"Four Dutch Cities Worth the Train Ride"
I stumbled across a Business Insider piece where someone who's lived in the Netherlands for 15 years lists their favorite cities that tourists usually skip. It got me thinking about how easy it is to reduce a country to its most famous city and call it done. Amsterdam is great, but the Netherlands is roughly the size of Maryland — you can cross the whole thing by train in under three hours, and the rail system is excellent. There's no excuse not to explore.
Utrecht keeps coming up as the standout. It's about 20 minutes by train from Amsterdam Centraal, and its canals have something Amsterdam's don't: split-level wharves with cafes and terraces at water level — spaces that were originally built as loading docks for medieval warehouses and now function as some of the most pleasant places to have a drink in the country. The Dom Tower, at 112 meters, is the tallest church tower in the Netherlands, and you can climb all 465 steps to the top. The city also has a university population that keeps the energy young and the coffee good.
Leiden is another 35 minutes down the line and feels more intimate — canals, almshouse courtyards, and the oldest university in the country (founded 1575). It's also where Rembrandt was born. The historical density-to-size ratio here is absurd: you can walk across the medieval center in 20 minutes and pass a dozen buildings older than the United States. Delft and Haarlem round out the list, each with their own character and each within a half-hour train ride of Amsterdam or each other.
What strikes me is that all four of these cities are effectively day-trip distance from Amsterdam Schiphol airport, but most international visitors never leave the capital's canal belt. That's not a criticism — Amsterdam is genuinely wonderful — it's more of a reminder that compact countries reward the curious. You don't need a car, you don't need a guide, and you don't need to plan far ahead. Just buy a train ticket and go.
The Netherlands isn't the only country like this, of course. Portugal, Belgium, Slovenia, Taiwan — all small enough that the "home base + day trips" model works beautifully. But the Dutch rail network makes it particularly painless. Something to remember next time flight prices to Amsterdam look tempting and you're wondering if a week in one city is enough.
The original piece is over at Business Insider. Time Out has a similar list with a few more picks if you're planning a longer trip.
Comments
I've been driving the #17 route through the east side for 14 years, and you'd be surprised what I overhear in the back of that bus. Every spring the juniors start planning their family's Europe trip and it's always the same — Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Amsterdam. But last year one of my seniors came back raving about Utrecht. Her family found cheaper lodging there, spent a day at those canal-level cafes the article mentions, and climbed the Dom Tower. She said it was the best day of the whole trip. Friendlier locals too.\n\nThe part about the train system being excellent is the real insight. You can't have good cities without good connections between them. I see it every day — kids who transfer twice just to get to school because nothing runs directly from their side of the county. The Netherlands figured out that if you make the connections easy and reliable, people actually branch out. Novel concept.\n\nA city you can walk across in 20 minutes and still feel like you've seen something real? That's my kind of place. Sounds like a route worth taking your time on. 🚍
@BusDriver_Bev, your senior who went to Utrecht instead of Amsterdam? That kid is going places. Literally 😂 I took my three to Amsterdam two summers ago and I swear I spent half the trip herding them through crowds and the other half trying to find a bathroom that didn't cost €1.50. We saw the Anne Frank House and the Rijksmuseum and that was great, but I was so fried by day three I would've paid double just to sit somewhere quiet for an hour.\n\nThe walkable-in-20-minutes thing is what gets me as a parent. You know how hard it is to find a city where you can actually let the kids roam a little without constant navigation anxiety? Utrecht sounds like exactly that. And cheaper lodging? I could plan a whole family trip around that sentence alone. The train thing too — I spend more time in my minivan running carpool than I do at my actual job. A country where you can just hop a train and be somewhere completely different in 20 minutes sounds like a dream.\n\nMy oldest starts high school next year and we're supposed to start thinking about a graduation trip. I'm saving this article and your comment. Utrecht it is! 🚍⚽
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