Guide to The Hague - Leisure activities

Museums and Galleries

A trip to a museum is a popular outing for the Dutch, perhaps combined with coffee and cake in the local café afterwards. There are over 600 museums in the Netherlands, covering every topic imaginable. Art, Music, Transportation, Nature, History, whatever your interests, there is bound to be a museum to intrigue you. Many are very child friendly.

It is possible to buy a Museumjaarkaart giving you free entry to over 400 museums for one year. It can be obtained immediately at most major museums and costs just € 35 (€15 for anyone under 25 years old).

Nederland Museumland is a guide, listing over 1100 museums, castles and other sites by area. It gives the opening times, prices, and whether the museumjaarkaart or discounts apply. It is in Dutch, but if you know the days of the week and a few other words you will be able to decipher the information you might need.

Libraries

There is a wide choice of public libraries called openbare bibliotheek. You can become a member and borrow books for a small annual fee (children are free).

The Centrale Bibliotheek of the Gemeente Den Haag allows you to consult its books on the spot for free.

Openbare Bibliotheek : Spui 68, The Hague Tel.070 3534455 has a good selection of English books and special section for children. The music departments of the libraries may require proof of identity.

Your town hall will provide you with the telephone number of the public libraries in the city where you live and you will often be amazed at the wide range of English books on display.

The American Women’s Club and the British Club in The Hague have two important private libraries.

American Women’s Club Library: Nieuwe Duinweg 25 Tel.070 3506007

British Club Library: Plein 24 Tel. 070 3461973

Special libraries possess specialised collections and can be of great value to students conducting research. An increasing number of these special libraries are making their collections accessible through the Internet. For example, the Royal Library (Koninklijke Bibliotheek ) is the national library of the Netherlands and has two versions of its catalogue available on the Internet. The Royal Tropical Institute (Koninklijk Instituut voor de Tropen - KIT) in Amsterdam owns an extensive library with collections on the issues and problems of developing countries. Its public catalogue is available on the Internet. KIT Library & Information Services offer one of the world largest collections of scientific and popular books, periodicals, articles and maps concerning developing countries.

For reference, the book ‘Here’s Holland’ by Sheila Gazaleh-Weevers gives an extensive list of all libraries.

Arts and Crafts

Enhancing creativity

The Dutch are fond of hobbies and you will undoubtedly find people who share your interests. If your activity requires a great deal of equipment, think carefully about bringing it, as you might not have the storage space in a traditional Dutch house. Also beware that the instructions for locally purchased crochet or knitting packs, needlework patterns, craft sets will very often be in Dutch only! The needles are sized in millimeters and the fabric is measured in the metric system.
The following craft shops stock a good selection of tools and supplies for a wide variety of arts and crafts:

Facilities

Gallery Wapiti
Marconistraat 10
2562 JD Den Haag
Tel: +31 (0) 70 3107372
Opening times: Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 11.00-18.00hrs

Clubs/Associations

The numerous international clubs of The Hague offer membership of various creative activity groups for a small fee or for free once you have paid your annual membership.

Sports

Starting up a new life in a foreign country is clearly a challenge. We need as much help/support as possible and we need to “ fit in” as soon as possible. A really good way can be to join a fitness/sport club. Check the Gouden Gids (Yellow pages) in the blue index Onderwerpenindex under Sport for details. Dutch people are enthusiastic sports players. Cycling, swimming, tennis, hockey, football, golf are particularly popular. Each sport is represented by an association (vereniging). Contact the association representing the sport in order to get all the information you may need. For a better orientation have a look at the Town Hall web site: www.denhaag.com.

