One of my favourite cities in the Netherlands is Haarlem. It is the capital of the province of North Holland and it is only a 15-minute train ride from Amsterdam CS. It is also close to some of the most popular beaches of the Netherlands, which is Zandvoort aan Zee and Bloemendaal. Which makes it the perfect place to live in as you have the city and the beach close by!
Haarlem is a charming, medieval city in North Holland and offers a lively cultural scene, cosy restaurants, cafes and bars and excellent shopping opportunities. Haarlem is also known as the jazz city of the Netherlands.
One of the biggest annual music events based in Haarlem, is Haarlem Jazz & More festival. Usually located in the Grote Markt, they bring various musicians and DJs and the event usually goes on for three to five days. This festival combines jazz music with other music styles so it can appeal to a larger group of people.
A cool cafe bar to listen to some live music, either it is jazz, funk or blues is Cafe Stiel’s. It is located in the heart of the city centre on the Smedestraat. Here you can find different local bands performing almost every night. Just across this bar you will find another jazzy bar called Cafe du Theatre.
And last but not least, bar and grill Louisiana is one of the places to visit if you enjoy listening to jazz and eating great food for affordable prices. It is located on the Zijlstraat where you can find other cafes and bars as well. They usually bring musicians and play live music or have great DJs mixing some blues and jazz together.
So, if you’re into jazz and ever in Haarlem, make sure to visit one of these places.
