Charmingmarie
  • Home
  • Expat life
    • How to Spend the Holidays Abroad as an Expat
    • Can you Easily Live in the Netherlands Without Speaking Dutch?
    • American Things I Miss the Most While Living Abroad
    • Here are the Best Places to Live in Europe if you want to Leave the US
    • What I Wish I knew before Moving Abroad
  • Destinations
    • Visiting the Algarve in Winter + what to see & do
    • Visiting Amsterdam For the First Time? 11 Must-Have Tips
    • What to do in Rotterdam for a Weekend Getaway
    • Off the beaten track Netherlands: Hidden Gems
    • Why You Must Visit California Now
  • Love & Dating
  • Netherlands
    • Dutch Culture
    • Dutch Cuisine
  • My videos
  • Contact
Featured posts
    • Netherlands
    • Travel
    • Video
    What to see and do in Lage Vuursche
    • Video
    7 Culture Shocks as an American in the Netherlands
  • View of Palermo Sicily from the historic Palermo Cathedral
    • Travel
    • Video
    The Best of Palermo Sicily: a vibrant & underrated city
    • Netherlands
    • Travel
    • Video
    Keukenhof – the world’s most beautiful spring garden
  • Dutch spreads
    • Dutch Cuisine
    • Video
    Dutch Sandwich Spreads
Follow Me
Instagram
Pinterest
RSS
Charmingmarie

California girl in the Netherlands

  • Home
  • Expat life
  • Destinations
  • Love & Dating
  • Netherlands
    • Dutch Culture
    • Dutch Cuisine
  • My videos
  • Contact
things to do in the Netherlands in winter
  • Netherlands
  • Travel

5 things to do in the Netherlands in winter

  • 2 minute read
Total
1
Shares

The wintertime is such an underrated season to visit in the Netherlands. Tourists tend to overlook it because of the cold weather and the misconception that there isn’t much to do. As a matter of fact, you won’t want to pass up a trip here during the wintertime. There is greater hotel availability, the airfare is cheaper and lesser crowds. Check out some of the cool things to do in the Netherlands in winter.

What is the Netherlands like in the winter?

It can be cold in the Netherlands but not unbearable. The temperature during winter is quite mild so expect a range anywhere from 5 to 10 degrees celsius. If you add wind to the mix, this can feel bone-chilling and much colder than usual. Make sure to invest in a warm winter coat, (preferably a waterproof one) and take along a few layers, gloves, and a scarf.

Spend a winter day at the museum

If you’re a big fan of history, art, and culture the museum may just become your new wintertime activity. The Netherlands has a plethora of museums around the country such as modern, contemporary, archeological, classical, and photographic works to suit your taste. My personal favorite is the Tropenmuseum located in Amsterdam featuring a collection of cultures around the world, interactive exhibits, and the realities of Dutch colonialism.

Head to the “Dutch Disneyland”

One of the best things to do in the Netherlands in winter is to visit the Dutch fantasy themed amusement park Efteling. It’s like the fairytale verson of Disneyland but better. Fun fact, but it’s also one of the oldest theme parks in Europe and the world. During winter Efteling turns into a magical winter wonderland with a holiday atmosphere. Every attraction and part of the park has its own theme based on a fairytale.

Ice skating

Many ice rinks sell delicious wintertime snacks and beverages like poffertjes. If the temperature drops low enough and the canals freeze over, then you may be lucky enough to skate on the canals. In 2017 and 2020 it was cold enough for people to go skating on fresh bodies of water.

Visit a christmas market

The Christmas markets in the Netherlands aren’t as grandiose as in Germany, but they are still lovely to visit. The markets in Valkenburg and Maastricht are lovely and so is the Hague’s Royal Christmas Fair. Christmas markets start around the end of November and last until the end of December.

Have some oliebollen

Olibolen is hands down my favorite Dutch winter snack. Typically eaten around New Year’s, Eve, this deep-fried donut-style ball that is topped with powdered sugar is an absolute treat. Follow the New Year’s Eve tradition and order Olibolen as soon as they become available to eat.

Total
1
Shares
Pin it
Share
Tweet
Save
Share
Share
Hannah Scott

You May Also Like
View Post
  • 2 min
  • Netherlands
  • Travel
  • Video

What to see and do in Lage Vuursche

View of Palermo Sicily from the historic Palermo Cathedral
View Post
  • 5 min
  • Travel
  • Video

The Best of Palermo Sicily: a vibrant & underrated city

View Post
  • 4 min
  • Netherlands
  • Travel
  • Video

Keukenhof – the world’s most beautiful spring garden

What to do in Brussels Belgium
View Post
  • 3 min
  • Travel

What to do in Brussels Belgium

Winter in the Algarve
View Post
  • 3 min
  • Travel
  • Video

Visiting the Algarve in Winter + what to see & do

Off the beaten track Netherlands
View Post
  • 4 min
  • Netherlands
  • Travel

Off the beaten track Netherlands: Hidden Gems

View Post
  • 5 min
  • Netherlands
  • Travel

First Visit Guide to Giethoorn Netherlands

tips for travelers
View Post
  • 6 min
  • Travel

22 Essential Tips for Travelers I Swear by as an Expat

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Charmingmarie
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Managed WordPress by Digital Knowhow
California girl in the Netherlands © 2023

Input your search keywords and press Enter.

Please choose your cookies 🍪
We would like to use cookies to improve your browsing experience and to show ads that support our website. When you accept, we may process your personal data. You may also choose which cookies we can use. Please be advised that denying certain cookies may adversely affect certain features and functions on our website.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
Choose
{title} {title} {title}