Explore Noordwijk Aan Zee according to your interests: beaches and dunes, coastal history, or activities by the sea. The following places offer specific points of interest—from beach access and lighthouse history to the story of the Engelandvaarders.
Beach, Dunes and Activities
Beaches are located along the North and South Boulevards. These provide two specific reference points for anyone putting the coast at the heart of their trip. At Duindamseslag, access is only via a footpath and cycle path through the dunes; plan your visit accordingly, on foot or by bike. Nearby is the Noordvoort Beach Reserve, a quiet reserve between Zandvoort and Noordwijk. It offers another coastal destination with its own peaceful character. A thalasso relaxation platform is located at beach entrance 10.
There are also various options for activities on the beach: you can take a yoga class on Noordwijk beach. North of beach entrance 21, you can learn to surf or kitesurf at Beach Break. This offers a choice between different activity focuses: a yoga class or learning to surf or kitesurf.
Lighthouse and Coastal History
The current distinctive white Vuurtoren Noordwijk on Koningin Wilhelmina Boulevard dates back to 1923. It has six floors and 108 steps. Each floor has a theme, covering the lighthouse’s history and its former important connection to the rescue society. This gives the structure a historical significance in addition to its striking appearance, reflected in the design of the floors.
Noordwijk Aan Zee also has a past as a seaside resort, where spa treatments, trade and fishing played important roles. These aspects add other perspectives on the town to the lighthouse’s history: coastal life, trade and fishing are just as much a part of its past as its role as a seaside resort.
Bunkers and the Story of the Engelandvaarders
Batterij Noordwijk is located at Verlengde Bosweg 1, on the cycle path in the dunes and 250 metres from Bosweg. The complex consists of a fire-control bunker, gun bunkers, ammunition bunkers and living quarters, connected by a tunnel system. The different types of bunkers and their connection through tunnels make it possible to describe the complex as an integrated system.
The Atlantikwall Museum Noordwijk consists of a series of bunkers from the Second World War. A visit to the exhibition and tunnel system gives you an impression of what life was like in the bunkers during the war. The Museum Engelandvaarders, in turn, tells the story of young men and women who fled the occupied Netherlands during the Second World War to continue the fight against Nazi Germany and Japan from England. Noordwijk was one of the Dutch beaches from which Engelandvaarders set off directly across the North Sea. The historical themes thus range from the use of the bunkers to the escape stories of those who dared to make the crossing from the coast.
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