Netherlands · Provincie Zuid-Holland · The Hague
Haagse Bos, The Hague — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Haagse Bos is an old wood on the northeastern side of The Hague, running from the edge of the city centre toward Wassenaar. Huis ten Bosch, a royal palace, stands inside it. The forest is one of the oldest in the Netherlands, and its southwestern tip opens onto the Malieveld and the deer park at the Koekamp.
About Haagse Bos
Where to stay in Haagse Bos
Where you base yourself shapes the visit — here's the character of each area.
This is parkland, not a hotel quarter. Beds inside the wood itself are scarce, so visitors who want to sleep beside it look to the bordering neighbourhoods of Bezuidenhout and Benoordenhout, or to the city centre southwest past the Malieveld. A stay near the Haagse Bos suits travellers who want morning walks under old trees and quick reach into The Hague.
The palace of Huis ten Bosch stays closed to guests within the grounds. For a wider choice of rooms, the centre around Den Haag Centraal is the practical base.
About Haagse Bos
What are the main landmarks in Haagse Bos?
Only one landmark stands inside the wood: Huis ten Bosch, the royal palace at its eastern end. A short walk southwest, at the city-centre edge, brings the museum quarter: the Mauritshuis and its old-master gallery, the Escher Museum, and Panorama Mesdag. The Torentje, the prime minister's small tower, stands on the water nearby.
Madurodam, the miniature city, lies to the northwest.
What is the history of Haagse Bos?
The wood began as a hunting ground of the counts of Holland, who kept it as game forest beside their court at The Hague. In 1576 the States of Holland spared the Haagse Bos from the axe. The House of Orange built Huis ten Bosch at its eastern end in the 1640s, a country palace among the trees.
German forces cleared parts of the wood during the Second World War, when it held V-2 launch sites, and the stands were replanted afterward. Its lanes still follow the old design.
Where is Haagse Bos?
The wood covers the northeastern corner of The Hague, between the Bezuidenhout quarter to its south and Benoordenhout to its north. Its southwestern tip reaches the edge of the city centre near Den Haag Centraal, where the Malieveld and the Koekamp mark the boundary. From there the trees stretch northeast toward Wassenaar.
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Updated July 2026