Madurodam is a miniature park and tourist attraction in the Scheveningen district of The Hague in the Netherlands. It is home to a range of 1:25 scale model replicas of famous Dutch landmarks, historical cities and large developments.
This park was made in memory of world war 2 hero George Maduro by his parents. George Maduro was a young gentleman from Hague who fought against the German troops in Holland. Captured, he passed away in the Dachau concentration camp in 1945. After his death, his parents financed the Madurodam project in his memory. Since the time miniature park was completed, the majority of the money that this park earns are donated to several charities.
This is a must-see attraction for both children and adults. This miniature Park look small but when you start looking at the small details you can easily spend two to three hours here.
There are few indoor attractions at this park which include;
Hof van Nederland showing interactive movies about the history of the park and it will take you back to the first free states meeting in 1572 in Dordrecht. Another special theater that takes you into the life story of war hero George Maduro.
Waterwolf will show you the Dutch struggle with water. How they reclaimed the land and how mills have kept the country dry till date.
These interactive movies are available in English and not taking much time. They are informative and fun to watch with family. After movie you can go to the outdoor miniature area.
Every single miniature is perfectly in scale, looking exactly like the original building. All the important buildings of Amsterdam are perfectly created here. If you have already visited Amsterdam, you will recognize many sights like Dam Square, the Royal Palace, Amsterdam Centraal station, Anne Frank House, Skinny Bridge, Rijksmuseum Canal houses etc.
Here you will also find a really impressive model of Amsterdam Schiphol airport, complete with many models of plane, aerobridges, planes taxiing on the runway, moving luggage belts, and vehicles moving outside.
There are railway tracks in some parts of the park where Thalys and NS trains are actually moving along with goods carriage.
Kids wear really excited to see the replica of small working wind mills and canal lifting gate system which lift or lower the boat in the canal with different water levels. At this place with working model, it was easy for us to explain the kids the working principle of this boat lifting system.
Other than this they have made a complete replica of the oil field and they have created miniature of big Cruise ships. In the water there was a ship on fire surrounded by few rescue vessels. Ship fire pumps working by manual pumps installed around the water. Kids were enjoying extinguish the fire on the boat.
There are tulip fields, cheese market, a wooden shoes factory, windmills, the Peace Palace, the Delta Works. Any important building in Netherlands you will find them all in Madurodam.
The park has 4 main zones:
- Madurodam Recreation area: amusement park for kids; it also contains restaurants.
- Madurodam Centre: there are churches, museums, typical Amsterdam canals.
- Madurodam Polder: you can find here the residential district.
- Madurodam Harbour: The area with refineries, off shore oil rig, Amsterdam Schiphol Airport.
After visiting all the replica, you may find yourself interested in visiting the places you haven’t. There are many restaurants and a souvenir shop inside the park. We tried Dutch chocolate pancake and waffles which were delicious.
Since this is an outdoor park, remember to check the weather before visiting Madurodam miniature park.
How to get to Madurodam
- From Rotterdam central you have to catch a train to Den Haag HS. From outside the train station catch Tram No 9 from Hollands Spoor tram stop which will take you directly to Madurodam.
- If you are at Den Haag Centrum Bus/tram stop then catch the bus 22 which will drop you in front of Madurodam.
- From Amsterdam Centraal catch a train to Den Haag Centraal. From central station tram stop catch tram 9 which will drop you to Madurodam tram stop. Alternatively you can catch Bus No. 22 which will drop you in front of Madurodam.