Holland

See

• Lake Michigan, with its popular white sand beaches and tall dunes, is a short drive to the west. Holland State Park is on the north shore of Lake Macatawa and can be reached by Douglas Avenue / Ottawa Beach Road. Big Red Lighthouse, however, is on the South shore of Lake Macatawa, and although it can be easily viewed from the state park, can not be reached directly.

Do

• In May, the week-long Tulip Time Festival celebrates the region's Dutch heritage with a community street-cleaning parade, a children's traditional-costume parade, a music parade, over 1,500 teenagers dancing in wooden shoes, and lots of activities for the entire family.
• In December, the two-week Dutch Winter Fest includes a children's lantern parade and a visit by Sinterklaas. Visitors can browse the Kerstmarkt, an open-air Christmas market of decorative booths featuring handcrafted souvenirs and local food, open for three consecutive weekends at the Eighth Street Market Place. For one day, the market is also host to an ice-sculpting contest in which local teams attack 150-pound ice blocks armed with chainsaws, hot irons and delicate crafting tools, and visitors can vote on their favorite sculpture.

Buy

Downtown Holland, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, includes eight blocks of more than 100 shops and restaurants housed in Victorian buildings. The sidewalks are heated by underground hot-water pipes, making shopping a pleasant experience even in winter. Most shops are open until 9PM during the week.

Two characteristically Dutch handicrafts can be purchased at the DeKlomp Wooden Shoe and Delft Factory, 12755 Quincy Avenue, the only factory of its kind in the United States. You can watch the artists producing both delftware, a traditional blue-and-white pottery originally produced around the town of Delft in the Netherlands, and wooden shoes, on machines that were imported from the Netherlands.

Additionally, The Peanut Store sells many different types of candies, fudge, chocolate nuts, and other things.

Eat

When visiting a town that emphasizes its Dutch heritage, you may naturally wish to sample some Dutch food. Perhaps unfortunately, there aren't a lot of restaurants that capitalize on this interest. The only one with a relatively broad selection of Dutch food is the Hungry Dutchman Cafe in the Dutch Village theme park; be aware, however, that it isn't open year-round, so if you visit outside the tourist season, you may be out of luck.

There are several places in town where you can purchase Dutch confections, including the acquired taste of double-salt (dubbel zoute) licorice.

• 6️⃣ Crane's in the City, The city location of a restaurant located in the country. They sell sandwiches, soups, drinks, and many other foods of various kinds. They also sell pies, doughnuts, and cider.

Drink

Sleep