30 Tips For Rainy Days In Holland (Suggested By Locals)

Written by Pim in Activities

It often rains in the Netherlands, but it does not rain that long. Rain showers in The Netherlands generally last 1-3 hours. Hence, you must prepare for the few rainy hours in The Netherlands. So, I sat down with my fellow Dutchmen to select the 30 best indoor activities in The Netherlands to get you through those rainy hours.

I collected the 30 best indoor activities for rainy days in The Netherlands. In addition, I prepared a map to find these 30 fun indoor activities easily. Click through to the websites for more information.

I split these indoor activities per city and region and briefly described each activity to decide if this activity may be something for you.

Map Of Things To Do In Holland When It Rains

10 Things To Do In Amsterdam When It Rains

What are fun indoor activities in Amsterdam?

The 30 Best Museums In Holland (Suggested By Locals)

Visit The Rijksmuseum

The Rijksmuseum is the National Museum for an excellent reason. It has the best and most extensive collection of eight centuries of art in The Netherlands. For example, the Rijksmuseum exhibits many paintings by famous Dutch painters such as Rembrandt, Vermeer, and countless others.

If you want to, you can spend days in this museum, but you can also focus on the top pieces of art, with the Nightwatch by Rembrandt van Rijn, the Netherlands’ best-known painting, as the absolute highlight. That is a great way to spend those few rainy hours.

Visit The Van Gogh Museum

Vincent van Gogh is one of the most famous Dutch painters ever. He produced 900 paintings and 1100 drawings in barely ten years. The van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam has 200 paintings and 500 pencil drawings in its collection.

The van Gogh Museum has grouped the paintings chronologically to give you an overview of van Gogh’s personal and artistic development as a painter. Van Gogh began to paint in the Netherlands with sober tones and portraits of poor farmers, as shown in The Potato Eaters.

Don’t worry about the rain,
Most of it falls next to you

Visit The Royal Palace

The Royal Palace is one of the most incredible museums in The Netherlands. Most days, visitors are welcome. The Palace is at the King’s disposal and used by the Dutch Royal Family during state visits and official events. Of course, the Palace is closed to visitors during royal events. You have to check their website when it is open to the public.

The Royal Palace was originally built as the town hall of Amsterdam in the 17th century, and architect Jan van Campen designed the building to reflect Amsterdam’s power and wealth in the 17th century. As a result, the Royal Palace is one of the largest and most prestigious buildings from the 17th century, making it one of the Netherlands’ most famous monuments.

10 Things To Do In Rotterdam When It Rains

What are fun indoor activities in Rotterdam?

  • Visit the Markthal, an indoor market with exquisite food
  • Visit the SS Rotterdam, a former cruise ship of 1950s style
  • Visit the Euromast, the best view of Rotterdam, high and dry
  • Go shopping and stay dry with a roofed area next to the shops
    • Shopping area ‘Koopgoot.’
    • Shopping area “Lijnbaan.”
  • Visit the Maritime Museum; to understand the relationship between the Dutch and water.
  • Splashtour; spectacular city trip on a bus turning into a boat
  • Take the children with you to the cinema.
    • Pathe is the largest cinema in Rotterdam.

Visit The Markthal

The Markthal (Market Hall) is a colossal construction near the Grote Markt. This building’s unique aspect is that it combines food shops with restaurants and apartments, all in one building. The Markthall offers a place for 220 apartments, 4600 m2 of shopping space, and 1600 m2 for restaurants. It also has a parking garage beneath the Markthal for more than 1000 cars. The Markthal was inaugurated in 2014 by The Dutch Queen Maxima.

Visit The Euromast

The Euromast is a tower in Rotterdam designed by Hugh Maaskant and constructed between 1958 and 1960 and by far the highest building in Rotterdam, with 195 meters. Their slogan is “Be on top,” which is appropriate for the city’s tallest building. In addition, some restaurants are located in the Euromast with breathtaking views of Rotterdam and the river Maas.

Visit The Steamship Rotterdam

The SS Rotterdam (steamship Rotterdam) is a former cruise ship of the Holland America line moored in the Maashaven at the river Maas’ south bank. The SS Rotterdam is unique because it has been completely renovated in the style of the ’50s when it still used to sail the oceans.

You can visit the SS Rotterdam. You can have dinner and drinks on the ship and even book a hotel room since it is also a hotel. The SS Rotterdam offers a unique experience and the best views of the skylines of Rotterdam.

Visit The Maritime Museum

Rotterdam is one of the world’s biggest harbors, so there is no better place in The Netherlands to have a maritime museum. The museum is in an old city port close to the center. So you will not get a more authentic setup for a maritime museum than this one in Rotterdam.

