The De Adriaan windmill does not admit under-5s ### Qué hacer with young children - Keukenhof and the tulip fields, in spring - Teylers Museum, an 18th-century cabinet of curiosities - Boat trip on the Spaarne and the canals of Haarlem ## With teenagers: Haarlem with teenagers Teenagers like Haarlem for the freedom: it is small, safe and a quarter of an hour from Amsterdam. Give them an afternoon for the Grote Markt and the shopping streets. ### What works best Climbing the De Adriaan windmill The Frans Hals, free up to age 18 The Teylers, with its electrical machines and fossils The church of St Bavo and its organ ### Where to sleep Hotel Lion d'Or, beside the station ### Where to eat Jopenkerk, in a church ### Bear in mind Keukenhof bores them if they do not like flowers: combine it with a bike ride through the fields ### Qué hacer with teenagers - Grote Kerk of St Bavo on the Grote Markt - Frans Hals Museum - Keukenhof and the tulip fields, in spring - Teylers Museum, an 18th-century cabinet of curiosities - De Adriaan windmill on the Spaarne ## Consejos ### Do not go on a Monday The Frans Hals and the Teylers are closed. St Bavo is closed on Sundays. ### Get into Keukenhof at 8:00 From Haarlem you arrive before the groups coming from Amsterdam. ### Look for the hofjes The hidden courtyards of the former almshouses are the prettiest thing in the city. Go in quietly. ## Preguntas frecuentes ### How long does it take from Amsterdam to Haarlem? About 15 minutes by train from Amsterdam Centraal. ### Is Haarlem worth it if you are already going to Amsterdam? Yes: it is quieter, has two excellent museums and in spring is the best base for Keukenhof. ### When does Keukenhof open in 2027? From 18 March to 9 May 2027, every day from 8:00 to 19:00. ### Which museum should I choose, Frans Hals or Teylers? The Frans Hals if you are interested in painting; the Teylers if you are with children or like cabinets of curiosities. ### Can you sleep in Haarlem and visit Amsterdam? Yes, with the quarter-hour train. Many people do it to pay less and sleep more peacefully.