Living in Den Haag

1. The city in plain words

Den Haag is formally called 's-Gravenhage, but in everyday use the city is called Den Haag. It is the capital of the province of South Holland. Amsterdam is the official capital of the Netherlands, but the government, parliament (the Staten-Generaal) and the ministries are in Den Haag. The Binnenhof by the Hofvijver pond is the heart of that government: the city grew around the court of the counts of Holland, and Count William II began building a castle there in 1248.

Den Haag is also known as the city of peace and justice. The Peace Palace houses the International Court of Justice and the Permanent Court of Arbitration. Embassies and international organisations bring many people from other countries to the city, and that shows in the streets, the shops and the markets.

The municipality has about 569,000 inhabitants (1 January 2026), making it the third-largest municipality in the Netherlands. The city lies on the North Sea: the beach is reached through Scheveningen. Wassenaar to the north, Leidschendam-Voorburg to the north-east, Rijswijk to the south-east and the municipality of Westland to the south are neighbouring municipalities, not districts of Den Haag.

2. Neighbourhoods

The municipality of Den Haag has eight districts (stadsdelen), fixed in 1988. Each district has its own neighbourhoods (wijken). The names below come from the municipality's own district list.

• **Centrum.** The old centre around the Binnenhof and the Hofvijver, with the Archipelbuurt, the Zeeheldenkwartier, the Stationsbuurt, the Schildersbuurt and the Transvaalkwartier. The Zeeheldenkwartier has many small shops, cafés and art-nouveau houses. The Haagse Markt on Herman Costerstraat lies by the Schildersbuurt.
• **Scheveningen.** Once a fishing village, now a seaside resort with a beach, boulevard, Pier and Kurhaus. The Scheveningen district is wider than the old fishing village alone: the Statenkwartier with its museums, the Belgisch Park and Duinoord belong to it too.
• **Haagse Hout.** North of the centre, with Benoordenhout, Bezuidenhout, Mariahoeve and the Haagse Bos woodland.
• **Segbroek.** Between the centre and Scheveningen, with the Regentessekwartier, the Vogelwijk, the Vruchtenbuurt, the Valkenboskwartier and the Bomen- en Bloemenbuurt. The Regentessekwartier has many art-nouveau houses, and around Weimarstraat there are shops and cafés.
• **Escamp.** The south of the city, with Moerwijk, Morgenstond, Bouwlust and Vrederust, Leyenburg, Rustenburg-Oostbroek, the Zuiderpark and Wateringse Veld, a newer area with many family houses.
• **Loosduinen.** In the west, with Loosduinen itself, Waldeck, Bohemen and Meer en Bos, and Kijkduin: a second, quieter seaside resort that is mainly popular with people from the city itself.
• **Laak.** The smallest district, with the Laakkwartier and Spoorwijk and the Binckhorst, a former industrial area.
• **Leidschenveen-Ypenburg.** The newest district, in the south-east, with Leidschenveen, Ypenburg and Forepark. It has been built since the late 1990s as a Vinex location. Ypenburg grew on the site of a former airfield. The area joined Den Haag in 2002, from the neighbouring municipalities of Leidschendam, Nootdorp and Rijswijk.

3. Housing types

Flats dominate in the centre and the older districts. A typical Hague type is the portiekwoning from the interwar or post-war period: two flats above each other, each with its own front door onto a shared entrance hall. In Den Haag this type is very common in the older housing stock.

There are also townhouses (herenhuizen) in the older, grander neighbourhoods, 1930s houses in the garden-suburb-style areas, and terraced houses and family houses in the newer areas such as Leidschenveen-Ypenburg and Wateringse Veld. Detached houses are found mainly at the green edges of the city, by the dunes and the woods.

A flat almost always comes with a homeowners' association (Vereniging van Eigenaren, VvE): the owners maintain the building together and pay a monthly contribution for it. For a flat, always ask for the VvE documents before signing.

4. Renting vs buying in general terms

**Renting.** Renting starts with a written rental contract. It names the parties, the home, the rent, the duration and the notice period. A deposit (borg) is usually asked as well. No amount is given here: ask what exactly applies to the home you have in mind, and have everything put in writing.

**Buying.** Buying goes through a purchase contract and a notary (notaris). The notary draws up the transfer deed and has the transfer registered at the Land Registry (Kadaster). The buyer has a statutory cooling-off period (bedenktijd) after signing: during that period the buyer can still withdraw from the purchase without giving a reason. Exactly how long that period is and how the days are counted is stated in the purchase contract and in the law: do not work it out yourself, but ask the notary or estate agent. Conditions precedent are often agreed too, for example for financing, as well as a deposit or bank guarantee. Buying brings buyer costs, such as transfer tax and notary fees.

**Ground lease: pay extra attention to this in Den Haag.** For many homes in Den Haag, the ground is not owned outright but held in ground lease (erfpacht) from the municipality: you may use the municipality's ground and pay an annual fee for it, the canon. The conditions are in the deed. There are ground leases with an end date and leases without an end date (perpetual ground lease). Before a purchase, check whether the ground is owned outright or leasehold, which conditions apply, and whether the canon can still change.

**Choosing.** Renting is a way to try out a neighbourhood first before committing. In both cases: this site does not verify listings, sellers or asking prices. Every listing must be checked by the renter or buyer themselves.

5. Food and daily life in general terms

The Haagse Markt on Herman Costerstraat is the largest open-air market in the Netherlands, with hundreds of stalls: fresh vegetables and fruit, fish, meat, clothing, fabrics and household goods, from many different cuisines. The market is open four days a week: on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Many neighbourhoods also have their own smaller markets, for example in the Zeeheldenkwartier and on Stevinstraat in the Belgisch Park.

In Scheveningen much revolves around fish: herring (haring) and kibbeling belong to a visit to the harbour and the boulevard. A sweet Hague speciality is the Haagse Hopje, a coffee-caramel sweet from the eighteenth century, named after Baron Hendrik Hop. In the centre you can shop in the Passage, the oldest covered shopping arcade in the Netherlands, built in 1885.

Daily life takes place largely outdoors: the beaches of Scheveningen and Kijkduin, the dunes, the Haagse Bos and the Zuiderpark. The city also has a large range of museums, above all around the Statenkwartier and the centre.

6. Practical notes for a newcomer

• **Ground and papers.** For a purchase, first check whether the ground is owned outright or leasehold, and ask for the ground-lease conditions and the VvE documents. Also ask for the home's energy label.
• **Visit at different times.** Walk the street on a weekday and at the weekend, and also on a windy day: Den Haag lies by the sea and the wind is a daily fact here. A quiet street can be busy at another time.
• **Language and money.** Dutch is the everyday language, but the international organisations mean you hear many other languages in the city. The currency is the euro (EUR). Paying by card is normal in most shops and restaurants.
• **Registering.** Anyone who comes to live in Den Haag registers with the municipality. Ask the municipality which papers are needed for that.
• **Neighbouring municipalities are not districts.** An address in Wassenaar, Rijswijk or Leidschendam-Voorburg is not an address in Den Haag, even if it is close by. Always check the municipality on the address.
• **General information.** This page gives general information about living in Den Haag. It does not replace advice from a notary, estate agent or the municipality.