Sometimes you come across places that genuinely surprise you. Noordwijk is one of them. As any self-respecting Belgian, I naturally visit a Dutch coastal town at least once a year. The menu of natural beaches and good food always suits me. This winter I tried something new; we headed to Noordwijk for a weekend (watch the video here). I made a list of a hundred and one things we really HAD to do. Then I let the rest of the family pick the best activities from it.
Noordwijk, a colourful town
I didn't know Noordwijk, but the Keukenhof and the ‘tulip fields’ all the more. It is by no means a newcomer on the map; its history goes back to 2000 years before Christ. Then fast forward to the late Middle Ages, when Noordwijk was a true fishing village. You can still see that today in the coastline and in the tasty fish dishes served in the restaurants.
Noordwijk started working on its title of ‘The wellness town of the Netherlands’ as early as the 18th century. Back then it began trading medicinal herbs in Amsterdam. Today you can still find all sorts of lovely natural products in Noordwijk. Be sure to drop by the tourist office; they can point you to the various producers and have a wonderful shop of their own full of local products.
Eventually the herb growing evolved into bulb growing and the rest is history. That was also the period when the well-to-do found their way to the healthy sea air of Noordwijk.
Noordwijk also has a very unusual wartime past. Definitely visit the museum De Engelandvaarders for a unique story about the Resistance.
Want to know more about its rich history? Take a look at the website of the tourist office of Noordwijk, which also has some great old photos.
But the nice thing about Noordwijk is that they value their history while continuing to innovate. Did you know that Noordwijk is even the epicentre of Dutch space travel? I certainly didn't, but I was ready to find out.
Noordwijk, what is there to do?
As a Fleming, you usually tick off the Dutch coast at Scheveningen or drive straight on to the Wadden Islands. What would you do in Noordwijk? A fair question, because if you glance at the map it just looks like another coastal town.
But Noordwijk is a town with history and a genuine culture of its own. You really feel that it is a place with a past as a weekend destination for the wealthy. Everything is geared towards enjoyment. The buildings along the beach are elegant and built with an eye for fine architecture.
“Just like England!” said my middle one. And that's exactly how it felt on that grey winter afternoon with our thick woolly hats. We walked through the tall, swaying grass in the dunes with the sea on our right and the stately houses on our left.
Yentl
The people are happy and you notice it; passing someone here without a cheerful “hello” is impossible. The people love nature and although they live in a small town, they are true bon vivants. And that translates into a colourful range of fun activities in Noordwijk.
Nature in Noordwijk
As soon as you open Google and look at Noordwijk from above, you'll see that at least half of it is nature reserve. The northern part of Noordwijk is a beautiful woodland area that flows into a belt of dunes ending at the sea. You can genuinely walk here for hours without seeing a single building.
While preparing for the trip I pinned all sorts of scenic spots, but really there are gorgeous views everywhere. My tip is simply to enjoy and walk; slow down. Play in the woods, run through the sand and rest on the benches.
One spot does deserve a special mention for me. That is the Boswachterij. Plenty of deer roam freely here and the chances of them crossing your path are high. Besides being a stunning, raw landscape, there is also a very cosy restaurant with a lovely wooden playground. So be sure to check out Vrijstaat Nederzandt.
Something I would have loved to do myself was a beach ride on horseback. There are quite a few providers and we saw a good number of people ride past on horseback. It looked wonderful. For experienced riders only, though.
Eating like bon vivants in Noordwijk
As I said, the people of Noordwijk love a good plate of food, and that's not just true for the adults. I grew up with the idea that the Dutch can't cook, but in recent years they have increasingly proven the opposite. The Dutch have always had a very pure cuisine based on local produce. They have kept that foundation, but are letting themselves be influenced more and more by international cuisine. So not only can you eat very good Asian food in Noordwijk, you can also buy sushi at the local fishmongers, for example.
Extra points, too, for the cosy interiors of the restaurants in the area. There are fires, beautiful decor, snug corners and there is also attention for the children. You'll often find a play corner or a little playground, or there are colouring sheets or children's books available.
Even with a toddler, sitting in a restaurant for a couple of hours was no punishment. Curious about which places we went to? Then be sure to have a look at our list of family-friendly restaurants in Noordwijk.
Shopping in Noordwijk
With two teenage daughters, a little shopping trip obviously couldn't be missed. We visited the more historic part of Noordwijk around the old Jeroenskerk. There we had a lovely coffee at Vigore and bought fish at Van der Marel.
Then we moved on to the shopping street by the beach. It got off to a great start at the tourist office shop. It sounds a bit silly, but if you're looking for nice gifts you really should have a look there.
In the end we headed back to the car with our hands full of bags. Noordwijk doesn't have a huge shopping centre, but it does have a fine selection of more unique little shops and well-known chains.
Culture in Noordwijk
There are quite a few museums in Noordwijk. We picked two.
Space Expo
It's important to know that ESTEC, the Dutch space centre, is located here too. Astronauts are briefed here. The Space Expo is therefore actually the official visitor centre.
You can tell from the exhibition. Not only is it very well put together, you also learn about the purpose of space travel and you get the chance to experience for yourself what it's like to be an astronaut. I was personally most impressed by the size of the exhibition. We planned two hours, it became three, and really we still didn't have enough time.
It's a fun place for children too, because it's absolutely a hands-on museum and there's a nice playground outside. One danger, though: the insanely extensive gift shop, so tell those little astronauts to start setting aside their pocket money now.
Engelandvaarders
The Engelandvaarders Museum, one the children didn't pick from my list as an activity, but which I pushed through a little anyway. I didn't know the story of the Engelandvaarders and as a big history fan I really wanted to go here.
The museum has an escape game. You can choose between easy and slightly harder. Without giving too much away: together with your friends you form a group of resistance fighters who are going to help someone reach England. The game features videos, secret hatches and plenty of suspense. In about an hour you've seen the museum and you understand who the Engelandvaarders were. An absolute must. The daughters' reaction: “Oh, is it over already?”
Besides these two museums, the following were also on our wish list: Museum of Comic Art, Atlantic Wall museum and the Museum Noordwijk.
Apart from these museums we also paid a visit to De Muze, Noordwijk's cultural centre. We went to see the ballet Don Quixote on the big screen. De Muze has a really nice programme for a cultural centre in a small town, and it's also a great way to spend an evening outside the summer months. A lovely theatre hall and a nice café too.
Staying in Noordwijk
Noordwijk has a wide range of accommodation. Even though it's not that well known among Belgians, it really is a tourist town. Hugely popular with people from Amsterdam, but Germans also love coming here to enjoy the beach.
You'll find five-star hotels and campsites, unique little places to stay and holiday parks. We opted for the latter, a small-scale holiday park on the quiet northern side of Noordwijk. De Gouden Spar. This cosy park has beautiful, spacious bungalows. Ours had a cosy fireplace, a little garden and a wonderfully spacious and fully equipped kitchen.
The bungalows have underfloor heating, which is truly delightful in winter. We also ordered bread rolls for the morning. Very tasty bread. We are secretly quite the bread snobs, but De Gouden Spar passed with flying colours. Have a look here at our impressions.
It's also within walking distance of the beach, you can rent bikes there and there is a small playground. Ideal as a base for exploring Noordwijk.
Noordwijk surprised us enormously and we can't wait to go back. Spring perhaps, to see the tulips in bloom, or summer to surf and enjoy the sun … it will be a tough choice, but we're already certain it won't disappoint. We're definitely planning plenty more weekends in Noordwijk in the future.
We were invited by Noordwijk to visit their town and this article is therefore part of our collaboration with them. But we genuinely enjoyed our time there and would happily return.
