Madurodam, Den Hague

Although I spent almost a week in Amsterdam, I did not have much chance to look around considering it was that time more for work than vacation. I thought the best way to see and to know more about Holland (well apart from the Red Light District), that Madurodam would be a MUST visit - so that to know abit about the country.

Madurodam is a miniature city (1:25 scale) located in Den Hague. The city was named after George Maduro.

Madurodam is indeed one major tourist attraction in Holland. As you can see, the park was crowded with people especially on weekends. The miniature city has some two hundreds of models.

This is probably the Super Container Ship that travels to the Far East.

Dutch Maritime Museum (Amsterdam) - a marine warehouse housed all kinds of materials needed for the shipping sector.

Amsterdam's largest renaissance church Westerkerk (Amsterdam), where Queen Beatrix and late Prince Claus were married in this church.

In the canal 'Herengracht' are the Holland International round-trip boats which give you a completely different view of Amsterdam.

Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam) houses one of the major collections of paintings from the 15th to 19th centuries.

The street cafes on the Rembrandtplein are crowded with people (fake ones). The Rembrandt Square was named after the famous painter.

Frans Hals Museum (Haarlem) - named after the 17th century painter Frans Hals and has more than a dozen paintings by him in the museum as well as others' artwork and collections.

The Canal 'Voldersgracht' in Delft.

Not sure the significance of this building. Forgot.

Delftse Poort - the head office of an insurance company in Rotterdam.

The two office towers of the building - both the full size and the miniature one are made entirely of glass.

Het Binnenhof (Den Hague) - the Dutch Parliament buildings, has been the centre of government of the country for centuries.

The scrap iron barge that plies back and forth the little canal.

The Royal Palace (in Dam Square) was the City Hall of Amsterdam for one and a half centuries, until King Lodewijk Napoleon furnished it as a palace in 1808, which it has remained ever since. The palace is now used by Queen Beatrix for official receptions.

The Concertgebouw is considered one of the three finest concert halls in the world, along with Boston's Symphony Hall and the Musikverein in Vienna.

The Peace Palace (Den Hague) is the seat of the International Court of Justice. And it is one of the oldest buildings of Madurodam.

The Noord-Holland town of Broek op Langedijk is home to Europe's oldest vegetable auction but now a museum.

Frisian 'Head-Neck-Body farm' (Wunseradiel) - the living accommodation (the head) is linked to the farm building (the body) by a narrow section (the neck).

Hans Brinker is the young hero of legend who pushed first his finger, and later his entire arm, into a hole in the dyke all night long, to keep out the water that threatened to flood the country. He has become a symbol of Holland's age - old battle against water.

House of the Future (Rosmalen) built to show how a house might look tomorrow.

Royal Palace 'Huis ten Bosch' in Den Hague - the residential palace of Queen Beatrix.

Village square with Salvation Army Band - you can listen to the band by inserting a 10 cent coin.

The Bulb field of Lisse but in Madurodam, which blooms all year round.

DD-IRM 'Regiorunner' - the longer distance lines for the Dutch Rail. Madurodam has the world's largest miniature railway.

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol - the airport is ranked fourth in terms of passenger traffic.

George Maduro fought the Nazi occupation forces as a member of the Dutch resistance and died at Dachau Concentration Camp (click here) in 1945. His parents donated money to start the Madurodam project.

For more information, click Madurodam : Holland in Miniature