Madurodam

Madurodam is a miniature city located in Scheveningen, The Hague, in the Netherlands. It is a model of a Dutch town on a 1:25 scale, composed of typical Dutch buildings and landmarks, as are found at various locations in the country.
Since my friend from UK was over for a visit, my husband and I brought her and her daughter to this lovely Holland miniature wonderland.
Madurodam was built in 1952 and attracts tens of millions of visitors since then. The miniature city was named after George Maduro, a law student from Curaçao who fought the Nazi occupation forces as a member of the Dutch resistance and died at Dachau concentration camp in 1945. In 1946 Maduro was posthumously granted the honor of Knight 4th-class of the Military Order of William, the highest and oldest honor in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, because he had distinguished himself in the Battle of the Netherlands against German troops. His parents donated the money to start the Madurodam project.
On July 2, 1952, teenaged princess Beatrix was appointed mayor of Madurodam, after which she was given a tour of her town. When Beatrix became queen of the Netherlands, she relinquished this function. Today, the mayor of Madurodam is elected by a youth municipal council consisting of 25 pupils from schools in the region.

If you are in the netherlands for a very short time, and you want to see all the important sides holland has to offer,than go to madurodam in den haag.Follow the arrows on the ground and you will get an idea how holland looks like in about three or four hours ( depent how long you are watching and reading the guide).
But the best way to see holland is to take the time and travel through and see the real intrest points of the netherlands.

After you finished the madurodam, the beach is nearby.Here you will find lots of activities, surfing,sailing and ....lots of people.

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 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!

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.