De Grote Leigraaf

The centre of Apeldoorn (15 minutes’ drive) is a fine place to visit, with little shops and cobbled alleyways to poke around in, the CODA Museum for those interested in contemporary art and a great market on a Saturday. It’s the area around the city that offers up some of the region’s best attractions, though – from the monkey mayhem of Apenheul animal park (15 minutes) to the elegant surroundings of Paleis Het Loo (20 minutes) and the world’s second-largest Van Gogh art collection at the Kröller-Müller Museum (25 minutes). Julianatoren amusement park (20 minutes) is a popular spot for families, and there are walks galore for all ages in both Hoge Veluwe and Veluwezoom national parks (15 minutes). Elsewhere nearby, you may like to visit Deventer (15 minutes) to see the toy displays at the Speelgoedmuseum, climb the tower of the Grote Kerk or snap pics of the Bolwerksmolen windmill, or set out to explore both medieval and modern on a bike or boat tour of Zutphen (20 minutes, a Hanseatic town on the banks of the IJssel.