The 11 Frisian Cities cycling tour

Your Frisian adventure kicks off in Leeuwarden, the vibrant capital of Friesland province. If the spoken language sounds different to you here, you are absolutely right. Local language differs from Dutch and has becomes an important aspect of the local culture.

Three Frisian towns are lined up for today beginning with Bolsward, a Hanseatic town known to enamour tourists. In IJlst (pronounced a bit like ail-st), perhaps the prettiest of the eleven, front gardens flank the canal in an irresistible backdrop featured in film. Spend the night in lively Sneek, a mecca for water sports and day-trippers where the 1613 Waterpoort Gate is the local pride and joy. Satisfy your sweet tooth with brittle buckwheat cookies called ‘drabbelkoeken’ and top your evening off with a jaunt to hopping bars and cafes.

Challenge: 59 km / 36,5 mi

Leave the hustle and bustle behind and dive into peace and quiet in the Frisian Lake District, with nearly thirty inland lakes it is said to be the largest in western Europe. Experience a feeling of calm as the water surrounds you, and forget the world for a while. Next you cycle into geologically intriguing woodlands in Gaasterland, passing meandering creeks, rolling terrain and deciduous forests on the shores of the old Zuiderzee. The unexpected rock wall called Rode Klif juts up out of Lake Ijsselmeer, providing immense views. Today’s stage ends in Stavoren, known for its picturesque harbour and the statue representing a creepy legend about the ‘Lady of Stavoren’.

Challenge: 55 km / 34 mi

There's more Frisian heritage in store, as you head for Hindeloopen’s wooden bridges, narrow lanes and traditional façades with an ice-skating museum to boot. Local style has long influenced painted furniture and traditional fabrics inspired by trading with Scandinavia and the Baltic. Next up is Workum, once a town of potters famed for their grooved ceramics made from the area’s readily available clay. Get a glimpse of it at Koch’s workshop and check out the town hall’s original wooden prison cell. Round off the day in historic Makkum, famous for its Frisian pottery, where the Tichelaar tile factory has been going strong since 1594. On Days 6 and 7 of the tour, you’ll have a chance to properly admire Frisian pottery at the ceramics museums in Harlingen and Leeuwarden.

Challenge: 45 km / 28 mi

Circle back to Bolsward on a splendid 35-km / 22 mi tour pervaded by the aroma of briny sea air as you approach the friendly harbour town of Harlingen. Amble the sea front along Wadden Promenade and reflect on these unique shallows, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. At low tide, shore birds flock to the mudflats and tidal creeks to forage and the town centre reveals monumental warehouses, attractive architectural and picturesque canals. A short ride then leads to the small yet impressive town of Franeker, home to the Netherlands’ second oldest university, oldest student bar ‘Bogt van Guné’ and oldest working planetarium: Eisinga Planetarium.

Challenge: 45 km / 28 mi

Flanked by vast polders to your right, you set off along the coast and wonder how the people of Friesland kept their feet dry before sea dikes were invented. The answer is: by building ‘terps’, raised residential mounds with churches and farmhouses perched on top. Pause to see a partially preserved 9-metre-high mound in Hegebeintum before your journey’s end in Dokkum. This imposing settlement, once open to the sea, became strategically important and was fortified with dikes and moats in 1582. When the harbour later silted up, the town began to look inland. Check out the chapel dedicated to the English missionary St. Boniface, who came to convert pagan Frisians to Christianity and was murdered here in the year 754. Healing water is said to come from the well blessed by this saint.

Challenge: 60 km / 37,5 mi

Delve into wide-open Frisian scenes brimming with water, lush meadows and signature cows as you ride the Dokkumer Ee canal, a prominent section of the skating marathon, toward the provincial capital. The unassuming bridge at Bartlehiem has long survived crowds of rowdy fans cheering skaters on and it’s just a short stretch to Leeuwarden, rounding out a modest total of 26 km for the day and leaving plenty of time to look around this northern gem with its charming harbours and over 600 monuments. Fancy some shopping, searching for souvenirs? Run over to Kleine Kerkstraat, one of the country’s best-loved shopping streets. Or expend some energy climbing the Frisian ‘Tower of Pisa’, the Oldenhove, on a city stroll starts at the iconic bronze statue of ‘Us Mem’ (Our Mother).

Challenge: 25 km / 15,5 mi