Classic glass-topped boat through the UNESCO Grachtengordel — the canal ring's architecture, bridges, and houseboats best seen from the water.

Rembrandt's Night Watch, Vermeer's Milkmaid, and the full sweep of Dutch Golden Age painting — arrive at opening for the quietest experience.

Charming medieval city between Zandvoort and Amsterdam — the Grote Markt square, the Frans Hals Museum, and excellent Dutch cafés.

Hire bikes in Zandvoort and ride north through the coastal dunes — a protected nature corridor between the sea and the polder landscape.

The iconic Dutch cheese market in Alkmaar — porters in traditional costume carry wheels of Gouda on wooden sledges. Runs on Friday mornings in summer; Saturdays also have market days.

Amsterdam's most characterful district — independent galleries, brown cafés, the Westerkerk, and the Anne Frank House on the canal.

A relaxed race-day morning start alongside the North Sea — the long sandy beach is peaceful before the crowds arrive.

The world's largest Van Gogh collection — 200 paintings in chronological order, from the dark Dutch works to the sun-drenched Arles paintings.

Start race day with a uitsmijter, fresh-ground coffee, and a market stroopwafel from a Zandvoort or Haarlem café.

Take a bus or boat from Amsterdam to these former fishing villages on the IJsselmeer — traditional Dutch houses, smoked eel, and wooden shoes.

Delft's canal-laced old centre, the New Church with the Dutch royal tombs, and a Delftware pottery studio tour.

The hiding place of Anne Frank during the German occupation — a deeply moving museum on the Prinsengracht canal. Book months ahead.