Travel to Amsterdam provides the chance to visit The Hague - only 50 minutes drive from the capital. A city rich in culture, it enjoys a pleasant location by the coast. In addition to embassies, the city houses many international institutions such as the Peace Palace.

Between 1230 and 1280, a castle was built where the Binnenhof now stands in The Hague. Though it started off as a small hunting lodge, it was extended under successive counts, including Floris V. In the fourteenth century a settlement known as 's-Gravenhage (abbreviated to "Den Haag") grew up around the castle. Because of the court's presence, the settlement soon became a prosperous village and a modest centre of industry (textiles and beer brewing).