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Witnessed from an elevated viewing gallery, the world’s largest flower auction is an astonishing sight. With flowers, speed is of the essence, and the atmosphere is frenetic. Bidding is highly automated, using the “backwards” Dutch clock system: the clock starts at 100, then counts down until the first bidder to press his button stops the auction and wins.

Sleepy Delft was shaken by a gunpowder explosion in 1654, after which the town was rebuilt – as recorded inA View of Delft by Vermeer around 1660. Since then, little has changed. There are Delft tiles in the Museum Lambert van Meerten, and in the shops. In Het Prinsenhof you can see the bullet holes left by the murder of William of Orange; his mausoleum is in the Nieuwe Kerk.

Political capital of the Netherlands, Den Haag (The Hague) is a stately city, with many public buildings and lovely parks. Centred round the Gothic Ridderzaal, places of interest include the parliament buildings, the International Court of Justice and the Mauritshuis, elegant home of the superlative Royal Picture Gallery. The seaside resort of Scheveningen is a short distance away.

The fortunes of this attractive former fishing port declined dramatically after the construction of the huge Afsluitdijk in 1932 created the freshwater IJsselmeer and cut it off from the North Sea. Today it is home to the wonderful Zuiderzeemuseum, which includes a reconstruction of a typical fishing village with costumed “inhabitants” and craftsmen at work.

Centred around the Grote Markt, with its buzzing pavement cafés and lovely buildings, the historic centre of this lively, wellheeled city is a delight. Highlights include the Frans Hals Museum, the Grote Kerk with its magnificent decorated Müller organ, and the Art Deco train station. Also well worth a visit is the Teylers Museum, with its excellent collection of science, technology and art exhibits.

Throughout spring, but climaxing in mid-April when the tulips flower, a drab coastal strip between Leiden and Haarlem bursts into colour. Among these commercial bulbfields is the wooded Keukenhof park, the showcase for Dutch bulbs, a dazzling and unforgettable sight between late March and late May.

An easy-going university town, full of cycling students, Leiden offers plenty of canals, cafés and museums, as well as the lovely Hortus Botanicus.

Just 16 km (10 miles) from Amsterdam, this former island fishing community, now reached by a narrow causeway, makes a refreshing day trip. Its distinctive wooden houses are charming, and the inhabitants wear traditional costume in summer.

Built in 1686 by Stadholder William III as a hunting lodge, Het Loo, near Apeldoorn, was a royal summer residence until the 1960s. Behind a sober façade lies a sumptuous interior, with rooms decorated to reflect the different eras of occupation, from the 1680s to the 1930s. There are also superb formal gardens to enjoy.

Like Leiden, Utrecht is a university city with much to offer – notwithstanding the vast, unappealing Hoog Catherijne shopping complex. A major medieval religious centre, it still has many traces of its past, and a lovely historic town centre.