Noordwijk aan Zee is a coastal town located on the North Sea. Many foreigners actually don't know that the whole west side of the Netherlands lays directly on the North Sea, with beautiful dune areas and many wide beaches. Just 30 kms from Amsterdam Airport you'll be surrounded by rugged dunes, miles of flower fields, beautiful woodlands, and 13 kms of sandy beaches in the ‘Dunes and Bulb region’ around Noordwijk.

This buzzing town by the sea was founded around 1200 as a fishing village and first became a seaside resort in 1866. During these times days at the beach became a fashionable activity for the elite, many built country houses in the dunes, and hotels and catering establishments started up, with Grand Hotel Huis ter Duin being the first hotel. People believed sea water to have a cleansing effect and spa treatments played an important role back then. By the end of the 19th century tulips, daffodils and many other flowers were grown here, and nowadays the Noordwijk bulb area covers a total of 311 acres.

This unique combination of beach and flower fields turned Noordwijk into a popular destination for tourists for centuries and made it the: 'floral seaside resort of Europe'.

It's actually a lesser-known beach town, which I can highly recommend because of its great vibe, space, tranquility and unique offering of many beach clubs. The town is also home to the Space Expo, a museum dedicated to space exploration.