City trips: Castle de Haar, Haarzuylen, Utrecht

November 05, 2023

City trips: Castle de Haar, Haarzuylen, Utrecht

There are many castles in the Netherlands and perhaps the biggest is in Haarzuylen, close to Utrecht called Kasteel de Haar. The village is tiny but cute, with all houses maintaining the red and white castle colour windows and doors. Het Wapen van Haarzuilen is a great restaurant overlooking a little woody square with many trees. The castle is certainly worth taking a day to explore inside, but also to wander the beautiful gardens, watch the park deer and pond cygnets in spring. Most photos here are from a recent autumn visit.

Roman gardens...

The side chapel where any weddings take place

The entrance

Alongside the outside canal

Beautiful autumn colours

The interior is luxurious and tells tales of its history, plus shows off detailed architecture dating back to its origins in the 13th century. Once the private estate of a wealthy Baron, the Van Zuylen family now run the castle as a non-profit organisation. Through the last century the castle has seen the rich and famous visit for sumptuous lavish parties, including guests such as Coco Chanel, Roger Moore, Maria Callas, Gregory Peck, Michael Caine, Yves Saint Laurent, Joan Collins and Brigitte Bardot.

Here older spring pictures in May 2018

The medieval castle was restored by the Dutch Architect Pierre Cuypers (famous for his designs of the Rijksmuseum and the Central Station in Amsterdam) between 1892 till 1912. It has its own chapel, many acres of land, impressive detail inside and out and a castle's customary moat, with multiple drawbridges. Once passing its huge entrance doors there are private canals to stroll and tree lined avenues for long walks. Make sure you get an early start to the day so you can explore everything.