De Ooievaart canal tour

Boat trips

Published: 02 July 2012 Modified: 20 February 2013

Few people know that The Hague also has lovely canals and that a boat tour is available. De Ooievaart offers boat trips in English every Saturday afternoon.

From April to October you can see The Hague from a different perspective in an open boat. The tour takes you through old and new parts of The Hague, including under bridges and through tunnels.

The canals of The Hague are almost 400 years old. They were created for the city's defences around 1612. From the water you will see a variety of beautiful buildings and special places, among them the Royal Stables and the Royal Gardens.

You will also see the former houses of famous Dutch historical figures such as the 17th-century artists Paulus Potter, Jan Steen and Jan van Gooyen and the philosopher Benedict (Baruch) Spinoza.

English tour

An English tour is available every Saturday from 16.00 to 17.30 hrs from June until the end of September. Other boat trips are in Dutch, but translated booklets in English, German, French and Spanish will be available on board. The canal tour starts at the Havenkantoor and takes approximately 1.5 hours.

The company also offers a number of group arrangements as well as a special boat ride during the Christmas holidays.

Tickets

Adults: € 11.00
Children 5-12 years: € 7.50
Children 0-4 years: no charge

Tickets for De Ooievaart can be purchased by phoning the Sales Department on tel. 070 445 18 69 or the Tourist Information Office on tel. 070 361 88 60. You can also purchase tickets through the website at www.ooievaart.nl.