Madurodam - Den Haag - TravBuddy

The greatest introduction you could have to Holland is one you can walk in less then an hour! No Joke! Its called Madurodam! A collection of all of the great attractions of Holland interlaced with trains, planes, boats and automobiles. This city is fully powered by solar and wind so paying a higher entrance wasn't a big deal in my eyes. Walk the whole thing as leisurely as you wish and interact with the villages. Many different children's events happen there during the year and the park changes weekly. The cafeteria was a tad overpriced and the menu was considerably small, but facilities where clean and family orientated.

Madurodam is a fun park with miniatures of all sorts of Dutch scenes including famous buildings, canals, boats, planes, etc. It is interactive, there are areas where you can insert some money and something will happen. There are also things that move around the park like boats and trains, cars and planes. There are information guides and maps available in all sorts of languages to explain more about what you are seeing. There are also different events like an ice sculpture exhibition when I went there in 2000, and currently a Sesamestreet exhibition. You can also see the park by candlelight. For kids there is the Madurodam Passport with questions about things to see along the way. There is also a puppet show at set times and a clown who walks around the park. Of course there is also a souvenir shop and a restaurant.
The park is wheelchair accessible with wheelchairs available for free and buggy's can be rented for €1,-. Parking fee on the parks parking area costs €6,50. Free oparking is available nearby but at your own risk.
I would definitely recommend this park especially to people who don't have time to see the actual thing while in The Netherlands.
The entrance price (2008) is €13,75 for adults and €9,75 for children which is quite reasonable for Dutch standards.

Madurodam was officially opened on 2 July 1952. This amusement park has a very interesting history. It was established for two reasons: as a war monument and as a charity foundation. The joint initiators were Mrs. B. Boon-van der Starp and Mr. and Mrs. J.M.L. Maduro.

Madurodam has always had a special relation with the Dutch Royal Family. It was a great surprise when the then Queen of the Netherlands, Juliana, consented that her daughter, the 14-year old Crown Princess Beatrix, should become the mayor of the miniature city. Until her accession to the throne in 1980 she fulfilled her job as mayor. Through the years, many members of the Royal Family have attended special events in Madurodam. On 2 July 2002 Queen Beatrix revealed the new Golden Coach on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Madurodam.

All the models, railway lines and decorations are manufactured by Madurodam itself. A lot of work goes into readying a model to be installed in the miniature town. For example, the model of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol took two years and four months to complete. Madurodam staff calculate the scaled down dimensions on the basis of architectural drawings. Moreover, detailed photographs are taken of the real building. The plastic (it used to be wood) is cut to the right shape and dimensions using a moulding cutter. Then the decorators and technicians finish the building. Because the models have to spend an average of 30 years outside they receive regular maintenance.
To show the Dutch street image as realistic as possible, a great attention is given to the surroundings of the scale models. Plants are an important part of that. Madurodam primarily uses small-leafed trees and shrubs and frequent pruning is the only way they can keep these trees down to sixty centimetres when they normally grow to be fifteen metres high. Some trees have been here since the miniature city was opened.

Madurodam is one of the places in the Hague you've to visit. Especially for the kids, it's fun city!!!

The opening times: 13 March up to 25 April daily: 9:00 - 20:00 and from 26 April to 31 August daily: 9:00 - 22:00

Madurodam is a big tourist attraction. It's a park in The Hague where you will find the highlights of the Netherlands built in miniature versions on a scale of 1:25. So if you can't stay long but still want to get an impression of the country I can recommend Madurodam, but ofcourse it's way better to see everything in life-size. Madurodam is a miniature city wich has it's own government made up out of students from school in and around The Hague. In the park you will see things like the Deltaworks, the monument on the dam, the famous cheesemarkets, the canals in Amsterdam, the red light district, the harbour of Rotterdam. The park is quite big so every famous building/sight/attraction in our country is displayed here. It's very well made with nice details. Like ships at the harbour that are actually sailing, windmills that are working, trains that really run over the little tracks. It's a funny park and a must-see thing when you're visiting the Netherlands.

Miniature city Madurodam shows the most important buildings/ touristic things of Holland in small!


History of Madurodam;
Madurodam was opened officially on 2 July 1952. This amusement park has a very interesting history. It was established for two reasons: as a war monument and as a charity foundation. The joint initiators were Mrs B. Boon-van der Starp and Mr. and Mrs. J.M.L. Maduro.

Madurodam is opened all year round. Miniature city Madurodam shows the most important buildings/ touristic things of Holland in small.For example; the canal houses of Amsterdam, the Alkmaar cheese market and parts of the Delta Works, all replicated in minute detail on a 1:25 scale. All is set in beautiful gardens. Windmills turn, ships sail trough the harbour and trains are traversing the city on the world's largest miniature railway.

Great amusement park when you have short time in the Netherlands and still want to get an impression of the Netherlands!