It’s not everyday you share the same waiting lounge with Cinderella. You know that you’re daydreaming but it’s not that bad, is it? They say “You can never accomplish what you’ve never fully imagined“. You are waiting. Your adult self has gradually started drifting away in a nostalgic journey recollecting golden moments. Moments that were once safely locked away in your heart. “A dream is a wish your heart makes” isn’t that a quote from the movie ‘Cinderella’? Smiling, You blinked at her. Cinderella has stood up now. Is she coming this way? You blinked again. Yes, she is. And then, she suddenly said ‘That’s the bus to Castle de Haar!’
When I first set my foot on the European soil, I had three things in mind. Windmill, Snow and Castle. From Schiphol Airport, When I was on the way to my apartment, I encountered Windmills. As the Winter approached, I realized Snow in Netherlands is not very common. While you might consider France or Germany as the destination if a castle trip is on your mind, I encourage you to take a look at Castle de Haar. It is a 20th century idea of what an ideal medieval castle should look like. It has got a moat, an impressive garden, magnificent towers. It’s beautifully ornated with a large royal entrance gate. It’s truly a medieval princess’s dream.
We visited the Castle in September. Do you know Why? It’s because For over a century it has been a tradition for the Van Zuylen van Nijevelt van de Haar family to reside in the castle for one month a year, in September. Now, you can understand from the name itself that Castle de Haar got its name from this very family. If you are interested to know more about its history, I suggest you to read this article.
Best Time To Visit
There are two answers to this Question. Firstly, what’s the correct season (Summer or Winter or Some other season) and secondly what time of the day? Let me try to answer both.
When we first planned Castle de Haar, we decided to visit the Castle in Winter to get a feeling of the Castle from the movie Frozen. By looking photos online, it looked like a great option to watch the snow covered castle in a foggy winter morning. However, when the actual winter (Dec 2019 – Feb 2020) arrived, we quickly realized that getting heavy snow in Holland these days is quite a luck (Although 2021 was a real exception). So, at first, we chose Spring because we had an impression that flowers bloom the best in Spring but as you know the entire world went into lockdown in that period so Summer was the only option. And, after visiting the castle in Summer, we can positively say that it is the best season to visit if you want a wide variety of flowers.
However, many of you are probably planning to visit Holland during the Tulip season in Spring. You might ask, is it worth visiting the castle garden then? The Answer is obviously Yes. But as that’s the most dry season so the grass won’t be that green and the flowers will be less compared to that in Summer.
Now, when it comes to what time of the day then I would suggest come as early as possible. This is because many photoshoot session takes place in the castle garden including wedding, pre-wedding and birthdays. If such a group arrives, you can understand the chaos and crowd. However, to check the latest entry timing please refer this link. Generally the park opens at 9AM and the Castle itself opens at 11AM so try to arrive within 10AM to have the garden pretty empty for at least an hour.
How To Reach
Wherever you stay in the Netherlands, Your first stop will be Utrecht central train station (30 min train ride from Amsterdam). From there, you need to catch a train to Den Haag Central (Frequency every 15 minutes) and ride 3 stops (8 min) and get down at Vleuten station. You need to come out of the station and go the bus terminal. Watch out for Bus #127. It’s a 10 minutes ride to bus stop Brink in Haarzuilens. From there, the castle entrance is about 1.5km of walk. As you get down from the Bus, the road diverts into two. You need to take the left road and from there-on, it’s a single route and the castle entrance would be on your right side.
Now, there are several articles online that will tell you how to reach Castle de Haar. But what they won’t tell you is about the waiting area of Bus #127. In almost all cases, all passengers boarding Bus #127 are heading to the castle. As professional photoshoot is quite common at the Castle garden, make sure to stay away from your mobile screen to spot an Elf, a Disney Princess or maybe Jack from the Pirates of the Caribbean. That’s where we spotted Cinderella in her beautiful gown which doubted us whether we are in Disneyland or Holland. Unlike Horse Cart from the movie, she rode the same Bus with us but respecting Privacy, we didn’t click any photo of the costume or the model.
As you will approach the castle, you can catch a glimpse from the outside.
You need to walk for 5 more minutes and then this boundary shows the entrance gate.
As always, you can use this Google Map link to plan your journey and check about any real time traffic issue. But remember, satellite images don’t track Disney characters so while you’re on the move, watch out because Castle de Haar attracts numerous clients for cosplay photoshoot and for us as general travelers, that’s an excuse for a quick daydream, isn’t it?
