The Haguetravel guide

Welcome to The Hague

The Hague (with capital T; Dutch: Den Haag, officially also 's-Gravenhage) is the third largest city in the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam. It is located in the west of the Netherlands, in the province of South Holland, of which it is also the provincial capital. The Hague is the centre of a conurbation called Haaglanden and lies at the southwest corner of a larger conurbation called the Randstad.

The Hague is the seat of the Dutch parliament, government and Royal Court (but the city is not the capital of the Netherlands which is a role set aside in the Dutch constitution for Amsterdam). Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands lives and works in The Hague. All foreign embassies and government ministries are located in the city, as well as the Hoge Raad der Nederlanden (Supreme Court), the Raad van State (Council of State) and many lobbying organisations.

The Hague is also the seat of over 150 international organisations, including the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court. It is one of the major cities of the UN, along with New York and Geneva.