Running through the heart of Utrecht, the Oude Gracht ('old canal') is the major artery of the…read morecity. It's lined with many shops at street level and bars and restaurants at the level below. It also hosts a weekly flower market on Saturday morning. Yes, it can get a tiny bit seedy at night with rowdy students ('bralapen') and it isn't always as clean as one would like, but this all adds to the charm. It's truly a wonderful place to hang out any time of day or year. The oude gracht was built in the 1100's by upgrading and taming a former branch of the River Rhine. The mooring level (accessible by steep steps from road level), where goods would be loaded and unloaded, gives access to deep tombs / caverns that extend below the road and under the shops above. In the old days used for storage, they have now mostly been transformed into bars and eateries. It's hard to miss the oude gracht when you're in Utrecht as many of the city's landmarks, including the Dom tower / church and various museums are located close by. Enjoy this place. It's awesome. But, be careful of bicyclists as you stroll around; you'll likely have your eyes on façades or the water below!

Said to be the tallest church in the Netherlands, this gothic style church tower is an interesting…read moretouristic sight. It's has 465 steps, and you will be able to see old and new bells, and will enjoy a nice view from the top of the tower. The entrance was 9 euros in June 2016, 7.50 for concessions and the tour is conducted in Dutch and English. In our case, Dutch visitors didn't mind it to be English-only, so the tour was in English. You are required to leave your things in storage cameras (you can take a photo camera), however, as it was a hot day they allowed us a bottle water as well.

Perhaps one of the biggest buildings in the area, you cannot miss seeing the Dom Church tower that…read moresits in the middle of old Utrechet city. The tower is quite impressive to see and has amazing architecture work. Unfortunately during my visit to to Utrechet, they were remodeling the outside of the tower so I wasn't able to see all of it since it was covered up. I really wanted to go inside the tower but the only way they will let you in is through a guided group tour, something I didn't feel like waiting around for. Cool building nonetheless, a great sight to appreciate even if you don't go inside.

what a fantastic way to see Rotterdam which I found to be even more interesting having been on a…read moretour with Rotterdam ByCycle - we had a brilliant tour leader by the name of Iris - she was fantastic and really gave us such a great introduction to Rotterdam and it's architecture, and much much more - a fabulous way to learn more about this great place and a really nice way to spend a few hours! Try it - you'll be so pleased you did!!

Rapenburg 25, built in 1654 is a considered one of the finest examples of the Dutch classical…read morestyle. As it once was home to Johannes Thysius, after his death it was preserved as library of his collected works. Thanks to Leiden University, publishers and printers such as the Elzevier family, flourished. Leiden was considered a city of books and those that were forbidden elsewhere in Europe were printed in Leiden including books by the Italian scientist Galileo and the French philosopher Descartes. Of note, Descartes lived at Rapenburg 23 in 1640.