De Kan Hoeve

As well as watersports along the Wijde Ee (five minutes’ drive), or hiking and biking in De Alde Feanen National Park (25 minutes), there’s a lakeside beach at Smalle Ee (10 minutes) where you can have a refreshing dip and soak up some sun. There’s more fresh air to be had while playing a round of golf at Golf and Country Club Lauswolt (15 minutes), and on a circular walk taking you through the ever-shifting sand dunes at Bakkeveense Duinen (25 minutes). If you feel like days of urban sightseeing, the pretty Frisian town of Leeuwarden (half an hour) has its own ‘leaning tower’ in the shape of the Oldehove, a red-brick edifice from 1529 that actually leans more than its counterpart in Pisa, Italy. Take a boat cruise along the waterways before exploring museums of art and natural history, and then put your feet up in cafés along the Nieuwestad Canal. Heerenveen (25 minutes) rewards a visit with an inspiring modern-art collection in its contemporary waterside Museum Belvédère, and the contemporary landmark Ecokathedraal (half an hour), made of up-cycled building materials, is also worth a peek for its maze-like structure and peaceful setting in woodland.