Enjoy the funky beats of jazz in Rotterdam. Relax to the high notes of excellence in The Hague. Visit some of the best secret gardens in Utrecht. Or show off your unique style in Arnhem. Whatever takes your fancy, visiting Holland’s cities guarantees you a great time this summer.

Jazzy Rotterdam
With the line-up just being announced, the 36th edition of the North Sea Jazz Festival promises another spectacular year of great music. From 8-10 July 2011, over 150 performances in 12 concert halls will cater to a wide range of musical tastes. Well-known stars like Paul Simon, Snoop Dogg, Marcus Miller, Esparanza Spalding, Tom Jones and BB King will make an appearance. However there is also plenty of up and coming talent on the programme such as James Blake, Rumer and Jonathan Jeremiah. Natalie Cole, daughter of Jazz legend Nat King Cole, will kick off the official opening on Thursday 8 July at the North Sea Jazz Gala. It also just been confirmed that platinum-selling artist Prince will close the show every evening throughout the festival.

www.northseajazz.com

Classical The Hague
Festival Classique is a classical music festival over 6 days in the historical city centre of The Hague. This year’s festival will showcase a more contemporary outlook than usual, without compromising the high quality standards of classical music. Festival Classique celebrates its 5th edition from 14-19 June 2011. The locations are unique and unexpected, all only a stroll away from parliament. From concerts onboard a floating stage (1200 seats) anchored in the water surrounding parliament to small and intimate performances at unusual locations. There are also free concerts at the Festival café and on the main stage at the Plein square bringing the true festival atmosphere.

www.thehaguefestivals.com

Green and secret Utrecht
Behind the historic walls of the Utrecht city centre are beautiful gardens which normally remain hidden. The first Utrecht Open Garden Day ever is to take place on Saturday 2 July. During this brand-new event, approximately 35 private and municipal gardens will open their doors to the public, in addition to some gardens owned by other institutions. The Open garden Day provides a once-only opportunity to see special gardens which are closed for the rest of the year. Each garden that will open its doors on the first Utrecht Open Garden Day has its own very distinct character. With a wide variety in design, some gardens have special sculptures and most provide a wonderful view of the surrounding buildings. In addition to private gardens, the programme includes courtyards of medieval churches and museums, almshouses and many more locations of historic interest, such as the ancient botanical gardens, the tiered garden in the former Sterrenburg bastion and the formal garden with its long pond behind the house at Zuilenstraat 5.

www.holland.com

Fashionable Arnhem
Arnhem is highly regarded in the fashion world. Not only has its fashion academy produced some of the biggest names in fashion such as Viktor & Rolf, the city organises one of the world’s biggest bi-annual cultural fashion festivals. The fourth edition of the Arnhem Fashion Biennale will take place from Wednesday 1 June until Sunday 3 July. During the festival, visitors will have a chance to visit several fashion related exhibitions. The main exhibition will investigate what it is that makes fashion more than just pieces of clothing. Its venue will be the 10,000m2 former AkzoNobel factory. Other events and exhibitions will also be organised throughout the city.

www.arnhemmodebiennale.com

Dutch Residents of The Hague, Utrecht and Eindhoven will be able to see their home on Google Street View soon.

With Street View users can see street level details on Google maps. The company has photographed almost all streets in and around thirty cities in the Netherlands.

The photos can be viewed by dragging a yellow icon on google map and look around.

In March, Google launched Street View, in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Groningen. Now also Utrecht, Den Haag, Eindhoven, Den Bosch, Tilburg and Leeuwarden will be included. The Randstad is almost fully covered.

Of the 21 Dutch cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants, only Enschede and Maastricht are available at the moment.

The amazing 114 pounds tricycle from Google is limited to visit only a number of places, because it’s taking a lot of time to shoot good photos. Earlier this year a number of major tourist attractions such as the Efteling and Slagharen were captured.

These photos are not yet processed yet and only the windmills at Kinderdijk and Parliament Buildings are viewable on Street View at the moment.