Beyond Amsterdam
Haarlem: the back story
The back story
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © This Photo was taken by Wolfgang Moroder. Feel free to use my photos, but please · CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia CommonsAbout Haarlem: the back story
Haarlem is a short NS train ride west of Amsterdam: a compact old city around the Grote Markt and its great church, with the Frans Hals Museum and the Teylers Museum, the oldest museum in the Netherlands (1784) in its own words.
Getting there
By NS train from Amsterdam Centraal to Haarlem station, then a short walk to the Grote Markt.
The museums
The Frans Hals Museum for the Golden Age portraitist, and the Teylers Museum on the Spaarne.
NS trains run from Amsterdam Centraal to Haarlem; check ns.nl.
Eating
ML and Ratatouille Food & Wine each hold One MICHELIN Star in the 2026 guide.
Our advice: combine the two museums with lunch by the Spaarne.
Why it's on our list
- Getting there
- The museums
- Eating
Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Haarlem: the back story before you go.
What’s nearby
Distances from Haarlem: the back story are approximate, measured in a straight line (as the crow flies). Times are approximate too: walking at about 80 metres a minute, cycling at about 14 km/h and driving at typical city-traffic speeds. Traffic and routes vary.
Key sights
- Schiphol Airport9.4 kmCycle 40 minCar or taxi 36 min
- Concertgebouw17 kmCar or taxi 61 min
- Van Gogh Museum17 kmCar or taxi 61 min
- Anne Frank House17 kmCar or taxi 61 min
- Rijksmuseum17 kmCar or taxi 62 min
- The Begijnhof17 kmCar or taxi 63 min
- The Dam17 kmCar or taxi 63 min
- A’DAM Lookout18 kmCar or taxi 65 min
Main railway stations
- Amsterdam Zuid17 kmCar or taxi 61 min
- Amsterdam Centraal18 kmCar or taxi 65 min
- Amsterdam Amstel20 kmCar or taxi 70 min