Where to Stay in The Hague, Provincie Zuid-Holland

What is The Hague known for?

The Hague is known as the seat of Dutch government and the third-largest city of the Netherlands, on the North Sea coast in Zuid-Holland. Government defines it. The parliament sits at the Binnenhof around the Ridderzaal, the king lives at Noordeinde Palace and Huis ten Bosch, and the Peace Palace holds the courts of international law, while the resort of Scheveningen carries the city down to the sea.

Amsterdam remains the capital.

What are the main landmarks in The Hague?

The Hague gathers its landmarks around the government quarter and the road down to the sea. The Binnenhof is the great sight. Its Ridderzaal and the medieval Gevangenpoort stand at the centre, the Peace Palace rises to the north, and the Panorama Mesdag and Escher Museum hold their art, while the Kurhaus of Scheveningen marks the North Sea front at the edge of The Hague.

What is the history of The Hague?

The Hague grew from a count's hunting ground into the seat of Dutch government. The court made the town. Around the year 1201 the counts of Holland built their residence beside a pond on the flat land near the North Sea, and the settlement spread from that court around the Binnenhof, taking its name 's-Gravenhage from the counts' hedge and grounds.

It never took a city charter. Unlike the old chartered towns of Zuid-Holland it remained a court seat, its fortunes tied to the counts and later to the government of the Netherlands. Government fixed its role.

When the Dutch Republic formed, the assembly met at the Binnenhof around the Ridderzaal, and The Hague settled into its long part as the country's administrative centre while Amsterdam stayed the capital. The courts came later. The Peace Palace was raised to house international law near the turn of the last century, and the resort of Scheveningen drew the city out to the North Sea beside the Kurhaus of Scheveningen.

So the town of the counts became a city of parliament, palaces, and courts on the western edge of the Netherlands.

Where is The Hague?

The Hague sits on the North Sea coast in Zuid-Holland, in the west of the Netherlands. Dunes edge the sea. Its streets run from the government centre around the Binnenhof out across flat land and woodland to the beach at Scheveningen, the Haagse Bos breaking the built-up quarters with green while the dunes hold back the open water of the North Sea.

What is the climate of The Hague?

The Hague has a mild temperate climate, tempered by the North Sea at its shore. The sea steadies the seasons. Cool wet winters and mild summers cross the coastal city, the winds off the North Sea carrying cloud and rain over the dunes at Scheveningen and across the flat land of Zuid-Holland.

How do you get to The Hague?

The Hague is reached by rail and road from across the Netherlands. The trains run frequently. Intercity lines call at Den Haag HS and the central station, tying the city to Rotterdam and the rest of Zuid-Holland, while trams carry travellers out to the North Sea at Scheveningen and long routes run inland across the Netherlands.