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DK Eyewitness The Netherlands
The ideal travel companion, full of insider advice on what to see and do, plus detailed itineraries and comprehensive maps for exploring this unique and captivating country.
Explore Amsterdam's canals on a boat trip, cycle around the Kinderdijk to spy vintage windmills, wander through colourful tulip blossoms at the Keukenhof flower gardens or admire the lavish Paleis Het Loo: everything you need to know is clearly laid out within colour-coded chapters. Discover the best of the Netherlands with this indispensable travel guide.
Inside DK Eyewitness Travel Guide The Netherlands:
- Over 35 colour maps help you navigate with ease
- Simple layout makes it easy to find the information you need
- Comprehensive tours and itineraries of the Netherlands, designed for every interest and budget
- Illustrations and floorplans show the inside of icons such as Amsterdam's Gothic Oude Kerk and iconic Rijksmuseum, the Hague's art-filled Mauritshuis, elegant Paleis Het Loo and more
- Colour photographs of the Netherlands' canal-strewn cities including quirky Amsterdam and medieval Utrecht, quaint towns, historic sights, colourful tulip fields, iconic windmills, sandy beaches and more
- Historical and cultural context gives you a richer travel experience: learn about the country's maritime history, unique culture, ubiquitous dams, traditional farmhouses and windmills, world-famous artists, beautiful pottery and tiles, tulip fields, traditional festivals and more
- Detailed chapters, with area maps, cover Amsterdam, including Oude Zijde, Nieuwe Zijde, the Canal Ring and the Museum Quarter; North Holland; Utrecht; South Holland; Zeeland; West Frisian Islands; Groningen; Friesland; Drenthe; Overijssel; Flevoland; Gelderland; North Brabant; Limburg and more
- Essential travel tips: our expert choices of where to stay, eat, shop and sightsee, plus useful phrases, and visa and health information
DK Eyewitness Travel Guide The Netherlands is a detailed, easy-to-use guide designed to help you get the most from your visit to this charming country.
DK Eyewitness: winner of the Top Guidebook Series in the Wanderlust Reader Travel Awards 2017.
"No other guide whets your appetite quite like this one" - The Independent
On a city break? Try our DK Eyewitness Travel Guide Amsterdam.
About DK Eyewitness Travel: DK's highly visual Eyewitness guides show you what others only tell you, with easy-to-read maps, tips, and tours to inform and enrich your holiday. DK is the world's leading illustrated reference publisher, producing beautifully designed books for adults and children in over 120 countries.
948 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 26, 2008
12 people are currently reading
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
May 20, 2019
Really excellent reference for places to see and things to do in the entire country, divided by region. The maps and cutaway diagrams are very helpful, and the photographs are lovely and numerous. The hotel and restaurant information isn't extensive, but it has a great selection listed. *Remember to always look for the most recently published edition.* The index is thorough and there's a concise "phrase book" section at the back to help you with the basics. The majority of the Dutch people speak excellent English, but it's still good to try the language and they are very friendly with pronunciation help. Menus, signs, etc are not subtitled in English outside of the big tourist cities so it's advisable to become familiar with that section. The DK format makes it quite easy for me to flag what I want to visit and tick it off afterwards, then it becomes a record of where I've been that's easily accessible on my bookshelf.
These DK books are a bit hefty to carry around with you while out and about (but do take it on the plane/car to acquaint yourself before you get there), so for just language assistance the Insight Guides pocket size phrasebooks are extremely handy and worth the money. And skip the ebook- you won't be able to see the photos as clearly. I still prefer this series to the Lonely Planet guides as LP have become terrible at updating information and are quite often very out of date or just missing information.
These DK books are a bit hefty to carry around with you while out and about (but do take it on the plane/car to acquaint yourself before you get there), so for just language assistance the Insight Guides pocket size phrasebooks are extremely handy and worth the money. And skip the ebook- you won't be able to see the photos as clearly. I still prefer this series to the Lonely Planet guides as LP have become terrible at updating information and are quite often very out of date or just missing information.
January 16, 2021
3rd book of 2021. I read this cover-to-cover to help decide whether to accept a temporary relocation to the Netherlands. DK Eyewitness guides have been my go-to brand for nearly twenty years of international travel. They’ve always been extremely logically organized, with an emphasis on sights rather than hotels and restaurants. Well-placed and well-labeled maps make it very clear where everything is in relation to other sights/attractions, significantly improving the ease of planning a detailed trip itinerary. And above all, the DK guides have always had FAR more photos than guides like Lonely Planet, Rick Steves, etc. This has always been so important to me; when flagging top potential sights to see, photos help me select which to prioritize, as it’s nearly impossible to read, for example, written descriptions of dozens of castles or churches to pick which most captures my interest.
