Double DUTCH

The small Netherlands cities of Leiden and Haarlem are the perfect duo for a long weekend break

- ELLEN HIMELFARB

For many years, the Netherlands was Britain's enchanting 'so close, yet so far' neighbour: an architectural treasure providing old-world canal vistas that many found awkward to reach. But thanks to the Eurostar train service, it's now barely three hours from London. And you're not restricted to Amsterdam. Over a long weekend you can get to know calmer, less visited spots such as Leiden and Haarlem - each a quick transfer from Rotterdam's Eurostar terminal, past windmills, slender church spires and fields of flowers. In summertime, even with tulip season over, the atmosphere is blooming perfection.

Poetry in motion

Leiden's muurgedichten, or 'wall poems', have been popping up on the sides of old townhouses and boutiques for 30 years. And not only in Dutch: writers from Rimbaud to Pablo Neruda, and Sappho to Shakespeare have been stylishly mural-ised in their mother tongue (Seiichi Niikuni's Kawamata Wa Shu is a highlight). Visit muurgedichten.nl, where they're all organised into walking tours, so you can spend an afternoon discovering the city through verse.

More of a history buff? With alumni such as Rembrandt and faculty like Einstein, tiny Leiden University punches above its weight. Stroll there on the canal path, past the botanical garden where Holland's first tulip was cultivated.

On the waterfront