Castle De Haar

Beautiful and well cared for castle and grounds. A must see when visiting the Netherlands. The volunteer guides are very knowledgeable and we enjoyed talking to them. They had great knowledge of the castle and were happy to share. I recommend walking the whole grounds if you are able. There are many great view points of the castle and the nature is lovely. There are deer grazing, a well kept maze to explore, bridges, and much more! We biked there from the station on a rental which was a super fun experience. But you can also take a direct bus or walk 40 minutes. The country is beautiful so I recommend taking it in.

We had a fairytale castle experience. The garden of the castle is very, very beautiful. There is a cafe with nice coffees and small sweet snacks. It is quite far from the city, so we got here by rental car instead of public transportation. The inside of the castle is very dim because of the protection of the paintings.

We visited the castle during the weekday. It’s a very peaceful castle to tour. It has its own parking space which is not free. You can get both parking ticket and castle ticket at the same time from reception. You can also buy audio logs which are very nice. Every room has a chart that tells the history and features of the room. Also each room has a very classy and knowledgeable gentlemen and ladies that are ready to answer your questions and tell the history of the castle. I would like to thank them for their enthusiasm. I would wholeheartedly recommend anyone to visit here if you are around

This is a beautiful place, and my husband and myself enjoyed visiting the park with our dog. To be taken into consideration: you will pay 7,50€ to park your car, and (1) 8€ to visit the park without going inside the castle, or (2) 20€ to visit the park and go inside the castle. You can easily spend the day there walking around the park, having a picnic and chilling. The dog is not allowed to be inside the castle. As an advice, I would purchase the tickets in advance as the reception can be messy sometimes.

We visited early in the morning and went through the gardens prior to the castle opening. We took a train from Rotterdam and then the bus that goes directly to the castle. Google tends to recommend other routes with a lot of walking. This is a more modern castle built on the site of ancestral Castle ruins. It is very beautiful and well preserved. Thoroughly enjoyed our visit here. They do provide free lockers for your backpack. They did not allow me to video with my Osmo pocket three camera.

This place was truly wonderful to visit. Bith the exterior, the gardens, and the luxuriously decorated interior provided lots of photo ops. English is only used sparingly on the sides. Their app proved useless for English speakers. However, there were many helpful and friendly docents as well as handheld placards, which helped to highlight the special features of each room. Definitely worth a visit.

Finally a sightseeing worth visiting in the Netherlands ! Incredibly beautiful castle with loads of antiquities inside with a gripping story behind. There’s a restaurant one may wish to visit after the tour to let all the impressions sink :) great place to celebrate a wedding, too !

Absolutely gorgeous place, highly recommend visiting. Booked our tickets for both the castle and the surrounding gardens way in advance. Stunning location. The tour guides and volunteers have a lot of passion and information, combined with the castle it almost feels like you're part of a live history documentary.

We've seen our share of castles (and planning on seeing many more), but this one here must be one of the most impressive that we've ever encountered. Not only the building, the castle itself. But also the park, the garden and the massive landscape surrounding it. It's nothing short of amazing and breathtaking. We had our Bulldog with, so we just came for the outside section and the park. Only 7 Euros a person. And really cool that dogs are allowed. Parking for 6 Euros (no time limit) is fair as well. Pay at the counter or get a ticket at the machine (a lot faster). The castle itself is a stunning piece of architecture and is now in this state the biggest castle in the Netherlands. There was a castle here dating back to 1391. But not as big as the current one. Renovations and restorations took place over the centuries. Between 1892 and 1912 the castle as is it today was built. It's a lot younger than one might think. The garden and park in front of the castle are as impressive as the castle itselft. Perfectly taken care of and maintained. That takes a lot of hours and man/women power. Don't miss out on the Kruisvijver behind the castle - a large body of water. Beautiful. We would have never thought that the area is so big. East of the castle is a massive park and forest with countless trails it seems. We were walking around for 2-3 hours, always discovering new places and sight. It was beautiful to just roam around the castle grounds. Never have we seen so incredibly big surroundings by a castle. A wonderful way to spend a day. One almost wasn't enough. And our Bulldog loved it as well. There was some heavy rain sometimes, but we brought our bad-weather gear. Be sure to bring some in case the weather changes quickly. But even in the rain it was a wonderful experience. Castles - in my opinion - look even more magical and eerie on foggy, grey and rainy days. Loved everything about it. A must-do when in The Netherlands. Liked it here better than our time in Amsterdam. And for 7 Euros it's a steal. Image how many employees and how much work it takes to keep this place in shape. Worth your money and your time. Highly recommendable.

One of the most beautiful castle I've ever been. It has a beautiful garden and the scenery outside the castle is like a fairy tale. The location have a good vibes. Family friendly and yes this is my favorite spot in Holland.

