Dutch Delight

This idyllic village is full of thatched roofs, lush greenery and lawns overflowing with colorful blooms. What it has virtually none of, on the other hand, is roads. Instead, locals live across a multitude of small islands connected by wooden bridges and get around by boat. This morning, you’ll have the chance to sail with your fellow guests through Giethoorn’s canals to get the best view of this pretty town.

Follow your guide through the streets of Lemmer to find yourself engrossed in stories of this town’s past and present. You’ll visit the town’s most important sites, getting a sense of how modern Lemmer is shaped by its history as a flourishing trade and fishing city.

Walk off the ship and right into town with your local guide for a quick sightseeing tour of this quaint harbor town. Many of the buildings here have been around for three or four centuries, giving Harlingen a historic feel. Keep an eye out for the gable stones on older buildings, small plaques with unique carvings used to help people find their way before numerical addresses were popularized.

Harlingen is an attractive port town on the Wadden Sea—local legend has it that the only reason Harlingen isn’t under the Wadden Sea is because of the actions of a young boy, who plugged up the local dike with one finger and thereby saved the city from sinking. It is, of course, just a fun story, but a statue in his honor can be found near the docks nonetheless.

Today you’ll stroll through Harlingen’s canals and quaint alleyways with a local guide. Many of the buildings here have been around for three or four centuries, giving the town a historic feel. Keep an eye out for the gable stones on older buildings, small plaques with unique carvings used to help people find their way before numerical addresses were popularized.

After exploring the town on foot, you’ll have the opportunity to dive deeper into the Frisian area with one of three different experiences:

1. Head to a horse farm where the characteristically large and agile black Friesian horse is raised. After learning about the farm’s work and Frisian culture, you’ll be treated to a horse show.

2. Take a short drive to the city of Franeker, where you’ll find the oldest working planetarium in the world hanging from the ceiling of a beautiful canal house. This accurately moving model of the solar system was built between 1774 and 1781 by the Frisian wool comber, Eise Eisinga.

3. Visit a historic mill, still active today as a grain mill. Afterward, a little boat will take you to a nearby butterfly garden.

As you join a local guide on a walk through the streets of Nijmegen, you might be surprised by the youthful energy you find in the Netherlands’ oldest city. Discover a history that stretches back to the Romans and learn how this town recovered from World War II devastation to become the lively center it is today. End your visit in Nijmegen’s best shopping district, where you can branch out on your own to browse the small boutiques, popular chains and local restaurants available there.

A harbor village on the shores of the Western Scheldt, Veere may be a small town now, but its stately 15th-century town hall tells of a grander past. For three centuries it was the bustling center of the wool trade with Scotland; the wealth from this trade built the splendid church with its tall and ornate steeple that dominates the village, as well as the handsome mansions on its main street. Wander with the Cruise Manager through Veere’s central marketplace, where you will spot the well-known Scottish Houses, so called because Scottish wool merchants built them early in the 16th century when Veere was the primary port for Scottish trade goods. The Scots maintained a community in Veere, complete with their own church and laws, until Napoleon took over the region and eliminated their privileges. In 1896 an English art collector named Albert Lionel Ochs bought one of the two Scottish Houses and welcomed an enthusiastic group of international artists who were drawn to the scenic harbor and its fishing boats. For years painters set up their easels and painted the gentle seaside views, but after a dam closed off the harbor from the sea, the fishing boats left—and so did the artists. Today, the Scottish Houses serve as a lovely museum displaying the regional antiquities, folklore and life of the Zeeland province. And, interestingly enough, artists are once again painting in Veere, so perhaps a new colony will take root and flourish.

When Hurricane Sandy hit New York in 2012, New York officials began to take serious interest in Dutch methods of controlling flooding. After all, the Dutch have been protecting lowland from the sea for 2,000 years; back in 1953, they responded to a storm—one not unlike Sandy—that flooded the countryside and killed almost 2,000 people by implementing a series of projects called Delta Works. You'll see exhibits about this engineering marvel in nearby Neeltje Jans and visit a storm-surge barrier, a massive set of gates and piers that allow seawater to flow with the tides in and out of the estuary during normal weather. During a major storm, however, the gates can be closed to keep out the surging water. This incredible feat of engineering is a fascinating sight—but the Dutch will tell you that it is just one more front in their ongoing battle with the sea, which many coastal cities around the world may be studying.

Though Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands, The Hague is the seat of the country’s government and a fantastic place to visit in its own right. A favorite local highlight of ours, and your destination on this tour, is the Mauritshuis. This museum houses a significant collection of Dutch Golden Age masterpieces—an array of stunning still lifes and portraits, including Vermeer’s famous Girl with a Pearl Earring. Besides its remarkable collection, what makes this museum so special is its setting. The Mauritshuis itself was once a city palace, allowing the works of art inside to be presented in the manner they were originally intended, hanging on the walls of stately houses.

Rotterdam’s bustling market hall epitomizes the city’s penchant for innovative architecture. The massive tunnel-shaped building—the walls containing hundreds of apartments—is an awe-inducing sight. Inside, you’ll find the towering walls and ceiling entirely covered in a colorful nature scene, and rows upon rows of vendors selling local and international cuisine. As you weave your way around with your guide, we’ll treat you to a taste of Dutch favorites along the way.

Cruise through Amsterdam’s iconic canals on a classic tour with a unique twist. As you float through the city, taking in its charming architecture in the evening light from onboard a private boat, you’ll be treated to an assortment of surprises that will showcase local culture in a way you won’t find anywhere else.

There's an old saying: “God created the world, but the Dutch created their own land.” Today, as you head off to Zaanse Schans, a wonderful living-history village, you'll get a close-up look at the land the Dutch created. Zaanse Schans stands on the banks of the Zaan River, amid the Kalverpolder—land reclaimed from the sea 500 years ago and put to work supplying the needs of booming Amsterdam in the 17th century. Though the water was pumped away from the land via windmills, the windmills you see in Zaanse Schans were early industrial mills, dedicated to grinding spices, oil, flour—whatever the city growing nearby needed. Some 600 windmills operated here, forming the country’s earliest industrial zone; today six working mills stand atop the dike on the banks of the Zaan.