Amsterdam Airport Schiphol to Haarlem: Private day trip

Main attractions

• The Grote Kerk van Sint-Bavo — a magnificent Gothic cathedral dominating the Grote Markt, housing one of Europe's great baroque organs (1738), played by both Handel and the young Mozart • The Frans Hals Museum holds the finest collection of work by the Golden Age master of portraiture, including his monumental Militia Company group portraits — among the most important Dutch paintings outside the Rijksmuseum • The Grote Markt itself is one of the Netherlands' most beautiful town squares, ringed with café terraces and the ornate Renaissance Stadhuis • Haarlem's canal district (Amsterdamsche Buurt) rewards a slow wander through streets of 17th-century merchant architecture virtually unchanged since the Golden Age

What to eat

• Haarlemse Moppen — small spiced ginger biscuits that are the city's traditional speciality — from any of the old-town bakeries; lunch at a bruin café (traditional Dutch brown pub) on or near the Grote Markt