Walk past beautiful country houses in Wassenaar and Voorschoten

Most estates and country houses in Wassenaar were created from the late 16th century onwards. They were built on a higher part of the beach ridge and along the main thoroughfare from The Hague to Haarlem, now the Rijksstraatweg. The walking route leads through a wooded area and past a series of fine country houses. In some cases, the parks are freely accessible, such as at Rust en Vreugd and Voorlinden. Sometimes the route leads through the estates themselves, as at De Paauw and Backershagen. Of a limited number of estates, the main house is accessible at set times, as at De Paauw and Voorlinden

With its strategic location between Leiden and The Hague and good accessibility by road and water, Voorschoten was an attractive place to settle. In the 17th and 18th centuries, more than 20 country houses were founded by wealthy city dwellers. Today, six of them remain. The walking route leads past five of these country houses, which are like green oases of tranquillity among the residential buildings. The route also passes the Burgemeester Berkhoutpark, built between 1936 and 1944.

This booklet contains two special walks along the most beautiful country houses;
- one through Voorschoten (10 km)
- and one through Wassenaar (12 km (or shortened to 6.5 or 7.5 km).
The booklet has no less than 32 pages.

It can be viewed for free (NL only- see "downloads" button) or collected
- at the two VVVs, in Wassenaar and Voorschoten and VVV Leidn

Route is "international", accompanying text is Dutch