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Miniature-Amsterdam away from the masses

11 votes

Haarlem's a sweet little town in which I lived for a short period. There isn't much in terms of sights, but it's a nice and relaxed place. Has a few museums with a good reputation, but I never made it to any of these.

Favourite spots:

Botermarkt outdoors cafes, and the Grote Markt out of season.

What's really great:

It's a small town lacking the city buzz, yet easily commutable when working in Amsterdam, with very frequent trains and buses.

Sights:

Huge cathedral, very, very nice - organ is the biggest in Europe or something, there are plays on saturdays. There's a windmill a short walk out of centre, a couple of museums (tourist info right by the centraal station has brochures and maps), beautiful tiny streets with occasional cafes.

Accommodations:

There is a youth hostel in the northern area, think it's €15 a night in low season, but it's too out of the way in my opinion. The Amadeus hotel is supposed to be good value for money and reasonably cheap, located right at the central market.

Published on Tuesday September 3th, 2002 by kirikou