The Holland Society of New York’s Netherlands Heritage Trip
March 21-28, 2026
On the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the founding of New Netherland, the Holland Society organized an exclusive guided trip to the Netherlands during March 21-28, 2026.
On Saturday March 21st, the group of 33 members and friends checked in at their hotel in The Hague and gathered for welcome drinks & dinner.
On Sunday the group started with a city tour of The Hague which included a visit to the Panorama Mesdag Museum where you can see Scheveningen as it was in 1888. This is the largest panoramic painting in the world. Sunday afternoon was spent in Delft with a walking tour followed by a visit to a Delft pottery where everyone loved seeing some of the master painters of Royal Delft in action!
On Monday, the group visited the Rijksmuseum in the morning followed by lunch in the center of Amsterdam and an Amsterdam canal tour.
Day 4 of the tour, the group had an early departure and went on a walking tour of Gouda before participating in a stroopwafel making workshop! They explored the city center before returning to the bakery for lunch. Next, they traveled around Rotterdam by coach, making stops to see some of the city’s notable modern architecture. The day ended with a stop in Delfshaven to visit the Pilgrim Father’s church.
Day 5 the group drove through Rotterdam Harbor heading to Zeeland, where much of the land was inundated during the flooding in 1953. They drove over the Deltaworks, Brouwersdam, and Neeltje Jans and returned over the Zeeland bridge to Zierikzee and Ouwerkerk. The group visited the fascinating North Sea Flood Museum before driving to Oud Vossemeer for lunch at the Huys van Roosevelt and touring the Roosevelt Information Center in town. Many Roosevelts, including Teddy and Franklin, have been members of the Holland Society, and the Society will be sending copies of our correspondence to the museum for display.
The group had a jam-packed day on Thursday with an early morning wake up call to get the most out of the beautiful Keukenhof gardens. We were so lucky to see beautiful blooms inside and out—even a brief rain and hail shower couldn’t dampen the group’s enjoyment.
After Keukenhof, the group visited Schermerhorn and the municipal museum, housed in a windmill. The Schermerhorn members of the party were especially happy to visit! The day concluded with a visit to Edam to a factory that makes cheese and wooden shoes, for a demonstration and wine and cheese tasting.
Friday was the last day of the tour and the group got to sleep in after an early start the day before! They walked over to Mauritshuis, learning more about the Binnenhof parliament buildings along the way. The guided tour of the Mauritshuis was a true highlight of the trip. After, the group split up for lunch, visits to the Escher Museum, and shopping before meeting at the Nationaal Archief for a visit to the vaults, led by Alex, Lidwien, and Henk Looijesteijn. The evening saw the group convene at a nearby Indonesian restaurant for a traditional rijsttafel as farewell dinner.