Country & Christmas Fair
De Haar Castle Country & Christmas Fair is known for being one of the most unique and magical Christmas markets as it’s held on the grounds of a stunning castle. You can visit this link to get more practical information about the Christmas festival in the castle garden. However, we found this season pretty crowded and downgrading the experience of a castle tour, so we haven’t tried this.
Castle Park and Garden
We visited the castle few months before the Second Wave of COVID-19 hit the Europe. Most of the places have recommended booking tickets online before the actual purchase. However, it was still possible to buy a ticket from the counter. As you cross the boundary, you’ll come inside an open courtyard. On your left will be washroom facilities and on the right, there is the ticket counter. Buy a ticket or if you have purchased online already, show it on your mobile (No need to print it out), grab a map and you are good to go inside.
When I first discovered Castle de Haar online, I dreamt of a snow covered lawn but in reality, when I stepped inside in Summer, I immediately fell in love with endless area of lush green landscape, perfectly maintained trees, colorful flowers and a big pond. Thankfully I carried my Tripod that day and even if it was a weekend, there was not much crowd so we captured some photos of our lifetime. We were casually strolling through the garden enjoying the wide variety of flowers along with admiring de Haar castle from all possible angles.
I was little hesitant at first if it is allowed to walk on the well maintained grass but then we saw kids were running and some people even lied down. So we set our tripod and quickly snapped few photos of ourselves.
As there was no shortage of time, we were walking aimlessly and quickly realized that the backside of the garden was even more impressive. Yes, there was no flower but the leaves were properly shaped and not one of them was out of line making it a picture perfect destination. There are some red benches in front of it so that you can sit back, relax and enjoy. Also, even if you are not going inside the castle, in order to explore the surroundings, you need to cross several bridges which are fun to pass by.
The castle can be explored in many angles and don’t miss any one. Every angle has its own charm. It quickly became cloudy and started raining. Unfortunately, we didn’t carry an Umbrella that day and while the foliage was beautiful to look at, could not provide any protection from the heavy rain.
If you want to know more about the wedding, please visit this link and you can download the PDF to refer later even from your smartphone.
Inside The Castle
Once stepped inside, the castle has 200 rooms for you to explore. 200, Yes you heard it right. So make sure that you have time to visit the interior of the castle. Everywhere you look, it’s a piece of art. Every square inch of the walls, floors, ceilings and even the stairway is highly ornated with all sorts of carvings and paintings. If you want to know more about the interior of the castle and what to expect, Rachel has already written a nice article (Read it here) which I encourage you to read.
Photo Courtesy: Wikimedia
Why there is no photo of ours? It’s because we have not visited the castle. Why? Because reading articles online, we found the interior to be more of a Cathedral than a Castle. Also, after visiting Gravenstein in Ghent and hearing about Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany, we realized that probably we need to know the history before we actually take a tour inside it. Inscriptions and Audio guide are okay but in my opinion, ask yourself if it’s within your taste.
vs. Muiderslot
Also known as Muiden castle, this one is smaller than Castle de Haar, super kid friendly and located much near to Amsterdam. The entrance is free with Amsterdam card or Museum Card so for international traveler, it looks to be a much convenient option? But if you ask me, Castle de Haar is more picturesque and superior if we talk about the architecture and exterior decoration.
Photo Courtesy: Discover-Benelux
If you are staying near Amsterdam or Almere region, Muiderslot is much more convenient to travel than Castle de Haar. In my opinion, Muiderslot is much more commercialized than Castle de Haar. Also, it is possible to arrive Muiden castle by Ferry which is an unique experience on its own.
A Quick Comparison
- If you visit both the park and the inside of the castle, Muiderslot (16.5€) is cheaper than Castle de Haar (18€). However, if you just plan to visit the park, Castle de Haar (7€) is much cheaper.
- If you have Amsterdam travel card, Muiderslot is completely free so that’s a significant cost saving choice.
- Reaching the Castle by the Ferry is a completely different experience altogether. If that’s your preference, Muiderslot is the only choice.
- Cafe and Souvenir Shop choice in Muiderslot is much more than Castle de Haar. So, Muiderslot is more of a complete package than Castle de Haar.
- For Kids, Muiderslot is better because there are much more hands on and educational activities.
- The park of Castle de Haar is a far better choice and the interior of Castle de Haar is prone towards Adults.
vs. Slot Assumburg
If you are a tourist visiting Netherlands or the Europe, definitely you won’t be hearing the name of Slot Assumburg. Situated in Alkmaar, it’s also known as the Heemskerk castle. By the way, have you heard of Heemskerk?
