# The 18 Best Cities to Visit in the Netherlands

> Canal towns two hours from anywhere, a rebuilt port of skyscrapers, cheese-market squares and northern capitals most visitors skip. Pick the one worth the train ticket.

*By YPB Team · Published October 31, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/the-18-best-cities-to-visit-in-the-netherlands*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Amsterdam** — score 1000/1000
   The Dutch capital, built around a ring of 17th-century canals and home to the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum.
2. **Nijmegen** — score 832/1000
   The oldest city in the Netherlands, on the river Waal, and host of the annual Four Days Marches.
3. **Leeuwarden** — score 794/1000
   The historic capital of Friesland, a canal city two hours north of Amsterdam and European Capital of Culture in 2018.
4. **Haarlem** — score 774/1000
   A compact old city west of Amsterdam, centred on the Grote Markt, the St. Bavo church and the Frans Hals Museum.
5. **Deventer** — score 741/1000
   A Hanseatic city on the IJssel with one of the best-preserved medieval centres in the country and a famous Dickens festival.
6. **Rotterdam** — score 529/1000
   Europe's biggest port city, rebuilt after 1940 into a showcase of modern architecture from the Cube Houses to the Markthal.
7. **Middelburg** — score 529/1000
   The capital of Zeeland, with a Gothic town hall, a medieval abbey and streets once rich from the Dutch East India trade.
8. **Groningen** — score 433/1000
   The lively student capital of the north, known for the Martinitoren, the Groninger Museum and its cycling culture.
9. **Alkmaar** — score 433/1000
   The North Holland town of the traditional Friday cheese market, set among canals and gabled warehouses.
10. **Leiden** — score 433/1000
   The oldest Dutch university town, with the Rapenburg canal, Rembrandt's birthplace and more museums than its size suggests.
11. **Gouda** — score 317/1000
   The cheese town of South Holland, with a Gothic city hall on its market square and a weekly summer cheese market.
12. **'s-Hertogenbosch** — score 317/1000
   Den Bosch, the Brabant city of Hieronymus Bosch, St. John's Cathedral and the covered canals of the Binnendieze.
13. **Zwolle** — score 317/1000
   A Hanseatic city in Overijssel with a star-shaped moat, the Sassenpoort gate and a busy shopping centre.
14. **Arnhem** — score 317/1000
   A green city on the Rhine, known for its John Frost Bridge, the Open Air Museum and the Hoge Veluwe park next door.
15. **Delft** — score 317/1000
   The home of Delftware and Johannes Vermeer, a small canal city with two great medieval churches.
16. **Utrecht** — score 0/1000
   A university city whose sunken wharf-level canals and Dom Tower, the tallest church tower in the country, sit at its heart.
17. **The Hague** — score 0/1000
   Seat of the Dutch government and the royal family, with the Mauritshuis museum and the beach resort of Scheveningen.
18. **Maastricht** — score 0/1000
   The southernmost Dutch city on the Maas, with Roman roots, cobbled squares and a cafe culture closer to Belgium than to Holland.

Tags: europe, travel, cities, netherlands