Moving to the Netherlands, many expats quickly learn that this country is more than just bikes, canals and a borderline unhealthy love of cheese. But if you stick around long enough, you start noticing something else: this tiny patch of land has a respectful amount of world heritage sites. And no, we’re not talking about tulips and stroopwafels (though, let’s be honest, they deserve their own UNESCO listing by now).
To explore the Dutch UNESCO heritage sites, Utrecht is a good place to start. As the Netherlands’ fourth-largest city, is often described as Amsterdam’s little sibling: canals, history and a lively student community. Expats tend to fall in love with Utrecht quickly. Located in a quiet residential street, you’ll find the Rietveld Schröder House, a 1924 masterpiece designed by Gerrit Rietveld. Recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000, this home might make you think about a Lego set. However, it’s a manifesto of the De Stijl movement, which turned simplicity into high art.
Before there were bicycles, there were Romans. The limes marked the frontier of the Roman Empire, and the stretch through Utrecht province is part of the World Heritage list, added in 2021. You’ll find traces of Roman forts in Woerden, Utrecht city itself, Bunnik, Rijswijk and Leiden, among others.
Dutch water management: the national hobby (kidding) and survival strategy (God created hearth, the Dutch created the Netherlands, right?). The New Dutch Waterline was a defence system created in the 19th century, that could flood entire parts of land to keep invaders at distance. It was added to UNESCO’s list in 2021. Parts of it snakes through Utrecht, with forts and floodplains blending into today’s landscape. Fort Hoofddijk, for instance, now sits charmingly inside Utrecht University’s botanical gardens.
Not all UNESCO titles are about bricks and moats. Since 2017, Utrecht has also been a UNESCO City of Literature, part of the Creative Cities Network. That means it’s internationally recognized for its literary life: festivals, publishing houses, innovative reading programs. For expats, this can feel like a gentle reminder that your Dutch lessons might deserve a little more love.
Now, here’s where things get interesting. Utrecht’s canals, unlike Amsterdam’s canal ring, are not on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Many locals (and quite a few expats who’ve fallen for the city’s charm) believe that’s a cultural injustice. Why? Because Utrecht’s canals are unlike any others in the world. Instead of being just waterways, they come with vaulted spaces at water level that were historically used for storage and trade. Over time, these became cafés, shops, and cozy hangouts, giving Utrecht its distinctive two-level canal system.
On to more water-related monuments. After all, if the Netherlands had a global logo, it would be the windmill. There is no better place to visit them than Kinderdijk, where 19 majestic windmills line the waterways. Built in the 18th century to manage flooding, they are still there and this area of the Netherlands really looks a postcard. Schokland was once an island, now part of the newly-created province Flevoland. It symbolizes the Dutch battle against water and was the first Dutch site inscribed on the UNESCO list, back in 1995. The Beemster Polder north of Amsterdam is another marvel of Dutch engineering. It may sound weird that a polder is an UNESCO site, but Beemster Polder is special: it was the prototype of reclaimed land, a masterpiece of 17th-century planning. Without the lessons learned in the Beemster, much of the Netherlands would still be underwater.
In Friesland, you’ll find the Ir. D. F. Woudagemaal, the largest still-operating steam pumping station in the world. Built in 1920, it still gets fired up to help regulate water levels, proving that heritage can still be extremely useful!
Also in Friesland, in Franeker, it is possible to visit the world’s oldest operating planetarium, built in the 18thcentury by Eise Eisinga in his living room. It’s both charming and astonishing, and UNESCO made it official in 2023.
In the cities of Drente and Overijssel are the Colonies of Benevolence. Back in 1818, the Society of Benevolence founded agricultural colonies in rural areas of the Netherlands, aimed to reduce poverty by resettling people – especially criminals and addicts – into farming colonies. It sounds noble, but conditions were tough and the project had mixed success. Today, the colonies are a fascinating heritage site, showing another part of Dutch history.
The only natural site on the Dutch UNESCO list, the Wadden Sea, stretches across the northern coast, shared with Germany and Denmark. Walking across the seabed at low tide, known as “wadlopen”, is equal parts magical and muddy. If you’re an expat longing for something rugged in a land of neat bike paths, this is your chance. (Just don’t forget waterproof shoes. Seriously.)
Not all heritage sites are about water. In Rotterdam, UNESCO tipped its hat to the Van Nelle Factory in 2014. A shining example of modernist architecture, it was once a coffee, tea and tobacco factory. Nowadays it’s a workspace and event venue, but its airy glass design still feels futuristic.
At first, the UNESCO heritage list might feel like a tourist checklist. But for expats, exploring these sites offers something deeper: it’s a way to connect with the Dutch relationship to land, water, and community. Almost every listing will teach you how the Dutch built, defended or reclaimed their environment.
To all expats in the Netherlands: you’re living in a UNESCO powerhouse.
Written by Rossella Davì