The best time to visit the Netherlands is May to June or September to October, when the weather is mild and cities are quieter than the summer peak. April is also popular for tulip season in the countryside around Amsterdam. There are highlights year-round: King's Day turns the whole country orange every April 27th, Alkmaar's traditional cheese market runs weekly through spring and summer, and winter brings Christmas markets to cities including Amsterdam and Utrecht, along with canal-side ice skating when temperatures allow.

The best things to do in the Netherlands include exploring Amsterdam's canals and museums, cycling through tulip fields, and day trips to Rotterdam and The Hague.

• Exploring Amsterdam's canal rings, Anne Frank House and Rijksmuseum

• Cycling through tulip fields and windmill villages like Zaanse Schans, or visiting Keukenhof, the world's largest flower garden

• Day trips to Rotterdam for its Cube Houses, Markthal food hall and harbourfront

• Exploring The Hague's Binnenhof and Scheveningen beach

• Wandering the historic centres of Haarlem, with its Grote Kerk, and Utrecht's canal-level wharves

• Kayaking or sailing in Amsterdamse Bos, a woodland reserve near the city

• Watching the traditional cheese-weighing ceremony at Alkmaar's cheese market

• Exploring the Frisian countryside and canal towns like Sneek and Dokkum, or the Wadden Islands off the coast

The Netherlands is reachable via Eurostar direct from London St Pancras to Amsterdam Centraal, with a journey time of around 4 hours. A ferry also runs from Newcastle to Amsterdam, for those preferring an overnight sea crossing. From the rest of Europe, high-speed rail connects Amsterdam with Brussels, Paris and Cologne.