That being said, this 2019 Netherlands edition showed some decline from the quality I’ve come to rely upon from DK Eyewitness. There were fewer photos, and many were of sunset scenes in various locales and other images of the sort that were lovely but didn’t help me to choose itinerary priorities. There were also a striking number of typos throughout the book. Some sections I’ve loved from books for other locales, like those summarizing regional foods, crafts, etc. were stripped down or absent altogether. And the attractions in different regions outside of Amsterdam were in no particular order, making it geographically confusing as the sights described jumped all over the map.
Overall, while this guidebook was still very helpful and superior to others with fewer photos and overemphasis on dining and lodging, I’m concerned about the decline relative to other DK Eyewitness guides that have been truly outstanding over the years (although I’ve never used a past Netherlands edition, only Amsterdam, so it could just be related to the locale?). I hope the next edition brings the series back up to its usual standard of excellence!
That being said, this 2019 Netherlands edition showed some decline from the quality I’ve come to rely upon from DK Eyewitness. There were fewer photos, and many were of sunset scenes in various locales and other images of the sort that were lovely but didn’t help me to choose itinerary priorities. There were also a striking number of typos throughout the book. Some sections I’ve loved from books for other locales, like those summarizing regional foods, crafts, etc. were stripped down or absent altogether. And the attractions in different regions outside of Amsterdam were in no particular order, making it geographically confusing as the sights described jumped all over the map.
Overall, while this guidebook was still very helpful and superior to others with fewer photos and overemphasis on dining and lodging, I’m concerned about the decline relative to other DK Eyewitness guides that have been truly outstanding over the years (although I’ve never used a past Netherlands edition, only Amsterdam, so it could just be related to the locale?). I hope the next edition brings the series back up to its usual standard of excellence!
April 2, 2013
I've always enjoyed staring at maps, not goats. So this book is a winner. 'The Netherlands' is another informative and colourful travel guide in Dorling Kindersley's Eyewitness Travel series.
The country is dealt with in it's regional sections, fourteen in all, with one section focused on Amsterdam. In it's almost five hundred pages this guide is crammed with information on the main sights of the country. For those who wish to travel around Holland, this DK guide is highly recommended.
The country is dealt with in it's regional sections, fourteen in all, with one section focused on Amsterdam. In it's almost five hundred pages this guide is crammed with information on the main sights of the country. For those who wish to travel around Holland, this DK guide is highly recommended.
October 7, 2013
This was informative and well-organized, with great pictures. This is the norm I've come to expect from DK Eyewitness travel guides. The areas of Amsterdam broken down piece by piece and highlighted ended up being the most useful information for our trip.
January 14, 2018
Неплохой путеводитель. Главным его достоинством являются фотографии, по которым сразу можно оценить, хочется увидеть то или иное место либо нет. Однако по содержанию проигрывает своим основным конкурентам: путеводителям от Lonely Planet и Rough Guides. Очень много описания мест, которые не заинтересуют среднего путешественника, прибывающего в Нидерланды лишь на пару недель и мечтающего увидеть только самые главные и интересные достопримечательности.
October 23, 2022
To prepare for our heritage trip to the Netherlands. I will re-read this closer to the trip
May 24, 2015
The book is general guide around the Netherlands. I used the book as I traveled around to get an idea what there was to see as I went through the Netherlands. The book gives basic information on areas to visit this was very helpful in reading while traveling and being a tourist. It helped with what museums to visit and where the museums where. Also what tourist areas were good to visit to take in the culture of the area. Even an idea of what was potentate to what would be good to take in with shopping areas and different art of the area.
April 2, 2011
Good for pictures, good for getting an idea of what's there, good for breaking down by the neighborhoods; but overall, I would not recommend as a travel guide, but more of a 'what's in amsterdam' book. If that makes sense...
April 3, 2010
Prepping for the trip...
May 17, 2012
Great overview of the country. It gave me a good idea of what areas to skip and which ones are "must sees."
May 26, 2012
the book printed with high quality and have many valuable information.
But i didn't find valuable information about Venlo city. But the book is good to read
But i didn't find valuable information about Venlo city. But the book is good to read
February 26, 2016
Very readable, clear and useful guide to the Netherlands
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews