Things to do in 's-Hertogenbosch
's-Hertogenbosch — Den Bosch to everyone, including the people who live there — gave Hieronymus Bosch his name. It has a cathedral crowded with carved figures, a canal system that runs under the houses, and a pastry bigger than a tennis ball.
- About an hour and a quarter from Amsterdam
The duke’s forest
‘s-Hertogenbosch means the duke’s forest, and the duke was Henry I of Brabant, who gave the settlement city rights in 1185. It is now the capital of North Brabant, and nobody uses the full name. It is Den Bosch — the forest — and the painter Hieronymus Bosch, born Jheronimus van Aken here around 1450, took his working name from it and signed his pictures with it.
Bosch grew up in a town that burned. A fire in 1463 destroyed some four thousand houses when he was a boy, and the cathedral that dominates the centre was still being built for most of his life. In 2016, the 500th anniversary of his death, the Noordbrabants Museum borrowed around twenty of his paintings for a single exhibition and then sent them back. The old centre today is a compact knot of medieval lanes around one square, small enough to see properly in half a day.
Getting your bearings
The Markt is the middle of everything. The cathedral is five minutes from it, the Bosch Art Center a few minutes beyond that, and the boat tours on the Binnendieze start at the Molenstraat, a few minutes the other way. The railway station is about ten minutes’ walk from the square, so there is no need for a car once you are in the centre.
The Binnendieze explains the plan of the town. The Dommel and the Aa meet here to form the Dieze, and the stretch that runs through the old centre is the Binnendieze, the inner Dieze. It carried the cargo, fed the workshops and doubled as the sewer, so the houses turned their backs on it, which is why a boat shows you a side of the town that you never see from the street.
Wednesday and Saturday are market days, and the boats run from April to October. Carnival is the only date worth planning around: for three days in February or early March the city is renamed Oeteldonk, much of it turns out in the traditional farmers’ smock, and ordinary sightseeing is not the point.
Planning the day
From Amsterdam it is about an hour and a quarter by road, so Den Bosch is an easy half day or a relaxed full one. Go early for the cathedral and the Bosch Art Center, take the boat in the middle of the day, and keep the bol for last.
We are based in Amsterdam and drive private day trips and fixed-price transfers. Message us on WhatsApp with your date and where you are starting, and we will tell you the price before you commit to anything.
What to see
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St John's Cathedral
The great Brabantine Gothic cathedral of the Netherlands, built in stages between about 1220 and 1530 and restored almost continuously since 1860. The outside is crowded with carved figures — saints, craftsmen, gargoyles — sitting on almost every arch and ledge.
Driver’s tip: Walk round the outside before you go in. On a flying buttress on the south side stands an angel in jeans holding a mobile phone, added during the restoration. The phone has a single button.
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The Jheronimus Bosch Art Center
Hieronymus Bosch was born Jheronimus van Aken here and took his working name from the town. None of his paintings hangs in Den Bosch, so this former church shows life-size reproductions of them instead, and has a tower with a view across the roofs.
Driver’s tip: The originals are in Madrid, Lisbon, Vienna and elsewhere, so this is the only place to see them all together, even as copies. Save the tower for last, when you can pick out the cathedral and the old centre from above.
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The Binnendieze
The old town's inner waterways, which run behind the houses, under them and past the old city wall. Most were filled in or built over, and in 1969 there were plans to fill in what was left; instead the old centre was made a protected area in 1972 and the water was restored bit by bit.
Driver’s tip: Boats run from April to October, starting at the Molenstraat or the Voldersgat, and take about fifty minutes in a quiet electric boat. They can fill up in high season, so book a slot rather than turning up. Out of season, walking routes follow the same water.
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The Markt
The market square, with the fourteenth-century town hall behind its later Baroque façade, a bronze statue of Bosch, who grew up on the square, and De Moriaan, among the oldest brick houses in the Netherlands. There is a market here on Wednesday and Saturday.
Driver’s tip: Look up at the town hall on the half hour, when the little horsemen on its carillon go round. Then find De Moriaan, which is easy to walk past and older than the town hall.
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A Bossche bol
The city's pastry: a choux ball bigger than a tennis ball, filled with whipped cream and coated in chocolate. Pastry bakers all over the centre make them.
Driver’s tip: Buy it from a banketbakker, a proper pastry baker, and eat it that day. The cream is fresh and a bol does not improve on a car ride. Take extra napkins.
Where is it?
Getting there from the nearest airport
The Netherlands Eindhoven Airport (EIN) Get a priceFrequently asked questions
Is 's-Hertogenbosch the same place as Den Bosch?
Yes. 's-Hertogenbosch means the duke's forest, and Den Bosch is what everyone, including the people who live there, actually calls it. Hieronymus Bosch took his name from it.
How long do I need in Den Bosch?
Half a day covers the cathedral, the Markt and a boat trip on the Binnendieze. A full day adds the Bosch Art Center and a slower lunch. The old centre is small and flat, and everything on this page is within about ten minutes of the Markt on foot.
When is the best time to visit?
Between April and October, when the Binnendieze boats run. The one time to avoid, unless it is the point, is Carnival, in February or early March, when the city is renamed Oeteldonk for three days and sightseeing comes second.
Can you drive us to Den Bosch?
Yes. We are based in Amsterdam and drive private day trips and fixed-price transfers, and Den Bosch is about an hour and a quarter away. Message us on WhatsApp with your date and where you are starting, and we will tell you the price before you commit to anything.