Weekend breaks in Holland by Eurostar are a great option if you are looking for flight-free mini breaks in Europe.
And we're not talking here about Amsterdam but rather all the lovely small cities and towns you can reach easily by train in the Netherlands.
So if you are looking for a flight-free weekend away from the UK or want to explore Holland on a longer European train trip do check out this guide.
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Super Stylish Rotterdam
Regenerated Rotterdam is strikingly stylish and it is the gateway to mini-breaks in Holland. It is 45 minutes closer than Amsterdam - and the first Eurostar out gets you there for 10.30.
The old port city offers cool design hotels and some of Europe's most innovative modern architecture - such as the Kijk-Kubus houses and Markethal - PLUS world quality art museums including :
- Boijmans : from Rembrandt and Dutch old masters to Dali.
- Kunsthal : multiple constantly cycling exhibitions of modern art, photography and design.
For children there is a zoo & aquarium and an outdoor Maritime Museum. There's also boat trips galore - you can even stay on an old barge - and if you're there for a long weekend you could take a boat bus down to the World Heritage windmills at Kinderdijk
Rotterdam offers an easy interchange from the Eurostar to trains across Holland and the gems of Delft, Den Haag and Leiden are under 30 minutes away.
Pottering In Delft
The birthplace of Vermeer and famous worldwide for its blue and white pottery, pretty Delft is just 10 minutes on the train from Rotterdam.
You can explore Vermeer's life at the Vermeer Centre and see Delftware being painted by hand in the 350 year old Royal Delft pottery. The Paul Tetar van Elfen museum is a little gem rather like the John Soanes in London.
But Delft is really about slowing down to enjoy a weekend away from the rush whilst watching the world go by at canal side restaurants. If you must tick off more sites, nip on the train to nearby Den Haag or Leiden.
High Art In Den Haag
Just 20 minutes from Rotterdam, Den Haag has grand old buildings and multiple world class museums centred around the Hofvijver ponds.
You can culture binge at :
- Mauritshuis : Golden Age artists including Rembrandt & Vermeer.
- Kuntsmuseum : C20th art such Picasso, Van Gogh & the world's largest collection of Mondrians.
- Het Palais : leading graphic artists including Maurits Cornelis Escher.
There's also the beautiful new Voorlinden modern art museum, a cycle ride away. But if you do overdose on art you can escape to Den Haag's very own beach and funfair a quick tram ride away at Scheveningen.
Lovely Leiden & The Tulips
Leiden - Rembrandt's birth place - is one of Holland's loveliest towns. Strolling by the canals is a pleasure in itself but there's also old masters - including Rembrandt - to see at :
Plus an award winning Science Museum and one of the world's biggest natural history collections to see. And that's all before we get to the tulips.
For Leiden is also the best base for visiting the world famous flower gardens at Keukenhoef, which you can reach by bus and bike.
Leiden is 35 minutes by train from Rotterdam and just 20 from Den Haag and Delft so is easy to combine with these on a longer weekend break.
Eindhoven Design
Eindhoven is one of Holland's uber-modern rather than pretty-pretty cities but if design and modern art are your thing, it's a cool place with some stylish hotels for a weekend break by train.
The Phillips and DAF design museums and Van Abbe Museum of Modern Art (Picasso, Kandinsky & more) are all an easy stroll from the station which is an hour south of Rotterdam.
Cycling Around Middleburg
Tucked away on the Zeeland peninsula, little known Middleburg is a wonderful weekend spot for exploring the Dutch coast and its dikes by bike.
It has some lovely but affordable boutique hotels and restaurants among its cobbled streets and coastal villages such as Domburg, Westkapelle and Veere are 30 minutes away by bike.
Check out the Zeeland tourist board for beaches, local museums, Michelin restaurants and nature reserves you can cycle across along dikes. You can even ride out to one of the 7 wonders of the modern world: the huge delta works that have kept Holland safe since the great flood of 1953.
Fine Food In Zwolle
The old Hanseatic port of Zwolle takes you away from the tourist crowds of Amsterdam but has one of the world's very best restaurants with rooms, De Librije plus a cool art museum, de Fundatie, with works by Van Gogh, Chagall, Mondrian & Bernini.
When you've eaten your fill at De Librije you can cycle it off riding up the river Ijssel towpath see the pretty Hanseatic towns of Hattem, Hanselt & Kampem.
Zwolle is 90 minutes on from Rotterdam up towards the German border so better for a longer weekend.
Dordrecht Wetlands & Windmills
Dordrecht is a pleasant if not the prettiest of Holland's canal towns but offers something completely different for families and nature lovers as the gateway to Biesbosch national park.
Biesbosch is one of the last freshwater tidal wetlands in northern Europe and home to beavers and sea eagles. Accessible from Dordrecht by boat, bike and bus you can cross the park by canoe and sleep in eco lodges on the water.
Dordrecht is 25 minutes on the train - or 30 minutes by boat bus - from Rotterdam, Dordrecht is also a good place from which to visit the Kinderdijk windmills by water bus.
Jazz In Breda
Breda is another small Dutch city less than 30 minutes by train from Rotterdam. There are no knock out museums but it is bursting with canal side restaurants and bars and is host every May to one of the world's oldest and largest jazz festivals.
Frans Hals in Haarlem
Just west of Amsterdam, Haarlem is a lovely canal side town with a good museum dedicated to native son Frans Hals and the characterful Teylers Museum which is Holland's oldest.
Haarlem is also a relaxing and more affordable base for exploring Amsterdam (15 mins by train), Leiden (20 mins) or the pretty cheese market town of Alkmaar (40 mins). You can also cycle in less than 30 minutes through dunes to Bloemendaal beach.
And there you go, 10 wonderful weekends in Holland by Eurostar that aren't Amsterdam. Enjoy.
For more ideas for flight-free travel in Europe do check out my guides to Weekend Breaks In France By Train and European Sleeper Trains.
Original image sources under Creative Commons : Zaanse Schans. cheese market, Rotterdam, Keukenhof, Mauritshuis, windmill at dusk, Delft canal, Delft bridge, Biescbosch, Eindhoven, Zwolle, Middleburg, Jazz Festival Breda, Haarlem, Dutch Landscape, Leiden
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