Posts Tagged “The Hague”
I love The Netherlands and am an unashamed supporter. It’s an oft-disregarded tourist destination even though it’s easy to get to from London. Short breaks are more usually taken in Paris or Berlin. That’s a shame as Dutch cities offer history, architectural charm and delicious food. Yes, dear reader, that statement isn’t an affectation of…
Paleis Hotel is a superb 4-star boutique hotel in the historic ‘Hofkwartier’ neighbourhood of The Hague. It sounds regal and it is indeed rubbing shoulders with royalty. It’s within a very short carriage ride of the Noordeinde Palace, the current work palace of King Willem-Alexander. I hear that this hotel regularly hosts dignitaries from up…
This is perhaps the most iconic of all hotels in The Hague. Its very location allows it to take advantage of architectural and historic cachet. It sits majestically on a corner, with a regal red awning which encourages high expectations of what might lie within. Luckily all of us can enjoy at least a little…
The Mauritshuis is home to some of the most famous Dutch paintings of the Golden Age. The gallery is a perfectly formed and fitting contemporary venue for its much-loved collections. It has a beautiful and leafy location in the heart of The Hague and it houses masterpieces such as Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring…
We are going on a well-deserved city break, but what does the discerning and well-turned-out shopper bring back? Well, usually nothing apart from a bottle of duty-free. But the fashion-conscious will find so much in the stylish and elegant Hague to bring home. There are design souvenirs aplenty which will garner more admiring glances than…
The yellow brick Art-Deco museum is solid and striking and an icon of its time. Built between 1931 and 1935, it was designed by the Dutch architect H. P. Berlage, described as the Dutch Frank Lloyd Wright. Berlage believed this would be his greatest work but unfortunately it was also to be his last as…
OK, so I have lied and we are only into the first paragraph! The Princess, the Palace and the Painter is an intriguing title with almost fairy-tale charm. All the characters are real, although the Painter was actually an Artist, but that didn’t begin with a ‘P’. The story is set in The Hague in…
The Hague is indeed a ‘Royal’ city. You might even come across one of the ‘Oranges’, as they are considered perhaps the most accessible royal family in Europe. The Hague has been home to the House of Orange for more than four hundred years; first they were Stadholders and later gained the title of monarchs….
Our links with The Netherlands have been long-standing. We shared a monarch in the guise of William III of England, known as William II in Scotland. He might be better known, to all but the most historically inclined, as the William of ‘William and Mary’ fame. The blood connection isn’t as strong now as then…