There is also Sport Infoline from A to Z that you can call from Monday to Friday 08:00-17:00 hrs, in order to have all kinds of information regarding your favorite sport: “De Sport-info-lijn: voor sport vragen van A - Z telefoonnummer: Tel: (070) 353 7272. E-mail: sportinfo@denhaag.nl

Social Clubs and Organizations

There is a vast choice of clubs, associations and international communities in and around The Hague. They are really active and always looking for new members. Here some examples:

The Hague area

The British Club
Nieuwe Duinweg 25
2587 AB Den Haag
Tel: 070 3461973
Email: office@bwclubthehague.demon.nl
Website: http://www.bwclubthehague.demon.nl/

Canadian Women's Club
P.O. Box 89 2240 AB Wassenaar
Tel: 070 3456096

Connecting Women
The Hague
Tel: 070 365 25 43
Website: http://www.connectingwomen.nl/

Amité Club de la Haye
Tel: 070 3870112

Deutscher Klub in den Niederlanden
P.O. Box 65786, 2506 EB The Hague
Tel: 070 3914107 Fax:070 354750
Website: www.deutscherklub.nl

German Library
Deutsche Bibliothek The Hague
Witte de Withstraat 31-33 2518 CP
Tel: 070 3559762 Fax: 070 3559762

International Women's Contact
Vierloper 10 P.O.Box: 84 404 The Hague
Tel: 070-355 8863

Petroleum Wives Club
P.O. Box 655 2240 AT Wassenaar
Tel: 070 358 8257 Fax: 070 511 6342

L'Acceuil des Francophones de La Haye
Postbus 17156
2502 CD Den Haag
www.accueillahaye.com

Alliance Française de La Haye
Kettingstraat 2 2511 AN The Hague
Tel: 070 3621523 Fax: 070 3621743

American Women's Club
Nieuwe Duinweg 25 2578 AB The Hague
Tel: 070 3506007

Australian and New Zealand Women's Club
anzwcnetherlands@hotmail.com
www.anzwc.nl

The Decorative & Fine Arts Society of The Hague
The Hague Tel: 070 3246763

The Hague International Network
Koningskade 30 2596 AA The Hague
Tel: 070 3062211 Fax: 070 3587921

Theotherhalf
www.theotherhalf.info

Amitie-Club De La Haye
www.lahayeaccueil.com

Club Scandinavia
www.clubscandinavia.com

International Cultural Exchange (ICE)
www.icenl.org

ITC Club Clingendael
www.itc-europe.org

Netherlands English Scrabble Club
www.nesc.nl

TheHagueOnLine Social Club
www.thehagueonline.com

Toastmasters of The Hague
www.toastmasters.nl

Anglo-American Theatre Group
www.aatg.nl

Images International Photography Club
www.imagephotoclub.com

South African Expats
http://www.sawcnl.com/

Legal Aliens - Expats Social Group
http://www.legalaliens.eu/

Nigeria Shell Community in The Hague (NSCH)
Contact Mr Segun Edun
E-mail: segun.edun@shell.com
Tel: 070 447 4562 Mob: 06 1097 4562

Rotterdam area

In Touch
www.intouchnl.com

Pickwick Women's Club of Rotterdam
English speaking womens club
www.welcome.to/pickwick

Leiden area

Leiden Expats Club
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Leidenexpats/

Delft area

Delft Mama - Support Group for International Mothers in Delft www.delftmama.nl

Information for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender

Generally speaking, the Dutch are very tolerant. The following websites give information about meeting, going out and support for the homosexual community in The Hague area:

www.gaydenhaag.nl

Lesbian Community in The Hague www.listening-in.com/LCthehague/

Shell Networks (available within the internal Shell network only)

Pink Pearl - The Shell Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Network (GLBTN). Website: sww.shell.com/nl/glbtn

AWARE (At Work As Responsible Employees) is a Shell employee driven network focused on stress reduction, improving self-awareness and interpersonal effectiveness by offering yoga and meditation based learning tools. The AWARE network activities are open to all Shell staff and have benefited over 300 employees in Shell so far. For more information: lise.cairns@shell.com (for Shell employees only).

