By the turn of the 19th to 20th century Apeldoorn was not more than a village, on the edge of the Veluwe. It has now rapidly grown to be a modern city but you can still recognize the different villages it originated from. Its a fairly large city with a relatively small center....

By the turn of the 19th to 20th century Apeldoorn was not more than a village, on the edge of the Veluwe. It has now rapidly grown to be a modern city but you can still recognize the different villages it originated from. Its a fairly large city with a relatively small center.

Apeldoorn is surrounded by beautiful woods which are very suitable for a nice walk or cycle tour. Alongside the Hoofdstraat you find a new shoppingmall called 'Oranjerie' and around it all the further stores you're looking for. Attracted to the surrounding forest and heath lands there are a lot of senior citizens and the average age is quite high. Still this does not mean Apeldoorn is a dull and sleepy city. Theres a lot of culture to experience and in November 2004 the local concert and theatre building was re-opened to be one of the biggest facilities of this kind in the Netherlands. The Jazz (street) festival held each June is famous.

For some relaxation bring a visit to the Caterplein (walk down the Hoofdstraat in Northern direction towards the 'Loolaan') in the center where you can take a bite to eat and a drink. For a delicious lunch, tea or meal you can choose from the many cafés and restaurants at the marktplein (oppposite the town hall) and in the small side streets of the Hoofdstraat. For artlovers there's art-cafe Sam Sam in the Van Kinsbergenstraat, also a side street of the Hoofdstraat.

The main attraction in this town in central Netherlands is the 'Apenheul' primate park, which attracts over 500.000 visitors each year, in the Berg and Bos Park. The surrounding trees almost make a natural enviroment for over 35 species of monkeys, apes and lemurs. Aso the Loo palace, built in the 17th century for William III of Orange, is well worth a visit. The nearby Veluwe once the hunting grounds for Willem III now provide a beautifull terrain to walk or cycle. For the youngsters theres the Julianatoren attraction park, build around a tower from the first decenium of the last century.

Apeldoorn is about 50 mi/80 km east of Amsterdam.

This content is licenced under a creative commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0 licence and has been copied from World66.com.