At a Glance
- Duration: One full day (11:30 AM – 6:00 PM)
- Home Base: Amsterdam
- Top Travel Tip: Plan your day to coincide with the Saturday Grote Markt for an authentic experience.
- Memorable Moment: The long and insightful lunch and wine conversation with our waiter, Desly, at Oliver’s.
- Overall Vibe: Historic, charming, easy to navigate, and a surprising shopping destination.
This Town is Special Because... (Introduction & Our Why)
An interesting fact for history buffs: Harlem, New York, was named after Haarlem, Netherlands, back when New York was still New Amsterdam. This town carries a long history but presents itself with a modern, easy going energy.
We chose Haarlem due to the great things we read about the small city; specifically planning our visit for Saturday to experience the famed market. It offered the historic beauty and access to local life we crave.
Our Home Base: Haarlem
The Big Decision: Since Haarlem was a day trip, our "home base" was the central Grote Markt and the surrounding winding streets. The town was incredibly manageable, quickly transforming from calm upon our 11:30 AM arrival to a "beautiful, energetic chaos" by 3:45 PM—a clear sign that locals and regional visitors flood the area in the late afternoon.
Accommodation Deep Dive: N/A
Our Haarlem Experience: The Day-to-Day
When you're here you absolutely need to...
The Grote Markt: Since we planned this day trip specifically for the Saturday market, we headed straight to the main square. The market was in full swing, offering everything from produce and cheese to clothes and ready-made meals. We purchased ham and cheese croissants, local cheese, crackers, a spicy dip, and cannoli for a planned picnic later. This is also where Tom made me a promise to come back in order to bring home two genuine tulip bulbs from the Netherlands to plant at our home. This was a major highlight of our trip. We loved wandering the market. Watching people go about their business, interacting and coming together as a community, as well as sampling local foods and interacting with the vendors.
Corrie ten Boom House (The Other Side of the Story): This was a major planned stop, a memorial to the Ten Boom family who hid Jews and resistance fighters during World War II. It tells the other side of the story of Anne Frank, focusing on those who protected their neighbors. Regrettably, like the Anne Frank House, tickets must be purchased way in advance. The house contains a tiny cupboard in one of the girls bedrooms where they hid people. When the family was arrested, there were six people hidden that the Gestapo didn’t find and they safely escaped, though the family members themselves were later sent to concentration camps. It’s a powerful story of courage and resilience.
The Shopping Mecca: Haarlem is an unexpected shopping destination. This small city had street after street of unique, locally-owned shops selling furniture, home goods, and flowers, in addition to all the clothing, shoes and bags you typically find. This was one of the first times I truly regretted living out of one suitcase! (Though I did finally pull the trigger on a pair of socks I'd been searching for).
A Taste of the City
Oliver’s Soule Kitchen and Bar: We aimed to embrace the long, leisurely European lunch, and Oliver’s delivered. We got a great seat outside, looking over the canal and the constant flow of bikes and pedestrians. Tom had an excellent steak sandwich, and I had the duck roulade starter with aside salad—both were superb. The ultimate surprise, however, was the fries: a smaller cut, very crispy, and perfectly salted. We both agreed they were the best we’d had since leaving home, easily beating any we had in France or Belgium.
Market Snacks: Our market purchases included savory croissants, cheese, and crackers, which we intended to enjoy at an outside picnic; but ended up consuming in our room due to the onset of rain.
Wine Experiences
Oliver’s Wine Program: Our lunch spot was known for its wine pairings, offering two-, three-, four-, or five-course chef's choice menus with optional pairings. The staff truly understood wine.
- Desly’s Service: Our server, Desly, was fantastic. He quickly swapped out Tom’s initial Montepulciano for a selection he knew Tom would prefer, showcasing a great knowledge of the list.
- The Perfect Pairing: For my duck roulade, Desly chose a Pinot Gris from Hungary, explaining that the acidity would perfectly stand up to the richness of the duck fat and confit—a pairing that was absolutely spot on.
Okhuysen Wine Shop: Based on Desly’s recommendation, we visited this local retailer. We learned they work directly with producers, resulting in a niche but highly curated selection (e.g., only one producer for a specific Barbera). They confirmed that unlike the US, the Netherlands is lucky not to have are strictive three-tier system, allowing them these direct relationships. We bought two bottles in the €20 range to sample for our picnic and debate taking on our cruise ship, as we were warned prices in Norway would be significantly higher.
Interacting with Locals
The Desly Conversation: Our long lunch turned into a fascinating cultural exchange with our 34-year-old waiter, Desly. He opened up about the region’s challenging housing crisis and the difficulty of getting into the social housing program or purchasing a home. He talked about his choice of career and how much pride he has in providing service and doing what we were doing, having a shared conversation, and getting to know people from all over the world.
What we loved and what we didn’t...
We loved the ease of travel to Haarlem, the lively Saturday Grote Markt, and the fantastic, lengthy lunch experience at Oliver’s which offered excellent wine advice and genuine insight into local life.
The things we didn’t: The immense disappointment that the Corrie ten Boom House also requires tickets purchased way in advance, creating a parallel regret to missing the Anne Frank House. While we were impressed with the shopping, it was a disappointment to not be able to fully participate due to living out of a suitcase!
Welcome to the new Touchpoint Wines
We’re blending our passion for wine with a love for global exploration. Join us as we journey through the world's most captivating destinations, uncovering hidden wine gems and offering unique workshop experiences for your team retreats. Whether you're seeking to enhance team dynamics or discover the art of slow travel, let us be your guide.
