There are plenty of things to do in Palace Het Loo to keep you occupied for a whole day! This palace is one of the cool palaces in the Netherlands and it is off the beaten path for most visitors in the country. That should not come as a surprise because people tend to stick to central Amsterdam.
If you have time on your hands you definitely should try to visit the Palace. One thing that you should keep in mind is that the campus is HUGE. We reached the palace at 1pm and finished up at 5pm. Despite spending 4 hours inside we felt a bit rushed. I would have liked to sit around and enjoy the palace a bit more.
No matter how much time you have to spare, you will find that Palace Het Loo in Apeldoorn is totally worth it.
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Table of Contents
Het Loo Palace Timings
Open from Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 5pm. The palace is closed on Mondays except on pubic holidays and vacations.
How To Get To Palace Het Loo
Palace Het Loo is about 90 km away from Amsterdam and you can get there by public transport, take a tour or drive. I’m going to give you the details on each of them. Hopefully this makes planning you trip easier.
By Car
We headed to Palace Het Loo from Groningen. For us the easiest way to get there was to drive. You could use the public transportation system but that would have taken longer for us and since we had kids in tow, we chose to be more fluid with our plans.
Parking in Palace Het Loo is easy enough. It is paid parking though but the lot is huge so you should find space even if you arrive late on a holiday. The paid parking is not too expensive by Dutch standards. You have to pay 8 euros per vehicle for a whole day. It also has the facility for charging electric cars and electric cycles.
By Public Transport
If you are interested in all the things to do in Palace Het Loo but are a bit daunted about heading here on your own, don’t be. The public transport in the Netherlands is pretty good despite the frequent delays lately.
What you need to do is take a train from Amsterdam to Apeldoorn. From there, head to bus station and take a bus to Het Loo Palace. Now there are many buses that run along this route but the most commonly used ones are 102 and 112.
Take A Tour
Ticket Prices To Het Loo Palace
⭐️ Rating: 4.2/5 (76 Reviews) Price: $22 per person Duration: Valid for 1 day 📍Meeting Point: Het Loo Palace Details: Read more on Get Your Guide Now!
The ticket prices to Het Loo Palace are determined by age.
- 4-17 years – €9.50
- From 18 years – €19.50
- Family card – €50
- Museum card, VIP card and other entrance tickets – Free
“The gardens and views from the observation deck The palace itself is also amazing. I recommend it”
Ewa (read more reviews now!)
Check The Availability of Tickets
Note that these are prices you will pay to enter the palace and are not a reflection of what tours from other cities cost. Now you can also book your ticket online which will save you time when you get to the location.
Best Time To Visit Palace Het Loo
There is no special great time to visit Palace Het Loo. This is simply because it has both a very large indoor and outdoor area to explore. This means that if the weather is bad, you can stay nice dry and warm indoors.
The best time however to be at the palace and truly explore it is on a nice bright sunny day in summer. The gardens are gorgeous. The mix of different flowering and fruiting plants, the landscaping and the gorgeous fountains is one of the main attractions of the site. I’ll be talking about it in a bit.
Things To Do In Palace Het Loo
There are loads of things to do in Palace Het Loo. This is easily divided into the indoor and outdoor activities. I however like to divide it further into the main palace, the junior palace and the Palace Het Loo gardens.
The Main Palace
The main palace is huge. It is divided into a variety of sections and rooms. Each part chronicles a different part of Dutch history.
1. Learn About The Orange History
One of the first rooms takes you through a whole section dedicated to the Orange History. This is all about the current ruling party. The Orange exhibit is one of the permanent exhibits in the palace. Here you see paintings, memorabilia, medals and more which are linked to individual members of the royal family and their ancestors.
I particularly like how interactive some of the exhibits are. They are aimed at all age groups and helped even our young kids learn about Dutch history. I initially thought that it was a small exhibit but t took us over three floors and plenty of different aspects of history.
2. The Palace Tours
Once you are done learning about the Orange history, head on to the main part of the palace tour. In fact, you will find that there are two palace tours that you can take. One is the the west route and the east route. Before you start off, you can get an audio guide. This costs 2 euro per guide but they are awesome and seriously one of the best audio guides in the Netherlands because everything is narrated in story format.
