Why go to Amsterdam? Stay right here.

Haarlem, just around the corner

Amsterdam is fifteen minutes away by train, but people in Haarlem know better. Here everything is within walking distance: a terrace on the Grote Markt in the shadow of the Grote Kerk, a wine bar on the Lange Veerstraat, a beer by the Spaarne. And nobody has to catch a train at midnight.

In summer you cycle to the beach at Bloemendaal or Zandvoort after work and are back in town before dark. On 5 May Haarlem celebrates Bevrijdingspop, its Liberation Day festival, in the Haarlemmerhout, and the rest of the year there are the little streets and the cafés where the regulars know your name after a few visits.

The city is small enough to keep bumping into each other and big enough that you are far from knowing everyone. With YesTonite you see who else is out tonight, and one message is enough.

The centre is busiest on Friday and Saturday, and on Thursday plenty of locals already go for a drink after work. Because everything is so close together, an evening rarely ends where it began.

Where Haarlem goes out

• Grote KerkThe Grote Markt around St. Bavo's, full of terraces and cafés.
• BotermarktA small square with terraces, busy on summer evenings.
• Lange VeerstraatBehind the Grote Kerk: cafés and restaurants side by side.
• SmedestraatPubs and bars between the Grote Markt and the station.
• SpaarneQuays along the river, with terraces by the water.