Water, Windmills & Old Masters - Holland and Flanders by MotorhomeHolland and Flanders by Motorhome

Amsterdam can be explored with one major museum, an hour on the water, and an evening in the Jordaan. Do not drive into the city centre: park your motorhome on the outskirts of the city and continue by tram or train. Keep in mind that a diesel vehicle in the low-emission zone requires at least emission class 5.

The Zaanse Schans sits a short hop from Amsterdam. Walk the dyke once the coaches have gone: the paint mill and the oil mill are still turning and the water lies flat in front of the green gables. Motorhomes are not allowed on the site's own car park; the stopover is a few kilometres away in Zaandam.

The day ends at the sea. Give the Mauritshuis time for Girl with a Pearl Earring, walk the pond at the Binnenhof, and let the evening blow through you on the beach at Scheveningen, the pier standing out over the water. Mind the low-emission zone: a diesel motorhome needs at least Euro 4 here.

Twenty minutes on the road and you are in Delft. Climb the tower of the Nieuwe Kerk, find the bullet holes in the Prinsenhof wall and watch the blue-and-white pottery being painted by hand. There is no low-emission zone, but the canal lanes are far too tight for seven metres: park outside the moats and walk in.

Kinderdijk showcases nineteen polder windmills that adorn the landscape in two rows, symbolizing the struggle against water. These special windmills, recognized as a World Heritage site, tell the story of water management in the Netherlands. You can walk along the dike paths and visit a museum windmill to see the box beds of a miller's family. A boat trip on the water offers a different perspective of the windmills from the water's surface. Once the day visitors leave, you experience the serene tranquility and the expansive polder.

This drive takes you over the Delta Works. In Middelburg, the steps of the Lange Jan take you above all of Walcheren, and below are the courtyards of the abbey. Veere is a few minutes further, a small port town on the Veerse Meer with the Scottish Houses on the quay.

In Bruges, take an early boat trip on the canals before the day-trippers arrive, climb the 366 steps of the Belfry, and find Michelangelo's Madonna in the Church of Our Lady. Vehicles over 3.5 tons are not allowed in the city centre, and overnight street parking is prohibited: count on a recognised motorhome site.

Ghent unites a vibrant student life with a medieval center full of monumental buildings. Along the Graslei and Korenlei, richly decorated guild houses with their stepped gables reflect in the waters of the Leie. Visitors to St. Bavo's Cathedral will see the world-famous polyptych, the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, between the Gothic vaults. It is often busy around Gravensteen Castle, where you can look out over the red roofs of the city center from the robust battlements of the moated castle.

Look up at the Rubens altarpieces in Antwerp Cathedral, walk through the house and studio where he worked, and take the escalators in the MAS to the free rooftop terrace overlooking the city and docks. Pay attention to the low-emission zone — a Belgian registration is sufficient — and overnight street parking is not allowed.

Amsterdam can be explored with one major museum, an hour on the water, and an evening in the Jordaan. Do not drive into the city centre: park your motorhome on the outskirts of the city and continue by tram or train. Keep in mind that a diesel vehicle in the low-emission zone requires at least emission class 5.