The 29 best views, scenic lookouts, and viewpoints in Utrecht (2024)

I had an great experience visiting Castle De Haar! 🏰✨ Despite the slightly higher costs, the grandeur and beauty of the castle and its surroundings made it well worth it.The sheer size of the castle was huge. Its magnificent architecture and meticulous attention to detail transported me to a bygone era. Exploring the lavishly decorated rooms and expansive gardens was like stepping into a fairytale. The picturesque surroundings added to the enchantment, creating a truly magical atmosphere. 🌳🌷🌞While the ticket prices may be on the higher side, the exceptional quality and maintenance of the castle make it clear why. The staff's commitment to preserving the historical significance and beauty of Castle De Haar is evident in every corner. 📚🗺️Well worth a visit if you are in Utrech or close by. It's a perfect destination for history enthusiasts, architecture lovers, and anyone seeking a unique and unforgettable adventure. If you're willing to indulge in a slightly higher-cost experience, I highly recommend exploring the grandeur and charm of Castle De Haar. You won't be disappointed! ✨🏰💫

A true awesome Castle in The Netherlands. Do visit the Garden and the Castle. But most important, it is good to read the history and heritage before you enter the Castle. This gives you a good image of the Castle and the building next to the Castle. This building is still in ownership of the family and they do visit it very often.The garden is beautiful and completed with several small items from the past. Enjoy this view and the environment via the two restaurants and cafe!Enjoy and I will for sure be back to enjoy this place.

The biggest castle in the Netherlands with astonishing gardens! Even though I visited here on a rainy summer day, it was a peaceful walk through the gardens. I was not super impressed by the interior, the kitchen looks dazzling though! The history of the castle is also interesting to read/watch.I find it also pretty easy to reach by public transportation, there is a bus stop right in front of the castle. It is free to visit with the Museumkaart!

This was absolutely magical, I loved every minute of visiting. It would be a 10/10 no matter what - the castle and the interiors are simply breathtaking - but I just wanted to drop by and say CONGRATULATIONS to all the staff, everyone was incredibly warm, welcoming, and excited to share little curiosities and insights about the castle's history. A truly special experience, can't recommend it enough!

Beautiful grounds and castle. Well worth a visit! You can use your museum card to enter. The inside of the castle is beautiful and well maintained. Very informative with lots of hosts in the rooms to tell you more about about it.

It's a really wonderful castle in really good condition. Almost every room has Dutch, German, English, and French information about the room. The volunteers are very friendly. Expect to spend about 2 hours in there if you want to see everything in detail.The park is also nice, not many flowers in mid-April. If you want, there is also puzzle solving for the park and the castle.

Absolutely stunning architecture! The guides in the castle were also really helpful, with their explanations of the features in the castle.The surrounding park was great to walk with, though it seemed like it wasn’t maintained too well. Deer park was a pleasant surprise too!

Incredible castle near Utrecht and Gouda, we went by public transport and it was easy, only few minutes walking from the bus stop. The visit was around one or two hours. Every room has a guide person and also a text in different languages to explain about the room. The visit is worth, i was impressed with the history and how the castle is well maintained.

It was really an unexpected great visit. Just for case I drove there and I strongly recommend to go there. Beautiful castle from outside (I haven’t been inside). Entrance to the park is pretty cheap (7€) considering that is huge and you can spend a whole day also enjoying a picnic or relax in the green. Place is somehow magic!

Amazing castle and park which makes you feel like you are inside a fairy tale. There are a lot of things to do around and the history of the castle is pretty interesting. The garden is pretty huge and there is even a maze and a deer park you can visit. I believe this is one of the top visits in the Netherlands.

The largest castle in the Netherlands. Great architecture, amazing interiors, you would think there would be more to explore inside but it is still impressive. In every room there is information in many languages to read for this is a big plus. Outside is different very beautiful, wonderful gardens and lots of pleacefor walks in the park with photo spots. Parking is also very large and convenient at a cost of 6 euros. The castle can be visited on a museum card. There is also a restaurant on the castle grounds.

A unique visit that must be done by all history and castle lovers! Picturesque landscape that travels visitors to the 1700s! Very well maintained. Both surrounding areas and inside rooms are magnificent.Parking cost is costly for no reason as it offers neither security nor shadow.

A beautiful castle with big lush beautiful gardens and ponds. The moment you enter insider it makes you go to the same era. Beautiful bed rooms, hall ways, galleries, the living area and powder rooms still feel alive. The main hall, roof and walls and magnificent. If you have museum card this is covered. You can enter easily. It is in calm and conent place. The cafe is large but full. The gardens and good to go for a picnic. Highly recommended for visit. The walk space and gardens are large to wear comfortable shoes. Enjoyed the overall experience.

An absolute must see when visiting the central part of the Netherlands. It’s close to Amsterdam and Utrecht. Very large castle, so well maintained and preserved. Also very relaxing walks with lots of benches possible trough the parks and gardens around the castle. The inside of the castle is amazing, don’t forget to visit the gift shop there, and the restaurant is also very yummy (near the entry).

Easy to access by bus, the bus stop is outside the train station. The the bus stops outside the castle (both ways). Seen only the garden which is beautiful, I assume in Spring and Summer will be nicer. There are picnic tables as well.

