The Netherlands is a small monarchy in the Northwest of Europe, between the North Sea, Belgium and Germany, known for much more than cheese, windmills, tulips.

Its recorded history starts with the Roman invasion halfway the first century A.D. but it had its heydays in the 17th century when it disputed hegemony of the Seven Seas with the English and the Spanish empires. In that period New York, parts of India, a series of forts along the African Coast and the Colonies in Indonesia formed part of the vast Dutch Empire.

Though most historic town centers in The Netherlands date back to the Dark Ages, most building was done in era of oversea expansion and in the nineteenth century when the country finally took the industrial revolution seriously. In Amsterdam, Leiden or Utrecht you can see the big 17th century mansions once owned by the commanders of the Dutch fleet and those of the rich merchants who financed the wars with their overseas gains. They were the Dutch elite by lack of real aristocracy. The preferred small items of great value stashed away in their mansions over baroque palaces. Though the Dutch never were really extravagant and did not have a real court like there were in Germany, France and Spain, they were very proud of themselves. This can still be seen in the countless portrait paintings they commissioned. They also were the patrons of the famous Dutch painters like Rembrandt, Van Hals or Vermeer.

Apart from the glory days of the 17th century there is much in the Netherlands to attract the present day visitor. Visitors will find a very open, relaxed and international atmosphere, some great museums with both modern art and historical chef-d'oeuvres. Due to the bombardment that levelled the city and the reckless renovations that followed Rotterdam is the only real modern town of The Netherlands (not to mention, the largest seaport in the world), not counting boring suburbs like Lelystad or Almere. Especially compared to mega cities like New York, London, Paris or even Cologne, the Dutch cities are all somewhat provincial and lacking the great gesture. Nonetheless places like Den Bosch ('s Hertogenbosch) and Arnhem are also certainly worth a visit, with the latter being close to the national park 'Hoge Veluwe'.