The East Route
This was the route that we did in detail and the audio guide walked us through the history linked with each room. The story is narrated by Count Hans Willem Bentinck who was the best friend of William III. William and Mary’s story is something that is bound to tug on the heart strings. When they became the king and queen of England, the palace became a focal point in European politics.
This part of the palace gives you an idea of how William and Mary lived, how Mary pinned for children and at the end how William could not get over the loss of Mary. The narration gives you a pretty balanced account of history and since it is easy to follow, the children also enjoy listening to it.
The West Route
We ran short of time on this section of the route so we did not listen to the whole audio guide. The west route showcases the house of Wilhelmina who was the the great-grandmother of the current king, King Willem-Alexander. She lived her entire life in this palace and you can walk through her life and world while Ziarah and Mark take you on a virtual tour.
3. The Palace Roof
You could easily forget or miss the visit to the palace roof. If you haven’t found the staircase that leads to the top after exploring both wings, ask one of the ushers around you. They will point you in the right direction.
The palace roof has the best views in the building. You do want to head up on a day when the weather is good or relatively good. It is pretty high up even though it does not look as much from down. You have to climb 125 steps to go up. My kids thought it was endless. Given their tiny feet, I can imagine why it felt like that. There is an elevator though so you don’t have to climb the steps.
Things To Do In Palace Het Loo With Children
Did you know that there are plenty of things to do in Palace Het Loo with children? In fact there were so many things to do that we almost didn’t have time to see the palace because it was so hard to drag the kids away from the activities. It is important to note that the activities change around and we visited in summer so a number of activities were in the gardens which suited us well.
4. Junior Palace
One of the well known things to do in Palace Het Loo with kids is to visit the Junior palace. This is one of the permanent set ups in the complex and is designed for children. There are all kinds of puzzles for them to solve and trails to complete inside.
One of the mistakes that we made was not booking our slot. You should do this as soon as you get into the complex. They fill up quickly so if you want to send your kids go here, be proactive.
5. Palace Het Loo Gardens
The Palace Het Loo Gardens are great for both the young and the old. During summer there are a number of different activities that are set up in the grounds for children. This includes archery, musical performances, theater acts and a variety of different games. There are different events that are held here throughout the year oo.
The gardens in Palace Het Loo are exquisitely maintained. One of the interesting facts about these gardens is that they have been kept exactly the same way that King-Stadtholder William III and Queen Mary II Stuart had it. You’ll see all kinds of different flowers, fruiting trees and even fountains with fish swimming in the ponds.
There is even a hiking trail right at the end. Entrance to this trail however closes at 4:30pm so make sure that you check in early.
6. The Palace Stables
The palace stables are the first section of the palace that you will see. You can do this part of the complex either on your way in or on your way out. It is also free to enter and see which was rather cool. There are three parts of this section which you can visit. On side houses the horses. The second and the third has some of the iconic cars, carriages and sleighs that the royals have used over the generations.
Right in front of the stables is a large circle where they set up cycles for young children. It was totally free and the kids could choose which ever cycle they wanted and cycle for as long as they wanted.
7. The Mini Palace Or The Play Palace
Just opposite the stables is a café and at the side of it is a mini palace. This mini palace is a playground for kids to play in and is super cool on the days when the weather is great. There is even a wooden horse for the kids to ride.
Other Cool Things To Do In Palace Het Loo
8. Chill At A Café
Since the palace is huge, it is not surprising that here are a number of cafes in the palace. Many of them are in the gardens where you can enjoy the ambiance, the flowers and the festivities. The best part is that the different cafes are aimed at different budgets so you can pick one that fits your budget.
9. Don’t Forget Souvenir Shopping
I have to say that the souvenir shop in the Palace is really cool. There are loads of different types of souvenirs for adults and kids alike. We even got a cute dress for our daughter from here and I’m not generally the kind to buy souvenirs in museums. Don’t get me wrong. I’m always tempted but rarely give in.
10. Picnic In The Palace Grounds
One of the coolest things to do in Palace Het Loo is to have a picnic on the grounds. They even have cushions placed out that you can lounge on. If you’ve forgotten to pack your picnic lunch then you can get a snack at the café in the garden.
If you are in the Netherlands and are contemplating whether the things to do in Palace Het Loo are worth your time and effort, then I would have to go with yes! The palace is gorgeous, there is plenty to see and everyone irrespective of age, everyone loves it.
Have you checked out all the things to do in Palace Het Loo? Let me know in the comments below.
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