Kasteel de Haar is the largest castle in the Netherlands. It's fairy-tale-like and in excellent condition both inside and out.I liked the opportunity to see not only the grand halls but also the kitchen, bathrooms, and toilets. The castle is surrounded by an extensive park. The French part is magnificent, it's just that you wish the flowers were already planted in their designated spots. The most interesting part of the English section is the deer.

What a marvellous day out! Fairy tale style castle set in beautiful grounds. Lots of rooms to visit and view. Excellent placard boards in each room (various languages), expanding on the use of the room over time.One word of caution - access to the castle is a NON starter for any one who needs a wheelchair or walker support.

Beautiful castle, the gardens are amazing and so impressive to see and of course take pictures of, you would think you are royalty. The inside of the castle and descriptions of every exhibit is very thorough and nicely explained by the tour guides. A must visit!

Really more of a country retreat for rich barons than a castle proper, but still impressive and the interior has some beautiful stained glass and other items. The Castle outer building is surrounded by a cool green scum moat, and you have to walk through pretty gardens to get to the Castle proper.Once you're in, you have to go down stairs and around a corner to a pinch point where you have to scan your ticket again for entry. They're quite strict about no bags/backpacks and have free lockers - a bit annoying as every other historical place we've been in Europe has allowed purses (they even said if you have a jacket you have to continue to wear it and can't carry it, ridiculous as it's quite warm as you go through the Castle). Displays are well-described, and they've got a good system of cables/signs for one-way progression through the Castle. Good visit, worth 1-1.5 hours of your time.

Most beautiful castle and gardens. Not possible to get there if you have to rely on public transport, so keep in mind that extra cost will be required to rent a car or hire a taxi.Booking in advance is a good idea - you book a time slot and then don't have to wait to go inside. We booked about 2 weeks in advance.You can easily spend a whole day there - both the residence and the gardens are absolutely magnificent!

Beautiful castle, well maintained and full of details. Every room has information in different languages available on a flyer. A lot of employees walking in all rooms to give some extra information and tell some interesting facts.

It was one of the most beautiful castles I have seen. It is very well kept and the guides are friendly, helpful and very informative. The fact that the family comes back yearly to keep up the traditions is great.History is preserved very well. The gardens are well taken care of and it is so peaceful. We had a picnic in the garden.The shop is also well worth a visit as is the restaurant.Well worth a visit.

Its just amazing. In between the forests , you need an entire day if you are planning to come. The castle is well maintained and there are many guided tours available to know about the history. Once done there is a cafe to enjoy hot coffee. Parkings are near by to the castle.

We visited on a Friday outside school vacation, there was no wait and the place was not crowded at all, it was perfect to enjoy the park and a quiet visit of the castle. It is an interesting visit, the volunteers (guides) clearly enjoy sharing their knowledge and passion, we had a great time.It is a bit pricey for what you get though, and you do not get to see much of the castle (still under renovation), and none of the outbuidlings. I would also recommend going a bit later in the season to be able to enjoy the gardens and park more.

Very nice place for a walk, the castle is magnificent and the garden is very peaceful.I don't see why there are such strict limits for inside visits. When we visited we had to wait several hours to be admitted in a slot with available places, at the same time it was not that crowded outside.Depending where you travel from - the public transport to the castle might be a bit of a challenge.

Absolutely loved it here even though it took me 3 hours to reach it. I only had time to do the castle tour and it was much too rainy and wet for me to explore outside but I’ll have to come back during the warmer weather to do that one day when things are in full bloom. I like that there were free lockers so you didn’t have to lug your bags/coats/umbrellas around too. It’s a self guided tour so you can do it at your own pace and there are big boards in each room that tells you about each room in several different languages along with most rooms having attendants to tell you more information should you so choose. Some of the staircases are quite narrow so you have to be very careful going up and down some of those but I enjoyed learning about the castle and the people who lived there and how they lived. I spent a good 1.5 hours there and only explored the castle. I’m sure you could easily spend 2.5 hours if you took in the grounds/gardens as well.

Location : need by car . 30mind away from AmsterdamDate : weekdaySuper nice place to visit and walking around . You can take kids they to learn the culture and the thing behind story . Super interesting .After visit the castle you can walk in the park . Have a maze park it's fun .Also have deer park ,the kids will love it ,you can feed them and take photo. They are so beautiful.They also have picnic place if good weather you can go picnic .Ps: better buy ticket on line and choose the visiting time .

When one thinks of the word "castle", this is exactly what pops up in your mind. A superb construction which brings homage to the architectural geniouses of the past. If you plan on visiting it be sure to book your tickets in advance.

A small group of us stopped by on the way back from Amsterdam. The place is beautiful, and the employees throughout the castle were very knowledgeable. We ate at the little restaurant which just recently opened. The food was pretty good, and our server was very polite.

Nice place to visit. It's easy to reach from the city centre (buses 28 and 111), and the self-tour inside the castle is well sinalised and oriented by friendly employees. The castle was built in the 1300s, but was actively inherited and used all these centuries, so there are a lot of history and details inside. Very well kept. The gardens/park are very beautiful and I believe that in summer it's even nicer, as picnic is allowed. Good to go with all the family.