What to see in Netherlands: 10 must-sees

Stop in the city of canals, where 1,500 bridges, 1,550 monuments, and cultural life create a metropolis with the soul of a village. Founded in 1275, Amsterdam was the capital of world trade in the 17th century. Stop in this city where architecture, markets, and everyday life create a vibrant atmosphere. Wander its streets, admire its monuments, and discover the local culture. The city blends tradition and modernity in a fascinating cultural mosaic.

Stop in The Hague, seat of the Dutch government and the International Court of Justice, which sits in the Peace Palace, open for guided visits. At the Mauritshuis you'll see Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring and works by Rembrandt; the Binnenhof houses parliament beside the Hofvijver pond. Head to the Scheveningen seafront for a stroll along De Pier, and try raw herring with onions at the harbor stalls, just as the locals eat it.

Cross the Erasmus Bridge and you'll understand why Rotterdam was rebuilt as an architecture laboratory after its center was destroyed in 1940. Walk among Piet Blom's cube houses, step into the Markthal with its giant mural, and go up the Euromast tower to see Europe's largest port in full swing. Every corner of the city adds a bold building: Central Station, the Boijmans Museum Depot, or Rem Koolhaas's blocks. After dark, the bars of Witte de Withstraat and the old docks of Katendrecht complete a city that never stops reinventing itself.

Discover the hiding place of the "Achterhuis", the rear annex of the canal house at Prinsengracht 263 where Anne Frank wrote her famous diary during the occupation. Walk through the rooms hidden behind the revolving bookcase, and see the height marks on the wall and the photos the young girl pinned up in her room. Book your ticket in advance, because visits sell out weeks ahead in high season.

Wander through the 32 hectares of Keukenhof, in South Holland, where 7 million bulbs bloom every spring in stripes of tulips, hyacinths, and daffodils. Follow the paths past ponds, windmills, and pavilions with floral exhibitions, and climb the lookout for views of the Bollenstreek bulb fields surrounding the park. The gardens open only from March to May, when the color is at its most intense.

Cruise the canals of Kinderdijk and discover the 19 eighteenth-century windmills that have drained South Holland's polders for 300 years. Walk or cycle along the dikes, step inside a museum windmill, and watch as its sails keep moving the water. This hydraulic engineering complex, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997, shows how the Dutch won land from the sea.

Cruise the canals of Zaanse Schans and explore on foot this village in North Holland where eighteenth-century windmills still operate along the Zaan river. Step into the workshops to see how wooden clogs are made and cheese is produced using traditional methods, and watch the mill sails grinding spices, pigments, and oil. Stroll among the green wooden houses relocated from nearby villages, cross the bridges over the water, and chat with the artisans who keep Dutch rural life alive just as it was three centuries ago.