I have made it my mission to try and visit as many castles and palaces as I could in the Netherlands. Castle De Haar popped up on my radar during the Christmas time because it has one of the best light shows in the country.
December is not the only time that the castle is popular. In fact, people head here all throughout the year because there are plenty of indoor and outdoor activities to keep you occupied. You really don’t have to worry about the weather.
Castle De Haar is perfect as a day trip from Amsterdam. It works for people who want to see a bit of the Dutch countryside too. I have always advocated getting out of the capital city and seeing more of the Netherlands. The country may be small but it has some really interesting cities and towns. Castle De Haar is one perfect example of this.
Not only is it a fun activity, it also tells you a lot about the Dutch history. The castle is a show of wealth but it is also an iconic monument of the Netherlands that has been restored and renovated. There’s a story of how this came about. You’ll get all the details of it at the start of your tour!
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How To Get To Castle De Haar
Getting to Castle De Haar is reasonably easy. You can do it in three ways. Use public transport, drive or take a tour.
Public Transport
What you need to do is catch a train from Amsterdam Central railway station to Utrecht. From there catch Bus 28 to Vleuten Station. Lastly catch bus 111 to Castle De Haar. The journey will take you an hour and a half by public transport but it’s worth it. It is also worth noting that the bus stop for Bus 111 is right outside the Castle.
Drive
Driving for us was the most practical because of the distance. We were traveling from Groningen and we were traveling with kids. Note that if you want to drive here, there is a huge parking lot. You can book your parking in advance. We visited in summer and the parking lot was crowded.
Tickets To Castle De Haar
⭐️ Rating: 4.7/5 (883 Reviews) Price: $21 per person Duration: Valid for 1 day📍Meeting Point: Kasteellaan 1, 3455 RR Utrecht Details: Read more on Get Your Guide Now!
The Castle De Haar tickets can easily be bought online. There are only a certain amount of tickets that are sold each day. This is to ensure that the castle is not over crowded. It is pretty much like the major museums in Amsterdam.
“This is a BEAUTIFUL castle. SO ornately detailed. 10000 times worth the visit! Try to go for the Christmas Festival/Market. The employees at the Castle are amazingly knowledgeable and passionate about sharing the history with you. Kind and friendly. FIVE star experience.”
Holly (read more reviews now!)
If you are a local and have the museum card like us, you have to clock your entry online. That way you are counted in the day’s stats and don’t have to worry about being turned away if there are a lot of people in the queue.
Note: You can also just buy tickets to the park gardens.
Best Time To Visit Castle De Haar
Castle De Haar is a great spot in all weathers. It is very popular in summer or on days when the weather is good because you can use all parts of the complex well. This is especially true for the enormous grounds.
In December, there is a light show called Luminous nights that is pretty amazing. Here you walk around the castle grounds in the night and check out the interactive light displays. Children love these and adults find it fun too.
One thing that you need to know is that you should dress up warm because you will be outdoors in the cold for this activity. The ticket to the light show is different from that to the Castle De Haar.
Things To Do In Castle De Haar
Inside The Castle
The Castle is just one part of the entire complex. It is an impressive structure and you can easily spend 1-2 hours just wandering around. One of the important things that you should know is that you have to check all your luggage and eatables into a locker before you enter. This is actually great because the lockers are free and you can move about unencumbered.
Activities For Children
Just before you start off check and see if there are any activities for children. When we visited there was a scavenger hunt that was tailored for both very young children and the older ones. This usually makes the route inside the castle more interesting for families.
Take The Castle Tour
You don’t actually have to book a tour for the inside of Castle de Haar. If you want you can get an audio guide or you can choose to download the Castle De Haar app. It has a free guide to the interior of the castle. The route through the castle is pretty easy.
All you have to do is walk through the marked path. Each room has descriptions in different languages. Each card provides information about the history of the room and notable artifacts that you should pay attention to.
While we roamed about the castle I often felt like we were going in circles. This is because the inside of the castle does not have corridors. Instead you move about the rooms and always land up reaching the main central room. This does not matter which level you are on because the central room has a very high ceiling!
The Castle Gardens
The Castle gardens of Castle de Haar are huge. The thing is there aren’t many planned activities in the area.
You have to wing it on your own and see what you would like to do. The map is very helpful when it comes to this. Here are couple of things that we loved.
The Botanical Gardens: It gives you one of the most picturesque views of Castle De Haar and is a great place for photographs
Stotkapel Kasteel Harzuilens: There is a chapel in the garden grounds and is right next to the castle. It is gorgeous and is worth stopping by to look at. You can’t enter it though.
Doolhof: This is a labeled as a playground on Google but its a labyrinth. Its fun for both the young and he old. We actually spent over half an hour here and it was very unexpected.
Eat At One Of The Restaurants: You can also catch a bite to eat where you can catch a view of the castle while you eat.
As you can see, a day trip from Amsterdam to Castle de Haar totally makes sense. Its a beautiful place which works in all kinds of weather though I personally prefer to visit it on one of the summer days. The numerous things to do in Castle de Haar make it a place that you can spend the whole day in.