#1. Hoge Veluwe National Park
The marshlands, lizard-laced heathlands, swathes of ancient pine, oak and beech forests alive with woodpeckers and red deer, and dramatic open-drift sands would be reason enough to visit this 5500-hectare national park, the largest in the Netherlands, but its Van Gogh art museum and sensational sculpture park dotted with contemporary art pieces make it simply unmissable.
The land was purchased in 1914 by wealthy German-Dutch couple Anton and Helene Kröller-Müller. He wanted hunting grounds, she wanted a museum site – they got both. It was given to the state in 1930, and in 1938 a museum opened for Helene's remarkable art collection, collected between 1908 and 1919 and sizzling with world-class masterpieces.
Visitors – by foot, bike or car – pay an admission fee to enter the national park at one of three entrances. Buy tickets online or from ticket offices at entrances.