You can find more information about this museum and purchase tickets online here.

Impression of a rainy day in The Netherlands
What does a rainy day in The Netherlands look like?

5 Things To Do In The Hague and Leiden When It Rains

Visit The Mauritshuis Museum In The Hague

The Mauritshuis in the center of The Hague is a unique museum because of its unbelievable collection of absolute masterpieces of Dutch and Flemish painters of the 17th century. No other museum in The Netherlands has such a high concentration of world-renowned paintings.

World-renowned paintings such as Rembrandt’s The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring, and Potter’s The Bull are well-known highlights of its collection. Add to this the best work of Jan Steen, the magnificent landscapes by Jacob van Ruisdael, and fabulous portraits of Rubens, and you may start to understand my enthusiasm for the Mauritshuis.

You can find more information on the website of the Mauritshuis Museum.

Take The Kids to Tiki Pool In Wassenaar

Duinrell distinguishes itself from other Dutch amusement parks because it has a vast swimming park (called “water park Tiki Pool”) with more than 20 slides for a fantastic total of more than 1,5 km of slides. Some of these slides are so spectacular that we are pretty confident your teenagers will not get bored in Duinrell but can impress their friends through social media with the fantastic aqua park in their backyard.

6 Things To Do In The South Of The Netherlands When It Rains

Go Shopping In the Designer Outlet Roermond

Designer Outlet Roermond is ideally located to welcome many visitors from Germany and Belgium. It is a massive outlet with over 180 stores and most major brands. Therefore, I understand why this outlet welcomes more than 8 million visitors annually because it is a paradise for shoppers.

Check the Designer Outlet Roermond website to find out their opening hours.

The 3 Best Dutch Fashion Outlets (Reviewed By Locals)

Go Shopping In The Designer Outlet Roosendaal

Roosendaal’s designer outlet center is the smallest of the three outlets but still has 85 shops and 5 restaurants. On their website, you can check if your favorite brand is present in this outlet.

4 Things To Do In The East & North Of The Netherlands When It Rains

Go Shopping In Batavia Stad Fashion Outlet

Batavia Stad is a large shopping outlet located in Lelystad and a 30-45 minutes drive from Amsterdam. Batavia Stad calls itself the “Amsterdam fashion outlet center”. When you visit Amsterdam, visiting Batavia Stad can be pretty attractive on a rainy morning or afternoon.

Visit the Railway Museum In Utrecht

The Spoorwegmuseum (Railway Museum) has an extensive collection of locomotives, train carriages, steam engines, scale models, paintings of trains, railway materials, and objects.

The Railway Museum has a fantastic location, the former Maliebaan railway station, built in 1874. This railway station is completely restored. You’ll find a richly painted vestibule with chandeliers, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd class waiting rooms, a luxurious dining room, and even toilets in the 19th-century atmosphere.

You can get to the museum in style by train! From Utrecht CS, the museum train will take you to the museum, and you will get off the train in the middle of the museum. A very original (and handy) way to start a trip through the museum; the children will love it.

You can find more information on the website of the Railway Museum.

Go Shopping In Hoog Catharijne Shopping Mall

That shopping mall is called ‘Hoog Catharijne’ and is located in the center of Utrecht. Hoog Catharijne lies next to the train station of Utrecht, making it very easy to reach. The main shopping area of Utrecht is on the other side of Hoog Catharijne, and this combination makes Utrecht a unique shopping city with plenty of choices.

Hoog Catharijne has recently been renovated. It is now an up-to-date and modern shopping mall. I like Hoog Catharijne because it is all indoors, but it does not feel like that. On a rainy day, you can come in by train and shop in Hoog Catharijne without getting out in the rain.

You can check out the website of Hoog Catharijne if you want to find out in advance if your favorite brands are present there.

Visit The Orchid Farm In Luttelgeest

The Orchid Farm in Luttelgeest is entirely indoors and consists of several greenhouses. You will find colorful gardens, orchids, butterflies, and fishes in these greenhouses.

The Orchid Farm is a lovely and surprising concept and deserves your consideration as a family activity.

30 Things To Do In The Netherlands (Suggested By Locals)

You may also be interested in activities when the weather is nice in The Netherlands.

In that case, you should read another article on this website (30 Things To Do In The Netherlands (Suggested By Locals)) for tips, inspiration, and destinations in The Netherlands.

Pim

Pim has lived his entire life in The Netherlands and he enjoys revisiting all the Dutch towns he liked and rediscovering all activities that he enjoyed.

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