At the northern tip of the Northern Holland peninsular, the city of Den Helder is the gateway to the islands beyond. Ferries leave here for the string of Frisian Islands that are dotted along the rest of the Dutch coast. Hire a car in Den Helder to explore the mainland or take a ferry to the nearest island, Texel. Tourists here typically cycle, walk, swim or ride horses. Back on the mainland, there are some memorable drives available, including the 2-miles stretch of the A7 motorway across the Afsluitdijk dam with the Wadden Sea on one side and the Ijsselmeer Lake on the other.
If you hire a car in Den Helder, you'll find the maritime location means everything has a hint of its maritime function. This is the home of the Netherland's largest naval base and the city has a large busy harbour. Den Helder also has Europe's tallest cast iron lighthouse and is the terminus of a canal from Amsterdam, 60 miles south. One of the main attractions is the Dutch Navy Museum and the old naval dockyards have become a major leisure and recreation area of restaurants and cinemas. The old naval fort at Kijkduin houses a museum and aquarium, and there's an excellent museum of maritime rescue along the waterfront.
