The Kingdom of the Netherlands, The Netherlands in short, (also commonly called Holland in English, in reference to the provinces North-Holland and South-Holland) is a Benelux country and a founding member of the European Union. The Netherlands border Germany to the east and Belgium to the south. To the west, the country faces the North Sea and the United Kingdom. The people, language, and culture of the Netherlands are referred to as "Dutch".

The Netherlands is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. Much of the country is flat and at or below sea level making it an ideal place to cycle. Hills can only be found at the Veluwe and Southern Limburg. Much of the countryside is dominated by highly industrialized farming and despite its population density, the Netherlands are one of the largest food exporters in the world.

The geography of the Netherlands is dominated by water features. The country is criss-crossed with rivers, canals and dikes, and the beach is never far away. The western coast of the Netherlands has one of the most beautiful North Sea beaches that can be found, attracting thousands if not millions of people every year.

The Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy, administratively divided into 12 provinces. Even though the Netherlands is a small country, these provinces are quite diverse and have plenty of cultural and linguistic differences. They can be divided in four regions: North (the least densely populated area, mostly unexplored by foreigners), South (divided from the rest by its Catholic history, carnival celebrations, beer culture and its "Burgundian way of life"), East (home to the largest national park of the Netherlands, Hoge Veluwe National Park) and West (Commonly called the Randstad, this is the heart of the Netherlands with its four biggest cities as well as typical Dutch countryside).

The Netherlands has a fine-grained, well-organized public transport system. Virtually any village can be reached by public transport. The Dutch public transport system consists of a train network which serves as backbone, extended with a network of both local and interlocal busses. Amsterdam and Rotterdam have a metro network, and Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Den Haag and Utrecht also have trams.

Schiphol Airport, near Amsterdam, is a European hub, and after London, Paris, and Frankfurt the largest of Europe. It is by far the biggest international airport in the country, and a point of interest in itself, being 4 metres below mean sea level (the name actually translates as Hollow of Ships). Travellers can easily fly in from most places of the world and then connect with The Netherlands' biggest airline KLM.

Cycling in the Netherlands is much less hazardous than in other countries, because of the infrastructure - cycle paths, cycle lanes, and signposted cycle routes.

Amsterdam is a traveller magnet due to its impressive architecture, lovely canals (grachten), museums and liberal attitudes whilst Delft is an historic unspoiled town with the world-famous blue and white ceramics. Other notable cities include The Hague — seat of government, royal family, judicial capital of the world and Madurodam, Maastricht — fortified medieval city showing the different culture, style and architecture of the south and Rotterdam — home of modern architecture, good nightlife, a vibrant art scene and the largest port of Europe.

The Netherlands is famous for its wooden shoes. However, nowadays almost no one except for farmers in the countryside wear them. You could travel through The Netherlands for weeks and find no one using them for footwear. The only place where you'll find them is in tourist shops.

The Netherlands is not known for its cuisine, but hearty Dutch fare can be quite good if done well. A conventional Dutch meal consists of meat, potatoes and some type of vegetable on the side. The Dutch, however, are known for their specialties and delicious treats: Dutch cheese is particularly famous, especially Gouda, Edam, Leerdammer, Maaslander and Maasdam.