Young Shell Network
sww-sn.shell.com/youngshell

Workshops and Courses

Kreative Synapses helps you find your inner spark www.kreativesynapses.nl

Need Computer or Web Courses www.megasuwito.nl

Sculpting courses www.anatratzabi.nl

Expatriate Archive Centre workshops www.xpatarchive.com

Access Job Club Series workshops www.access-nl.org

International Art Club in The Hague www.internationalartclubdenhaag.nl

Course on International Politics at the Clingendael Institute. The course is open to anyone with a specific interest in international political developments, more specifically for spouses and partners of those who will be working in international positions. The lectures are given in Dutch. For more information see http://www.clingendael.nl/cdsp/training/cip/

Photography courses: www.thefotofactory.nl

Presentation Skills workshop: www.metamorphosisconsulting.nl

WINE FOR FUN www.wineforfun.nl

Art classes, Design classes, Birthday parties hivonck@hotmail.com / 070-364 25 45

Writing and Career workshops: www.thebookcooks.com

Writer's workshops: www.englishbookshop.nl

Parent Education workshops: passionateparenting@gmail.com

Tap dancing: olivia.parker@britishschool.nl

Communication courses: www.powertalkinternational.com

Jewellery making classes: hybridgems@hotmail.com / 06-532 62 022

Going out

Restaurants
The international atmosphere of The Hague is reflected in the many restaurants with their French, Japanese, Italian, Mexican, Greek, Chinese and Indonesian cuisine. Well over twenty nationalities, each with their own cuisine, are represented in The Hague. One of the liveliest parts of The Hague is the historic district around Denneweg. The small stores, galleries and antique shops can be visited during the day and the many cafe’s and restaurants offer plenty of opportunities for an evening out.

For a more comprehensive list of restaurants see the following links:
List of restaurants in The Hague: www.denhaag.com
List of restaurants in the Netherlands: www.iens.nl/english

Cinemas
The largest cinema chain is Pathe. Please see their website: www.pathe.nl. You can book a reservation on line. Movies are shown in the native language and subtitled in Dutch.
Another option is Filmhuis Den Haag (foreign language films with Dutch sub-titles):
www.filmhuisdenhaag.nl

For the complete list of cinemas check: www.holland.com

Night clubs
Nightclubs change regularly therefore check: www.denhaag.com for the latest up to date information.

Shopping
Leidsenhage - shopping center in Leidschendam www.leidsenhage.nl

Jumbo - Big outlet in the "Kop van Zuid" (Rotterdam) open 7 days a week www.jumbosupermarkten.nl

Agency offering VAT free shopping in The Netherlands: if you are a resident outside Europe and visiting The Netherlands you can claim back the VAT: www.vatfree.nl

Online shopping service for British expats and their families living abroad: www.expatessentials.com

Dutch Promotional Gifts www.dutchheritage.eu

Portrait / Family Photographer: Jacques Studios www.jacquesstudios.com

Antique furniture: www.cachotantiek.nl (Shell employees are offered a 10% discount)

British food supplies: Thomas Green www.thomasgreen.nl (Shell employees are offered a 5% discount)

English language books on The Netherlands www.hollandbooks.nl

Products from Iran: Gazaar, Boekhorststraat 50, phone 070-380 79 80

Website for recommended shopping in The Hague: www.virtualtourist.com

International newspapers and magazines: www.bobbe-online.nl

Travel

Out and about inThe Netherlands
Check what is on offer within The Netherlands by visiting the Outpost office. A calendar of events is available, plus plenty of places to visit, from quaint villages, to museums, activity parks and much more.

It is also useful to visit the Dutch Tourist Association (VVV) office. There is one in every city:
• Stationsplein 10, 1012 AB Amsterdam Tel: 0900 4004040
• Hofweg 1, The Hague Tel: 0900 34035051
• Coolsingel 67, 3012 AC Rotterdam Tel: 0900 4034065
and you will find touring maps, restaurant and theatre guides and lots more.

Also check: www.holland.com

Children

Boarding School/University Club

For boarding school club activities during the Summer please email Jane Denby at janedenby@hotmail.com .

Bumps and Baby Group every Friday 10.30 – 12.30 hrs

Held at Church of St John & St Philip (the English Church situated on the corner of Ary van der Spuyweg and Rioustraat)

Courses for Children

Parent Education workshops: passionateparenting@gmail.com

Courses for parents and babies (3 months to walking)

Babies sing, babies dance! www.katjamaria.com

Baby signing classes: kandfcurtis@planet.nl / 070-354 75 42