Getting There

By Plane -- Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, 40km (25 miles) away, also serves the Hague. Train service frequently runs from the airport to the Hague, with up to six trains an hour during the day and one an hour at night; the ride takes around 35 minutes, and a round-trip ticket costs 17.80€. A taxi from Schiphol to the Hague center city takes 30 minutes in light traffic and costs around 65€.

By Train -- The Hague has excellent rail connections from around the Netherlands, with up to six trains arriving hourly from Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Utrecht. Intercity trains take around 50 minutes from Amsterdam and Utrecht, and 25 minutes from Rotterdam. A round-trip ticket from Amsterdam is 24.40€. Note that the city has two main stations: Centraal station (CS) and Hollands Spoor (HS). Most city sights are closer to Centraal station, but many trains, among them Thalys and other international trains from France and Belgium, stop only at Hollands Spoor. Both stations are well served by public transportation.

By Car -- From Amsterdam and the north, take A4/E19; from Rotterdam and the south, take A13/E19; and from Utrecht and the east, take A12/E30. You'll want to avoid all three snelwegen (expressways) during the morning and evening peak hours, when the designation can seem like a bad joke. At other times, you should be able to go from both Amsterdam and Utrecht in under an hour, and from Rotterdam in around 20 minutes.

Visitor Information

Tourist information is at The Hague Info Store (THIS), Spui 68 (https://denhaag.com; tel. 070/361-8860), close to the Binnenhof (Parliament). The office is open Monday noon to 8pm, Tuesday to Friday 10am to 8pm, Saturday 10am to 5pm, and Sunday noon to 5pm.

Getting Around

Public transportation in The Hague is operated by HTM (www.htm.nl). Centraal Station is the primary interchange point for bus and tram routes, and HS station is the secondary node. The city center is easily walkable but several attractions are best reached by public transport, including the Gemeentemuseum and the coastal town of Scheveningen. Going by tram is the quickest way to get around town; Tram no. 1 is useful for sightseers as it travels from the North Sea coast at Scheveningen through The Hague and all the way to Delft.

A two-hour ticket costs 4€; if you will be traveling extensively around the city, a one-day ticket is 7.10€ and 1.50€ for children ages 4 to 12. As with the public transport in Amsterdam, you need to check in and out when you enter and leave trams and buses. You can purchase tickets at vending machines in the train stations and at the tourist offices or onboard the tram and bus using a credit card or debit card (though keep in mind the machines may not work with non-chip-and-pin cards). You can also buy tickets with cash from the driver.   

Regulated taxis wait at stands outside both main rail stations and at other strategic points around town; you can also hail them in the streets. Uber is also available.

Special Events

The State Opening of Parliament, during which the queen delivers a speech from the throne in the Hall of the Knights , is worth being in town for. On Prinsjesdag (Princes' Day), the third Tuesday in September, she arrives and departs in her golden coach -- like Cinderella -- drawn by high-stepping royal horses.

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.