Best Things to Do in The Hague

The best things to do in The Hague, or Den Haag in Dutch, include seeing the Dutch Parliament Building, the Mauritshuis Museum, and the Peace Palace.

Binnenhof (Inner Court) and Parliament Buildings

The 13th-century Knights’ Hall (or Riderzaal) stands at the centre of the old Dutch Parliament Buildings, or Binnenhof. Parliament today meets in modern buildings on the south side of the complex, but the King still delivers an annual speech to Parliament from his throne in the Riderzaal. The only way to see round is on one of the regular guided tours.
Binnenhof
070 364 6144
rijksoverheid.nl

Escher in the Palace

The Lange Voorhout Palace in the old city centre was once a royal palace but inside it now you’ll find the world’s biggest collection of work by the Dutch graphic artist, Maurits Cornelis Escher. Almost everything he ever did is housed here, including his most famous ‘impossible’ works such as Waterfall, where water appears to flow uphill.
Lange Voorhout 74
070 427 7730
escherinhetpaleis.nl

 Kunstmuseum Den Haag (Art Museum)

The city’s main art and crafts museum, the Kunstmuseum, has some good art by mostly modern artists, including Picasso and Kandinsky. Its main attraction is a large collection by the leading 20th century Dutch artist, Piet Mondriaan, including his very last work before he died in 1944, Victory Boogie Woogie.

There’s some Delft pottery too, and local silver, for which Den Haag is well-known. There’s also a collection of musical instruments, of fashion and of photography, with changing temporary exhibitions. Don’t be put off by the rather dull exterior, there are some magical things through those doors.
Stadhouderslaan 41
070 338 1111
kunstmuseum.nl

Gevangenpoort (Prison Gate)

The collection of torture instruments and the torture room always get people’s attention here, but there’s a lot else to see in this 15th-century former prison, including the cells, of course. You have to join a guided tour, which are on the hour, but you might want to ring ahead to check which language the tour is going to be in. There are extra English language tours in summer.
Buitenhof 33
070 346 0861
gevangenpoort.nl

Haags Historisch Museum (Historical Museum)

Masterpieces of Dutch History is the theme here, telling the story of the Netherlands and of Den Haag in particular. Some of it might be a bit dry but there are also temporary exhibitions too, such as the connection between The Hague and the Dutch East Indies.
Korte Vijverberg 7
070 364 6940
haagshistorischmuseum.nl

Capital Idea

Although the Dutch Parliament is in Den Haag, leading many people to assume it is the country’s capital, that honour belongs to Amsterdam. Den Haag is the administrative and royal capital of The Netherlands, and capital of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. 

Madurodam (Model Town)

From Schiphol Airport to the bulb fields, from Delft to Utrecht and from Den Haag’s Peace Palace to Amsterdam’s Royal Palace, the edited highlights of Holland are all here compressed into one vast miniature city, if that’s not a contradiction in terms.
George Maduroplein 1
070 416 2400
madurodam.nl

Mauritshuis Museum

Artists from Rembrandt to Andy Warhol are on display in this stunning neo-classical building next to the Binnenhof. Warhol probably didn’t paint many royal portraits, and it’s typical of the Netherlands that he did paint Queen Beatrix. Also on display here is Vermeer’s world-famous Girl with a Pearl Earring. There are also paintings here by Rubens, Van Hals, Jan Steen and Van Dijck.
Korte Vijverberg 8
070 302 3435
mauritshuis.nl

Panorama Mesdag

This unusual attraction just has to be seen as you won’t have experienced anything quite like it. It’s a 360-degree cylindrical painting of the sand dunes at the nearby seaside resort of Scheveningen, and you stand inside and marvel at it. It’s about 14m/46ft high and was done by the noted 19th-century local artist, Hendrik Willem Mesdag. It’s a charming yet slightly surreal experience.
Zeestraat 65
070 364 4544/310 6665
panorama-mesdag.com

 Scheveningen

It only takes about 15 minutes on a tram to get to this beach resort, which is almost a suburb of Den Haag. It’s a really relaxing contrast if you’ve spent a few days here or in Amsterdam, to get out and do seaside things like walk along the beach, look at the pier and the grand old seafront buildings, or visit the impressive aquarium.

Vredespaleis (Peace Palace: UN International Court of Justice)

The seat of the International Court of Justice is here, optimistically known as the Peace Palace, rather ironic as it is mainly known for the trials of international war criminals. It’s a fabulously impressive building, founded in 1899 and paid for the by the American industrialist and philanthropist, Andrew Carnegie. There are guided tours of the buildings when the courts are not in session, so you will need to check beforehand and book a tour in advance if you want to see round.
Carnegeiplein 2
070 302 4137
vredespaleis.nl

Right on the Hedge

Den Haag’s unusual name goes back to even before the 13th-century castle, the Ridderzaal, was built here. The castle was once the home of the Counts of Holland, and prior to its construction the Counts had a hunting lodge on the same site. This was surrounded by a hedge, and the city which grew up around the castle was called ‘s Gravenhaage, the Count’s Hedge. Over time this got simplified to Den Haag.

For all information on Den Haag, visit the official website:

denhaag.com