Beautiful grounds, didn't even see all of it but it's beautiful. Great place to just go wander. They do have a restaurant on the grounds so you can grab a drink and a bite to eat if you so desire. It's also possible to view the inside of the castle and I believe the church if there isn't an event. The gardens are really a site to see though :D

A-mazing castle. Breathtakingly huge and beautiful, complete with huge storks nested on top of the giant chimneys. Took a self-guided tour around and we loved it. In the main hall, we were greeted by the best tour guide (Puck) we have ever encountered. Young, incredibly well-spoken in English, amazingly engaging with our kids - I wish she could have showed us around the whole place! The grounds, too, were impeccable. So glad we got to visit and we would absolutely come back again.

Wow, what a beautiful castle. I went there for the X'mas festival and it was incredible. There were plenty of vendors selling everything you can think of and you must eat at La Place. The food was very good! From their website: "De Haar Castle is the biggest and most luxurious castle of the Netherlands. With its towers, turrets, moats, gates and suspension bridges, De Haar Castle resembles a true medieval castle."

Spent the day here. What a great castle. Lots of areas to explore and lots of area to explore that is on the property as well . Good tour guides. We got access with the museum pass, don't know if the regular prices are worth it Quite a trek on public transport - had to take a train and then a fairly long bus

We visited for a wedding and everything was beautiful! It was unexpectedly hot, so the ceremony was moved from the rose garden to the chapel. It was uncomfortably hot in the chapel, but thats not their fault. We didn't find any air conditioning on the grounds. However, the workers did manage to find a few rotating fans for the reception. We had the opportunity to take a tour of the castle and we loved it! The downstairs kitchen was the most impressive to our group. Such a beautiful location for any special occasion or just a day to walk around and take great pictures.

This is a beautiful castle, but pretty expensive! I didn't appreciate that the entry fee for kids and adults is the same. In order to view the inside of the castle, you have to pay for a tour which isn't the most exciting for little ones. Walking around the grounds is nice, but there isn't much beyond a Maze for the kids. The Christmas markets sound like they would make up for the price of admission, but during early spring not much is going on there besides a lot of renovation. Tip: The cafe there is over priced and doesn't have the best service. Took forever to get a simple slice of Apple pie! I would eat somewhere outside the castle grounds.

Beautiful castle! Worth the trip. Very quiet, secluded and peaceful. The cafe in the castle is also really good. Check it out. The insides of the castle are remodeled but have a very good 19th century touch! And the canal and park around it makes you feel at rest. And there's a really cute picnic area! One of my favorite castles.

One of the best castles I have ever been to. The grounds are just as impressive and they'll let you stay past closing if you just let yourself out. Check out the labyrinth on the side. Great fun for all ages and a great way to break from the norm.

A wonderful way to spend an afternoon. We just walked the beautiful grounds and gardens and had a lovely picnic in the picnic area.

The walk up to the castle is through a long tree-lined path with cute cows lazily grazing to your left and I could feel myself already falling in love. We were staying out of town and made the trip by train to Utrecht and then by bus (though you can bike) to Haarzuilens just to explore for the day, and I'm glad we did. The highlight of the castle is its grounds. For that reason I strongly recommend choosing a day with nice weather for your visit so that you're able to explore the gardens and bridges at their best. I especially loved how few tourists were walking around because it gave it a special, serene vibe. It somehow manages to feel un-touristy and totally relaxing. To just enjoy the grounds is free of charge. To enter the Castle is 14€ per person and you must go on a guided tour in Dutch, though they have English audio available, but it is forbidden to take any photos within the castle. To enter the Chatelet, which is the actual living quarters of the family, is 7.50€ per person and you can walk around at your leisure. They have informative signs posted in Dutch and a little English packet available. We opted just to do the Chatelet. They didn't have an English map of the grounds available, but we made do. Within the square with the welcoming center is a cafe with outdoor seating available. We weren't expecting much but our lunch was really quite good with a nice sandwich selection and my favorite bitterballen of our whole trip. You are also welcome to bring your own picnic. I originally found out about Kasteel de Haar on pinterest through its popular photo of what's known on pinterest as "the bridge of romance." When we asked the staff they had never heard of it, lol, but we did find it right behind the chapel to the left and it was just as beautiful as it looks on pinterest. The reason I'm not giving 5 stars is because the Chatelet was under renovation while we were there (April 2015) and touring the unfinished interior didn't feel worth the ticket price. I also don't like that photos aren't permitted inside the castle, and I like to be left to see places at my own pace, not on a mandatory group tour in a language I don't understand. The lovely grounds, lovely lunch, and lovely staff made for a very lovely day. Edited to add ticket prices.

Fell in love with this place! The grounds, the buildings, the personnel. All excellent. Our English-speaking guide was amazing. Bought a museum card here so I can enjoy even more great places during my vacation.

What an amazing place, wonderful tour for the price 15 euros which is spoken in Dutch but they have audio tours available in different languages for 1 euro extra. The grounds and gardens are absolutely gorgeous! Allow yourself plenty of time to roam. Would be awesome to have a picnic on a nice day. We ate at Koetshuis de Haar which had really great sandwiches.

the castle was beautiful and it was really worth the trip! I wish they have an English-speaking tour guide though.