Hilversum

Unlike most of the Netherlands, Hilversum is in a hilly area on sand soil. The town is between the major cities of Amsterdam and Utrecht, and most travellers visit it as a relaxing day off from the urban mayhem. The forests, lakes and heathland surrounding the town can best be explored by bicycle or on foot. Most of these lands are property of the Goois Natuurreservaat Foundation (GNR), a non-profit organisation dedicated to protecting the nature reserves. Another goal is to connect nature reserves that have been separated by motorways and other human-made structures. For this end, the wildlife crossing Zanderij Crailo was completed in 2006, and it is the largest wildlife crossing in the world. It connects the Spanderswoud and the Bussumerheide, and is part of a larger programme to connect nature reserves from the Utrechtse Heuvelrug to Naarden.

The city is also green and breezy with trees pretty much everywhere. A total of 660 different types of trees to be exact, the largest variety of species in the Netherlands. Typical for the city is the way forests and city building naturally blend into each other. Hilversum is called a villadorp (villa village) because of its many villas with large surrounding gardens. The botanical garden Pinetum Blijdenstein is the most remarkable one with an enormous collection of rare and endangered trees and plants, some of which are exotic. It is home to one of the most complete collections of conifers in the world. Hilversum is nationally known as the media city, and goes by its nickname Hillywood. It is home to the country's broadcasting industry and has the two largest television studios in Europe within its borders. Every year, the Dutch points given in the Eurovision Song Contest are announced from Hilversum. Many Dutch celebrities live in the area, and their daily lives are often a topic of national interest.

History:

By train:

Because of the central location of its train station, Hilversum can best be reached by the NS railway service. Trains run roughly every 15 minutes between 05:00 and 01:00 to and from Amsterdam, Schiphol Airport, Utrecht, Amersfoort and Almere. The smaller train stations Hilversum Media Park and Hilversum Sportpark are within walking distance of the main train station.

Every day, six international trains to and from Berlin and Hanover stop in Hilversum. You can reserve seats at NS International. This is not required, but can be advised as prices are lower and rush hours can be crowded.

By car:

Hilversum can be reached by motorways A1, A2 and A27. From the northwest and east (Amsterdam and Amersfoort), take A1 exit 9 at Laren, drive south on N525 and follow the signs. From the west (Schiphol Airport and Leiden), get on motorway A2 and take exit 4 at Vinkeveen. From there, drive east on N201. From the north and south (Almere and Utrecht), take motorway A27 and exit 33.

The provincial roads can be used to get to Hilversum as well. By driving on these smaller roads, you see more of the forests and rural areas around the town. N524 is a ride through the Spanderswoud from Bussum in the north. Two other forest rides are N525 from Laren in the northeast and N415 from Baarn in the east. From the south, the rural road N417 makes its way through farm fields and villages. N201 from Vinkeveen in the west goes through flat farmlands as well.

By plane:

1 Hilversum Airport. The town's airport in the southwest. It's only used for recreational flying and training purposes.