Haarlem

Haarlem's St Bavo organ, the Oval Room at Teylers and the hidden hofjes

One full day covers Haarlem from Amsterdam. Walk 10 minutes from the art nouveau station to the Grote Markt and start in St Bavo's for the towering Müller organ, then see the Oval Room at Teylers Museum. After lunch, walk south to the Frans Hals Museum and the hofjes, the almshouse courtyards.

Go into St Bavo's first. The nave is vast and bare after the Reformation, so your eye goes straight to the Müller organ, gilded and towering over the west end; look down too, as Frans Hals lies under a plain stone in the floor. Back outside, cross the square past the old town hall and the statue of Coster, then walk the few minutes to the Spaarne for Teylers Museum. Its Oval Room, lit from above, still holds the fossils, minerals and electrical machines collected in the 1780s, and the drawings cabinet has works by Michelangelo and Rembrandt.

After lunch, walk south to the Frans Hals Museum, where the militia banquets and the stern regents of the almshouses hang in a former old men's home. Take a slow route back past one or two hofjes with open gates, such as the Hofje van Bakenes, and keep your voice low inside. If you booked ahead, the Corrie ten Boom House on Barteljorisstraat shows the hiding place behind a false wall. Finish with a beer at the Jopenkerk, or at In den Uiver by the river, then catch one of the trains to Amsterdam that leave every 10 minutes.

Jopen beer in a former church and the lanes off the Grote Markt

Order beer in Haarlem, a city once made rich by brewing. Jopen revived the tradition in the 1990s with beers based on medieval recipes, served in the Jopenkerk, a former church. Browse the lanes off the Grote Markt for dinner, and come on Saturday, when the square's market sells cheese, fish and flowers.

Jopen relaunched the city's brewing tradition in the 1990s with beers based on medieval recipes from the town archives, and its brewery and restaurant now fill the Jopenkerk, a former church near the station, with copper kettles under the stained glass. In den Uiver on the Riviervischmarkt, beside the Grote Kerk, is an old-style proeflokaal (tasting room) that opens in the late afternoon.

For eating, the lanes off the Grote Markt are the place to browse, and Lange Veerstraat, which runs along the side of the church, has a steady line of cafes and restaurants with terraces. Prices are lower than in Amsterdam for similar food, and lunch cafes do good uitsmijters (fried eggs on bread with ham or cheese) and kroketten on bread. Budget travellers can look for the dish of the day at the long-running Eet-Biercafe Bruxelles on Lange Wijngaardstraat.

Buy a raw herring from a fish stall in early summer, when the new catch arrives, or a paper cone of kibbeling. In fine weather, the square's terraces are the natural place for a late afternoon drink, under the bell tower of St Bavo's.

Cycling the Kennemerland dunes and riding to the Lisse bulb fields

Haarlem sits between the dunes to the west and the bulb fields to the south. Zandvoort's beach is a short train ride away, with departures every 30 minutes, the Haarlem Dunes cycle route is 29 km, and in April and early May the Keukenhof route of 31 or 38 km leads through the flower fields to Lisse.

Bloemendaal aan Zee, just north along the shore, is the livelier stretch in summer, with beach pavilions that stay busy into the evening.

To make a day of it by bike, follow the Haarlem Dunes route, 29 or 40 km, through the dunes of Zuid-Kennemerland National Park, past fresh-water lakes and pine woods, and back through the polders. The park is home to grazing Scottish highland cattle and, in parts, wild bison. Paths are flat but the wind is strong, so a headwind on the way home can double your time.

In April and early May, the Keukenhof cycle route, 31 or 38 km, takes you south through the tulip, hyacinth and daffodil fields towards Lisse. The fields are at their brightest for only a few weeks, depending on the spring, and the roads around Keukenhof jam on sunny weekends, so ride it on a weekday if you can. Rent bikes in town, set out early and pack a layer, as the wind off the sea is strong even on sunny days. In summer, the same bikes take you north-east to the village of Spaarndam and its small harbour.