Netherlands · Provincie Zuid-Holland · The Hague
Haagse Hout, The Hague — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Haagse Hout is one of the eight districts of The Hague, filling the north-eastern corner of the city. Its best-known address is Huis ten Bosch, the royal palace that stands within the wooded belt from which the district takes its name. Green and largely residential, the area also holds the Literature Museum and its neighbouring Kinderboekenmuseum. Its northern reach touches the dunes.
About Haagse Hout
Where to stay in Haagse Hout
Not every neighbourhood fits every trip — here's what each one is good for.
Haagse Hout trades nightlife for quiet. The district leans residential and green, so hotel beds are fewer here than in central The Hague, and many visitors book in the centre and ride out for the day. It suits travellers who want calm, parkland, and easy reach of Huis ten Bosch, the Literature Museum, and the Kinderboekenmuseum.
Museum Voorlinden and the Duindigt racecourse draw day-trippers toward the Wassenaar edge. For a wider choice of rooms, the surrounding city holds far more.
About Haagse Hout
What are the main landmarks in Haagse Hout?
Huis ten Bosch anchors the district. Its royal grounds sit screened within the wood, a short way from the Queen Emma Memorial and the Princess Juliana Memorial. Close to the city centre, the Literature Museum, the Kinderboekenmuseum, and the books at Huis van het boek gather The Hague's literary heritage.
Museum Voorlinden shows modern art near the Wassenaar edge, beside the Duindigt racecourse and the Duinhorst sports grounds. Crosses at the Waalsdorpervlakte mark a wartime execution site in the dunes. A scatter of parish churches, among them the Christus Triumfatorkerk and De Goede Herder, marks the residential streets.
What is the history of Haagse Hout?
The district's name comes from Die Haghe Houte, an early form meaning the wood of The Hague. That wood was a hunting forest of the counts of Holland, and in the seventeenth century Huis ten Bosch rose among its trees as a royal retreat. The Haagse Dierentuin, the city's former zoo, once drew crowds close to the city centre.
During the Second World War, occupying forces shot condemned prisoners on the Waalsdorpervlakte in the dunes, later marked by rows of crosses. The residential quarters filled in later.
Where is Haagse Hout?
The district occupies the north-east of The Hague. It borders Wassenaar to the north and Leidschendam-Voorburg to the east, running out toward the dunes and the city's green edge. The Haagse Bos, the wood that gives the district its name, forms its green spine, with Huis ten Bosch standing among the trees.
Near the Wassenaar boundary sit the Duindigt racecourse and Museum Voorlinden.
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Updated July 2026