The Dutch government is planning to introduce a price cap on energy bills to offset the surge in prices. But what does the price cap mean for individual households? And more importantly, what else can you do to keep your bill as low as possible? Although the details still have to be finalised, and MPs want the plan to be made broader, the energy price cap basically means: A maximum price for electricity of €0.70 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) up to... More >

Some 60 asylum seekers centres nationwide threw open their doors to the public on Saturday, as part of Open AZC Dag. The aim of the annual event is to give locals a glimpse of the daily lives of asylum seekers while meeting their newest neighbours. Lauren Comiteau went to Azc Willinklaan in Amsterdam to learn more. The festive scenes at the asylum seekers centre on Willinklaan in Amsterdam’s district of Nieuw West were about as far away from the images... More >

Cristóbal Balenciaga’s extraordinary dress designs resculpted the female body and made black a mainstay of international fashion. Balenciaga in Black at the Kunstmuseum Den Haag tells the story of his most iconic pieces. Couturier Cristóbal Balenciaga famously claimed that his designs could work magic. ‘A woman has no need to be perfect or even beautiful to wear my dresses,’ he said. ‘The dress will do that for her.’ A Balenciaga gown conferred confidence and elegance, and the most glamorous and... More >

  Small businesses and entrepreneurs will pick up the tab for a 2023 budget that aims to help the poorest in society who are struggling to make ends meet. The Dutch government’s spending plans for 2023 were announced in The Hague on ‘Prinsjesdag’, the third Tuesday in the month of September, with a sober message from the Dutch king. Boosting purchasing power is the main aim of the plan, with hand-outs worth €17.2 billion to support ‘vulnerable groups and people... More >

For six years, the most comprehensive biography ever written on the Dutch painter Piet Mondrian was only available in Dutch. Thanks to a new translation, English-speaking audiences can now learn more about one of modernism’s most important figures. Mondrian, it turns out, was not the man we thought he was. A century on, the influence of his iconic grid paintings is still everywhere to be seen, from architecture and interior design, to clothing on the catwalk. Yet, according to a... More >

What better thing to do at the end of summer than brush up your knowledge of the Netherlands with our very own inburgering course. Lesson 33: Normen en waarden Normen en waarden – when the Dutch aren’t arguing or worrying about them, they’re telling everyone else to observe them. They are frequently mentioned during election campaigns but nobody seems to be quite sure what distinguishes the normen from the waarden. Here’s an incomplete list. 1 Speak your mind Yes, you can... More >

Myla Brouwer’s mother is single and lives on a disability allowance. Buying a bicycle for her daughter, she told Dutch travellers’ association ANWB, was out of her reach. All of Myla’s friends had bikes, as most children in the Netherlands do. Without one, Myla was excluded from much of the social life that is so common in this flat, bike-riding country. Enter ANWB’s Children’s Bicycle Plan, which collects used bikes, fixes them up and distributes them through a nationwide network... More >

They are a glittering reminder of the wealth of the Dutch ‘golden age’, where the well-to-do held extravagant dinners in their marble-lined canal houses. But four 17th century silver salt cellars created by master craftsman – and friend of Rembrandt – Johannes Lutma have been claimed as looted art. At a restitutions committee hearing, descendants of a Jewish woman from Hamburg, Emma Budge, claimed the €3 million set now at Amsterdam Museum and the Rijksmuseum, were wrongly taken from the family... More >

An old hand in The Hague, or a newbie in the Netherlands? The 11th edition of the IamExpat Fair will take place at the Grote Kerk on October 1 and, the organisers say, there really is something for everyone.   Expats might be citizens of the world, but they still have local needs and that, says IamExpat founder Panos Sarlanis, is where the IamExpat Fair comes in. ‘We like to help people from the moment they arrive in the Netherlands,... More >

Do you own a house in the Netherlands but are moving to a new country? Or are you about to buy a new home in the Netherlands and would you like to keep your original property? Here’s what you need to know. If you work for an international company, you could find yourself being moved to a new country. Or you might simply be interested in moving to a bigger home in the Netherlands itself. So should you sell, or... More >

The location of the Netherlands’ only international boarding school could not be more idyllic. The school also offers a broad, problem-solving approach to learning, in which the countryside is as important as the curriculum. Housed on a country estate in Overijssel, Eerde International Boarding School looks out over the fields and forests. The old orangerie has been turned into a studio for the school’s budding artists. The 17th century castle is home to the library and dining rooms while the... More >

The Netherlands might have lots of tourists, but with half the Dutch population decanted into France, Spain and Turkey, summer can be a great time to visit a museum. Here are the Dutch News crew’s favourites. Molly Quell The botanical gardens in Amsterdam are a really fun and weird oasis in the middle of the city. It’s beautiful and quiet and you don’t expect to see giant agaves and palm trees. It’s so peaceful. And I like the butterflies because... More >

If you believe the tourist industry and tabloid newspapers, the Dutch like nothing better than to race around on bikes in clogs, eat cheese, smoke weed and kill off their old folk. So the next lesson in our inburgering course deals with some of the cliches. Lesson 32: debunking the myths Tulips come from Amsterdam It’s spring again, I’ll bring again, tulips from Amsterdam, the song goes. But did tulips originate in Amsterdam, or even the Netherlands? No, they didn’t.... More >

There are plenty of great summer reads out there. Here’s the Dutch News’ crew’s favourite Dutch reading – most of which is in translation. Molly Quell Summer house with Swimming Pool by Herman Koch is really appropriate for the weather because it is about a family that has gone away for a summer holiday. Koch does a great job writing really smart books that are easy to read and addressing Dutch class anxiety which does not get talked about a... More >

Do you love working with children but have found that your qualifications are not recognised to work as a childcare teacher in the Netherlands? International childcare group Zein offers a special in-house training programme which allows you to make the switch and continue your career. ‘We were getting so many applications from people who had the relevant qualifications and experience but did not meet the Dutch criteria and could not work that we started looking into how we could help,’... More >

The Netherlands is a great place for a summer holiday, and you get to avoid the crowds at Schiphol as well. Brandon Hartley Visit the Efteling. I spent a substantial chunk of my childhood summers in the theme parks that populate Southern California, so I actually get wistfully nostalgic for standing in long lines in the hot sun just to get zipped around while surrounded by herky-jerky animatronics of varying degrees of quality. Efteling is easily one of top three... More >