Welcome to The Hague!

The Hague or, as it is known locally Den Haag (in Dutch literally means "The elegant town"), is one of the most populated areas in The Netherlands and is part of the triangle commonly known as the Ranstad. 

Other cities are Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Utrecht and their surrounding areas.  These cities form a crescent or chain.  It is because of this shape, that the name Randstad originated. Rand means 'rim' and stad means 'city'.

Since the political and administrative capital of The Netherlands is situated in The Hague, many International organisations are based here.  Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands lives and works in The Hague.  All foreign embassies and the Dutch supreme court are located in this city.

The Hague is the largest city on the North Sea.  It is not really a tourist stop.  The character of the town is very different from those of Amsterdam and Rotterdam.  The older parts of the town have wide and long tree-lined streets. The Binnenhof is the most interesting and historic cluster of buildings.The city is more spacious than other Dutch cities with very few canals in The Hague, as most of them were drained in the late 1800s.

In down-town center are a number of ultra modern buildings such as the AntonPhilips Concert Hall and the AT&T Dance Theatre. 

The big white city hall, designed by Richard Meijer, lies on Spui, oneof the main city avenues, and facing that are several modern shops. One cannot miss the The Hague’s imposing and impressive skyline.

There are a total of 26 parks in The Hague. Three most favourite ones,  especially to the expats, are Clingendael park, with its Japanese garden dating back from 1896; Westbroekpark, which has a fantastic display of over 20,000 roses in Summer and Zuider Park in the south side of the city.