The Best Castles Near Amsterdam

Are there castles near Amsterdam? Yes there are! A trip to Amsterdam is filled with history. Amsterdam has some of the best museums in the world, beautiful architecture, and picture-perfect cobbled streets. However, the area close to Amsterdam also has much to offer, including Dutch castles. Luckily The Netherlands is a very small country, so by train you can travel to many parts of The Netherlands within 2 hours.

In this post, I will give you a list of the best castles close to Amsterdam. These castles can be visited from Amsterdam within 1,5 hour (max) by public transport. If you have a car the travel time to these castles close to Amsterdam will be even less.

The area around Amsterdam has a lovely selection of historic castles, ranging from castles from the 13th century to a 20th-century castle. I have also included the former home of Kaiser Wilhelm II. Though it is not a castle, it is a beautiful country house with an important history.

Muiderslot Castle

The first Muiden Castle is best known for the imprisonment of Count Floris V. In 1300, that castle was demolished. But 70 years later, the castle was rebuilt based on the same plans as the original castle.

In the 17th century, author, poet, and historian P.C. Hooft bought the castle. He spent his summers here and invited many scholars, poets, and painters to the castle. Later the castle became a prison untill eventually it fell into ruin. In the late 19th-century the castle was renovated and it now houses a museum that showing the castle in the 17th-century style.

Practical info: Audio Tours are in English & Dutch. The “Knight’s Route” Audio Tour is available in English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Arabic, Russian, Hebrew, Mandarin and Dutch

Children: There are several children’s activities at the castle. The children’s Audio Tour is available in Dutch & English

Zuylen Castle

Zuylen is one of the oldest castles along the Vecht river (just outside the city Utrecht). The origins date back to 1250 when a Donjon was built. These fundaments can still be seen today. In the 16th century, a new castle was built by Count Willem van Rennenberg. From the 17th-20th century,, the Van Tuyll van Serooskerken family owned the castle.

In the 18th-century the castle was renovated into a French-style country house. The castle and its well-kept interiors are now a museum.

Practical info: The Audio Tours are in Dutch. However, information sheets are available in English, German, and French. For groups with an advance reservation, guided tours can be arranged in other languages.

De Haar Castle

The medieval castle (close to the city Utrecht) is the biggest and most luxurious castle in The Netherlands. It is the perfect example of a medielval castle with towers and ramparts, moats, gates and drawbridges.

Since the 15th century, the castle has belonged to the noble Van Zuylen family. But the castle was rebuilt in the 16th-century after a fire burned the original castle down.

In the 19th century, Etienne Gustave Frédéric Baron van Zuylen van Nyevelt van der Haar married Baroness Hélene de Rothschild (of the famous Rothschild family). Therefor many works from the Rothschild collection can be seen in the castle. A parkland surrounds the castle.

Children: The castle has several activities for children

Amerongen Castle

The history of the castle started in 1286 when Count Floris V gave permission to Henric and Diederic Borre to build a house. In the 16th century, the castle became the property of the Van Reede family, who would own the castle for 300 years.

In 1673, the castle was burned down by French troops. After this, a classic Dutch house was built on the remains. This is the house you can see today. The house, garden, and furnishings form a unit seldom seen in the Netherlands. At the end of the 19th century, the castle became the property of the noble Aldenburg Bentinck family. He renovated the castle, and today, you can visit the castle and see the historic interior of this noble family.

Practical info: The castle is open Tuesday-Sunday.

Children: There are children treasure hunts (in Dutch)

Groeneveld Castle

The country house was built in 1710 in Rococo style. At that time, it was fashionable for rich city residents to own a country house. Until 1940, the castle was privately owned. The surrounding park was first designed in Dutch Baroque style (similar to French Baroque) and later turned into an English-style garden. Today, the garden sees a mixture of French and English influences

Practical info: The country house is open Tuesday-Sunday

Children: There are several children’s routes in and around the castle (in Dutch)

Duivenvoorde Castle

The castle’s origins date back to the 13th century. Throughout the centuries, the castle has been rebuilt and renovated. Interesting is that the castle has never been sold, which is unique in The Netherlands. The castle and its interiors have always been inherited by nobel families. This means that today you can visit beautiful historic interiors from the 17th-19th-century in the castle.

Practical info: Audio tours of the castle are available. Every Friday and Saturday, they offer a historical garden tour

Huis Doorn

Not a castle but a house of great historic importance. The origins of Huis Doorn lie in the 14th-century when Heinrich van Mierlaer built the castle. Since 1800 the house has its current Neoclassical exterior.

Huis Doorn is the former residence of the last German Emperor Wilhelm II, who fled to the neutral Netherlands in 1918 after the German defeat in the First World War. With him came an extensive collection of furniture, paintings, and other objects. Wilhelm died in Huis Doorn, and today, you can visit the original interiors of Wilhelm’s time. 

Next to Huis Doorn, you will find the First World War Pavilion. Here you can see the permanent exhibition about The Netherlands during WWI “Between two fires”.

You can also visit the estate with follies, and an English-style rose garden.

Practical info: The gardens are open all year long (7am-7pm). The house is open Tuesday-Sunday (1pm-5pm)

Sypesteyn Castle

Jonkheer Henri van Sypesteyn built this castle in the early 20th century on the foundations of what he thought was his ancestral castle. This turned out not to be the case. The castle museum is still the way Henri van Sypesteyn left it in the 1930s, with weaponry, a Gothic chamber, and a 17th-century Low Hall.

Are you planning to visit one (or more) of these historic Dutch castles close to Amsterdam? Make sure to share you visit with #visiteuropeancastles for a chance to be featured on the socials.