A weekend in Haarlem

In the summer of 2020, I made a trip in my own country, one of the places I visited during this trip was Haarlem. Haarlem, the capital of North Holland, is ideal for a weekend away. The city itself has a lot to offer, just like the area around the city.

The city is located in the west between Amsterdam and Bloemendaal. The center consists of several squares filled with terraces, courtyards, narrow streets with local and famous shops, museums and churches.

I took the bus to Haarlem, but it is also easily accessible by train because of the fast connections with, for example, Amsterdam and Leiden. From Amsterdam Central and Leiden Central to Station Haarlem takes 20 minutes by train. Parking in the city is of course also possible in one of the parking garages or along the road.

Airbnb next to station

Guest house 50 m from Haarlem station is next to the station, the Airbnb is small but nice. The room is located on the ground floor and has a bedroom and bathroom. The room is neat and clean. The room itself has a fridge, kettle and hair dryer.

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Dinner at Miyagi and Jones

Miyagi and Jones is located in the Zijlstraat and is an Asian street food and sushi restaurant. The concept is similar to tapas, you order different small snacks with the help of a tablet. You can then share these snacks with each other. We opted for the four-course dinner, with a choice of two dishes per person per round. Miyagi and Jones also have a restaurant in Arnhem and Utrecht, so if you are in one of these three cities and like Asian food, this is highly recommended.

Website: Miyagi and Jones

Frans Hals museum – HOF

The Frans Hals museum is the oldest art museum in the Netherlands and revolves around as you might get from the name of 17th-century painter Frans Hals. The museum writes the following about Hals's art: "Look at a portrait of Hals's hand and you see a life in motion. While portraits of contemporaries often seem frozen. Hals caught someone's soul, someone's true face, with smooth, vital brushstrokes. An innovative style, with which he is still influential centuries later ".

The museum has two locations in Haarlem, Het Hof and De Hal. In the Hof you will mainly find art from the 17th century and in the Hal there is more eye for contemporary and modern art in the form of film, photography and paintings. We went to the Hof, the paintings were explained with the help of an audio tour. It gave a nice insight into the life of Frans Hals and how his art was not always appreciated.

Website: Frans Hals museum

Lunch at BLEND

After the visit to the Hof we went for lunch at Blend. Blend is located near the museum on the Kampersingel and is therefore nice to rest after all the walking with a cup of coffee and a nice lunch. We had a Latte and "Blend goes nuts" almond yogurt with different types of nuts and fruit. In addition to lunch, you can also enjoy breakfast and an early drink.

Website: Blend

Visit the Grote of St. Bavokerk in Haarlem

The St. Bavo Church is located on the Grote Markt. The church looks impressive from every angle, from which you enter the large market. Just like the outside, the inside is also impressive. The high ceiling, the many altars, richly decorated columns and the enormous burgundy organ give the church an imposing appearance. During our visit to the church, the organ was also played, a kind of small concert.

Website: Bavokerk

Cocktails at the Wigbolt bar

Bar Wigbolt is located in the Smedestraat and is a small bar where you can choose from different cocktails. The atmosphere inside is cozy and intimate.

Website: Bar Wigbolt

Walk Through the Teylers hofje and the Hofje van Noblet

The Teylers hofje and the hofje van Noblet are two of the many courtyards in Haarlem. The courtyards are small and have a beautifully maintained courtyard, surrounded by cute old houses from the 18th century. At that time, the courtyards were built for the poor and / or single women, a form of social housing.

Teylers musuem

The Teylers Museum is a natural history museum filled with fossils and skeletons of no longer existing animals. In addition to this department, there is also a small art collection.

Website: Tylers Museum

Drinks at the Jopenkerk

Just outside the center of Haarlem is the Hortusplein, on this square there are various food and beverage outlets. The various terraces on the square give it a cozy atmosphere. The Jopenkerk itself is a former church transformed into a beer brewery. At this brewery you can take a tour, drink on the terrace or have dinner / lunch in the church. At the Jopenkerk you can choose from many different types of special beer.

Website: Jopenkerk

Eating out at Woodstone

Like the Jopenkerk, Woodstone is located on the Hortusplein. Woodstone is primarily a Pizza restaurant but they also serve other dishes from the Italian kitchen.

Website: Woodstone

Day trip to Bloemendaal and Zandvoort

You can rent a public transport bicycle at Haarlem station and then cycle through the dune area to Bloemendaal. This takes thirty to forty minutes. The cycle route goes right through the Zuid-Kennemerland nature reserve, here you can also choose to make a tour through the dunes. We have chosen to go to the beach of Bloemendaal to enjoy the sun there.

For lunch we had dinner at Mifune, a beach bar that is separate from the boulevard of Bloemendaal. The boulevard did not look very attractive and was especially busy with many cars and bicycles. If you cycle a little further, you will come to a relatively quieter part of the beach.

At the end of the afternoon we went to Zandvoort, the pictures of Zandvoort were not very special to me. It is mainly intended for tourists, there are several nice beach bars in Zandvoort. We made reservations at Ubuntu beach, where they also have a choice of vegetarian / vegan dishes. The food was quite tasty and the staff very friendly. We had Sushi as a starter, a pokeball as a main course and an espresso martini for dessert. All three dishes were served nice and delicious. In addition to food, you can also sit down for a drink on the beach at the beach bar section of Ubuntu Beach.

Website: Ubuntu Beach

Terraces on the Grote Markt

On the Grote Markt you have several terraces where you can sit and watch people from your seat. All terraces looked nice, we were on the terrace of Brinkmann and Fortuyn. The service is friendly, and the drinks are tasty.

Shop

You can enjoy shopping in Haarlem n, from large well-known shops to smaller local shops. The well-known shops can be found in the Grote Houtstraat and the local shops can be found in the Warmoesstraat. In addition, there are a number of larger and smaller shops spread throughout the center where you can buy anything.

Drinking coffee at Mica Coffee Bar

Mica Coffee bar is a small but nice coffee bar in the small Houtstraat. You can choose from different coffees and pastries here. Cappuccino and a latte are also available with soy or coconut milk. You can then drink this outside on the terrace.

Website: Mica Coffee Bar

Lunch at the DakKas

The DakKas is located in an unusual location, on top of a parking garage in the center of the city. This gives you a beautiful view of the city from the roof terrace and on a clear day even a view of the dunes. At the DakKas you can have dinner as well as lunch.

Website: De DakKas

That was my weekend in Haarlem where I was able to see a lot of the city in a short time. A weekend in Haarlem is recommended! Questions and / or comments, please comment below this blog post!

What else?

1. Eating in the Kweekcafé

2. The Dolhuys

3. Doorwerth Castle

4. Historical cellars Arnhem

5. Shopping