Many locals call Alkmaar the most beautiful Dutch village. Is it? Maybe I will write a separate article about it. But that’s for another day. Heemskerk is just 15 minutes ride from Alkmaar. Now, the fun part about Slot Assumburg is that entry to the park or garden is completely free. There is almost no crowd. It’s surrounded by a Moat and in Spring or Summer, the flowers are pretty well maintained.
But if you ask me to compare this with Castle de Haar, then it comes nowhere near. The interior of Slot Assumburg is basically nothing. The outside is great but not wow. But who cares? It’s free to enter, free to park your car and takes about an hour to explore so if you have some time but not enough to dedicate a day for a Castle tour, then why not?
How To Reach Slot Assumburg
Use this link for Google Map location. If you plan to travel by Public transport, I would suggest you to merge this trip along with you Zaanse Schans trip. From Zaanse Schans, you need to catch the train going towards Amsterdam and get down at station Uitgeest. From there, either catch a train to Heemskerk or take Bus #71 and ride 2 stops and get down at Heemskerk, De Baandert.
If you travel by train, the castle is about 2KM of walk from Heemskerk station. If you choose Bus, it’s about 1.7KM from the Bus stop. In either case, it would take about 45-50 minutes from Zaanse Schans to this Castle. Then if you spend one hour in exploring it and afterwards move to Amsterdam (1 more hour from the castle including the walk and you’ll get direct train from Heemskerk). So, if you think you have 3 spare hours on the day of your visit to Zaanse Schans and not enough time to visit Muiderslot or Castle de Haar, then I would say that it’s a Must visit.
Points Worth Sharing
When we first planned this trip, we had many questions in mind which the existing blogs and vlogs failed to cover. So, after visiting the castle (even if it was only the park), we are now in a position to answer the questions. Please read the below points carefully before your trip to Castle de Haar
- Is it possible to stay inside Castle de Haar? The Answer is No. There are accommodations nearby but not inside the castle. If you want to stay inside a Castle near Netherlands, check out AirBNB for accommodation in Bruges, Belgium (Google with: Bedroom in a historical castle near Bruges)
- You can carry your food, water inside the park. If you want to purchase some food & beverage inside, please note that it’s managed by a different organization and they focus mostly on weddings and receptions. I won’t recommend planning your coffee or lunch here. Rather, Utrecht is a much better choice. However, at the backside of the Castle, there are still choices if you want to grab a quick bite.
- There is no separate restriction or price to be paid when it comes to Camera or tripod.
- If you are using 9292 app to plan your journey, type Kasteel de Haar, Haarzuilens as the destination. If you type castle de haar, it won’t recognize and you will be troubled. Also, if the advice shows you Eikslaan as the final stop, ignore that route as it is very much misguided.
- If you come with your own car, you have to pay 6€ parking fee. From parking place, you have to walk around 15-20 minutes to reach the entrance.
- If the weather is nice, a walk to Vleuten station is super easy. It’s only 3.5 KM and takes about 35-40 minutes. If time permits, I encourage you to take this walk. The countryside is so peaceful that you’ll have a good time and save some bus fare.
- The public toilet facility is fantastic and it’s outside the ticketing area. So, even if you come out of the castle garden, you can still use the public toilet and it’s completely free to use even if you are not purchasing a ticket.
- The Castle Park is open from 9AM whereas the Castle itself is opened on 11AM. However, both the park and castle are closed for visitors on 5PM.
- Carry an Umbrella because if you are in the garden or park, there is no shade. And always remember, Dutch weather is super unpredictable, even in Summer.
- It is allowed to walk or sit or even lie on the grass but if I think neutrally, probably in order to preserve it better, it’s good if you keep it at minimum. I am not sure though, probably you can let me know your thought in the comments.
- To know the official rules and restrictions, please visit this link.
I took this photo when we were walking back to Vleuten station from Castle de Haar. We had ample amount of time and energy and the Bus timing was almost 40 minutes later so we thought why not? And then, this scenery was our reward.
People hope that Maybe they’ll find the place where their dreams and reality collide. To us, in Holland, it was Castle de Haar. Right in the middle of an ordinary countryside, de Haar castle gave us a fairytale. Am I exaggerating? Let me know in the comment section below. Questions? Feedbacks? Suggestions? Compliments? The comment box is your friend. Until I hear from you, doei doei.
“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” This travel story just encourages you to make your dream true by visiting this castle if you are staying at or travelling to Netherlands.