Cycling holiday in the Netherlands: discover special places
The Netherlands has so much more to offer than just the big cities and well-known tourist attractions. On a cycling holiday, you will discover the most beautiful spots in our country and get to places you would never get to otherwise. From historic towns to idyllic rural villages and from beautiful nature reserves to special cultural hotspots. These are truly unique places in the Netherlands that you wouldn't want to miss.
Fruit, coffee and cherry pie to go at Museumtuin 't Olde Ras in Doesburg
Looking for a unique place in Holland outside historic Doesburg? Then visit Museumtuin 't Olde Ras, located just outside the city. Here, owners Tessa Brouwer and Aron Aalderink collect, preserve, propagate and sell old fruit varieties on behalf of the Foundation for the Preservation and Promotion of Fruit Culture. Sometimes only one specimen of a particular variety is left, after which the tree is grafted and the offspring are then put in the sales garden. In this way, the owners hope that old varieties will return to Dutch gardens. Some 1,500 different varieties are displayed in the museum garden, including the Rembrandt apple, which has disappeared elsewhere, and the Bereczki quince of which they have the mother tree.
You can normally enjoy coffee, cherry cake and fresh fruit in the garden. However, due to the measures surrounding the coronavirus, this is currently only possible to go. Still, Museum Garden 't Olde Ras is a nice side trip during your cycling holiday in Zutphen or Vorden. The address is Parallelweg Den Helder 1 in Doesburg.
Hanseatic cities: from cake to croque
If you love history and medieval street patterns, Deventer is a city you must visit. The historic centre breathes all Hanseatic history and is home to countless authentic streets. Especially the pretty Bergkwartier quarter is worth exploring. Here you can hear the cries of merchants, clucking chickens and the roar of handcarts.
A special shop not to be missed when in Deventer is that of Jb. Bussink. Here they have been baking and selling the one and only Deventer Koek for over four hundred years according to an age-old secret recipe. Take a cake with you in your pannier for later, or join us on the terrace of Café Cuisine St. Maxime for a touch of Paris in the Hanseatic city. Feel free to order a ham-and-cheese sandwich here in French, or a croque monsieur.
Besides Deventer, you can also taste the Hanseatic atmosphere in cities like Zwolle, Hasselt and Hattem. These towns are home to beautiful remains from the 14th and 15th centuries and are usually located on the water, as this was important for transport at the time. Visit these Hanseatic towns during your cycling holiday in Zwolle or your cycling tour along IJssel and Vecht.
Day out? Cycle through a painting!
Cycling through a Van Gogh painting? It's almost possible on the Van Gogh-Roosegaarde cycle path near Eindhoven. This path is part of the Van Gogh cycle route, where you can learn more about the life of the world-famous painter. But you have to be patient, because it is only in the evening that the special features of this path become visible. The pebbles in the road surface laid in a circle then light up, just like the starry sky in Van Gogh's painting “Starry Night”.
Visual artist Daan Roosegaarde has used an innovative technology in which the path is illuminated by thousands of twinkling pebbles. This creates a play of light and poetry. "I wanted to create a place that people experience as special, technology linked to experience. So techno-poetry," says the artist.
The Van Gogh-Roosegaarde bike path is a unique experience not to be missed. It is not only a must-see for art lovers, but also for cyclists who love a special route. The path is free to visit and is a wonderful addition to your day out in Eindhoven and its surroundings.
