Madurodam in the Hague

Madurodam is a theme park, a miniature city and a war memorial and allows you to see the Netherlands in one afternoon. A walk through this small town leads past the most important monuments of Amsterdam and other cities in the Netherlands and also takes you the bulb fields and polders. Watch planes taxi at Schiphol Airport and cars move along highways. This is the Netherlands in a nutshell.

Discover the World in Miniature: Holland’s Smallest City

Madurodam is Holland’s smallest city. You will find here houses, apartments and farmsteads. In summer the inhabitants will go to the beach or visit the Zoo. Over 4,000 cars and lorries travel on eight motorways.

The city prides itself in ten museums, five train stations, four churches, three theatres, twenty-seven bridges, one post office, fifty-eight ships, one airport, 3,150 lamp posts and 30,000 flower bulbs, mainly tulips.

Madurodam offers a variety of architectural styles, from Gothic St. Jan Basilica to futuristic bridge dwellings. The tallest building is 25 m (82 ft) high and houses the Rotterdam Insurance Company. The all-glass façade looks stunning, but must be a window cleaner’s nightmare!

Madurodam is a popular outing. Buy your tickets online and avoid waiting at the ticket office.

Everything Looks Real!

Madurodam is a miniature city where everything has been recreated on a scale of 1:25. There are over 700 models, including a miniature version of the Royal Palace on Dam Square, the Dom Tower in Utrecht, the Peace Palace in The Hague, the red light district and canal houses in Amsterdam and also trains, trams and buses run through Madurodam.

Try your hand at operating the Oosterscheldekering storm surge barrier, load containers onto a ship in Rotterdam’s port, make a traditional barrel organ play, or load clogs on a conveyor belt for transport and buy a set of miniature ones as a souvenir.

Buildings, Trees and People in Madurodam

All buildings are exact copies of the original, down to the smallest detail. Everything is correct: the bricks, the window frames, the front doors, all the architectural details are accurate.

The trees in Madurodam are miniature versions. They are real trees, often grown from seedlings and kept small by pruning well. There are about 5,000 trees in the town, including elms, maples, beeches and oaks. Madurodam has its own gardener.

Madurodam has about 60,000 residents. They walk through the streets, wait for the train or do their shopping at the market. Every day, before the opening, there is an inspection round to see whether all residents are still standing upright. If not, they are straightened.

Building Madurodam

Before construction starts in Madurodam’s own workshops, detailed photos of the original buildings are taken. Originally all buildings were made of wood, but these days synthetic materials are used because they are weather-proof. Smaller buildings take about three months to complete, but larger, more complicated ones can take as long as three to four years.

Highlights of Madurodam Miniature City

• Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, have a peek inside through a roof window

• Flower bulb fields with tulips in all shades of colour and hyacinths that really smell

• City districts in Rotterdam, Groningen, The Hague and Utrecht

• Amsterdam Red Light District

• The port of Rotterdam with container ships and the Euromast

Full Scale Attractions

Some of the buildings are ‘real size’ and you are invited to go inside.

• Hof van Holland: attend the very first Assembly of the Free States in the Hall of States in Dordrecht, in 1572

• Waterwolf: learn how new land is created how the Haarlemmermeer (Haarlemmer Lake) was drained and a new polder emerged

• George Maduro: discover the history of Madurodam

• Nieuw Amsterdam: go back in time to the 17th century and see how the Dutch transformed the settlement, now New York, into a trading centre that they called Nieuw-Amsterdam

• Flying Dutchman (Vliegende Hollander): fly over the Netherlands in a Dakota, the very first KLM plane

Meet the Dutch Masters

This is an interactive attraction where you enter the art world of the great Dutch Masters of the seventeenth century.

In those days, Rembrandt, Vermeer and other painters made and mixed their own paint. You will mix colours yourself and adjust the lighting in the room.

Next, you enter a revolving, brightly-lit tunnel and you end up in the world of Johannes Vermeer, with the Milkmaid and the Girl with the Pearl Earring.

You play the lute as depicted in Judith Leyster’s painting ‘the Serenade’ and stroll through a field with very large tulips as can be seen in one of her paintings

Continue your journey to Rembrandt’s The Night Watch, where you can walk among the figures from this masterpiece. Finally, step into Vincent van Gogh’s room, sit on his bed or chair, and experience a playful optical illusion that makes you appear either giant or tiny.

Who was George Maduro?

George Maduro was born in 1916 in Curaçao and studied law at Leiden University. During the German invasion of the Netherlands in 1940, he served as a reserve officer and helped defend The Hague.

Captivity and Betrayal
After the Dutch capitulation, Maduro joined the resistance, helping downed Allied pilots in escaping German-occupied territory. He was imprisoned twice in the Oranjehotel, a prison in Scheveningen used by the Nazis to hold resistance fighters and political prisoners.

Maduro attempted to flee to England via the Engelandvaarders, term for Dutch individuals who escaped to England during World War II to continue the fight against Nazi Germany, but he was betrayed and arrested.

Final Act of Courage
During a later air raid, Maduro had the chance to escape but chose instead to help others. He was arrested again and deported to Dachau concentration camp, where he died on 8 February 1945, shortly before the camp was liberated. He was 28 years old.

Why is the Miniature Town called Madurodam?

Madurodam was designed by Mrs Boon-van der Starp. She aranged for Dutch students suffering from tuberculosis to take treatment in a sanatorium and study at the same time. George Maduro’s parents decided to finance this project in exchange for a token to remember their deceased son. Until this day, Madurodam still donates to charities.

Is Madurodam unique?
Mrs Boon-van der Starp was inspired for this miniature village by Bekonscot in England, which opened in 1930 and is considered the world’s oldest miniature village.

Who is Mayor of Madurodam
The first mayor of Madurodam was Princess Beatrix (later the Queen of the Netherland). After her abdication she also handed over her mayoralty to the board of Madurodam, consisting of ten pupils from secondary schools in the region. After one year, new aldermen and the mayor are elected.

Madurodam FAQ

What: Miniature park showcasing the Netherlands (scale 1:25) in The Hague
Address: George Maduroplein 1, 2584 RZ The Hague

Tickets
Available at the ticket desk
Online tickets often cheaper

Opening Hours
Open year-round
Hours vary by season
Check the website for current times

Getting there

From Amsterdam to Madurodam in The Hague using public transport

Step 1: Train from Amsterdam to The Hague

• Departure: Take an Intercity (IC) train from Amsterdam Centraal to Den Haag Centraal.
• Duration: Approximately 50 minutes.
• Frequency: Trains depart regularly throughout the day.

Step 2: Tram to Madurodam from Den Haag Centraal

• Tram: Take Tram 9 direction Scheveningen Noord.
• Duration: Approximately 10 minutes.
• Stop: Get off at Madurodam stop.