Netherlands Guide
The south and Zeeland
Three widely disparate provinces make up the southern Netherlands. Zeeland is a scattering of villages and towns whose wealth, survival and sometimes destruction have long depended on the vagaries of the sea. Secured only in 1986, when the dykes and sea walls of the Delta Project were finally completed, many settlements seem held in suspended animation from a richer past.
As you head across the arc of towns of Noord-Brabant the landscape slowly fills out, rolling into a rougher countryside of farmland and forests, unlike the precise rectangles of neighbouring provinces.
Continental rather than Dutch, Limburg has only been part of the Netherlands since the 1830s, but way before then the presence of Charlemagne's court at neighbouring Aachen greatly influenced the identity of the region.
Highlights
1 Middelburg Pleasant maritime town, capital of the watery province of Zeeland.
2 The Walcheren coast Zeeland's windswept coast has some dramatic footpaths and cycle routes.
3 Delta Expo The Delta Project – a monumental engineering project to protect the Netherlands from flooding – is commemorated in this outstanding exhibition.
4 Carnival at Bergen-op-Zoom If you're around in February, don't miss the country's most exuberant carnival.
5 Breda Pretty little town with a stunning Gothic cathedral.
6 ‘s Hertongenbosch This lively market town has a picturesque old quarter of alleys and little bridges.
7 Roermond A popular holiday spot, Roermond makes a good base for exploring the nearby lakes on the Maasplassen and woods of the National Park De Meinweg.
8 Maastricht Alluringly cosmopolitan city in the far south, squashed between the Belgian and German borders.