Regions in Brief

Alkmaar

30km (19 miles) N of Amsterdam

Getting There -- Trains depart at least every hour from Amsterdam Centraal Station to Alkmaar; the trip takes around 30 minutes by fast train, and a round-trip ticket is 12€ ($15). By car from Amsterdam, take A8, N246, N203, and A9 north.

Visitor Information -- VVV Alkmaar is at Waagplein 2, 1811 JP Alkmaar (tel. 072/511-4284; fax 072/511-7513; www.vvvalkmaar.nl), in the center city. The office is open Monday from 10am to 5:30pm, Tuesday and Wednesday from 9am to 5:30pm, Thursday from 9am to 9pm, Friday from 9am to 6pm, and Saturday from 9:30am to 5pm.

Den Helder & Texel

These two places are connected like sea-going Siamese twins. Den Helder, a harbor town on the tip of the Noord-Holland peninsula, with the North Sea on one side and the Wadden Sea on the other, is the gateway to the vacation island of Texel.