Hi there and welcome to This is Haarlem!

At This is Haarlem you can find everything you need to know about Haarlem to make your visit to our city the best visit it can be.

I will let you in on all the secret spots where us locals like to eat, drink, shop and hang out.

Sounds good, right?

Nice to meet you!

My name is Dorien and please consider me as your personal tour guide of Haarlem.

I was brought up here and since I have been around for 30-something years I think I can safely say I know my way around this city.

When I am not busy being your tour guide at This is Haarlem, I work as a freelance writer (more about that here) and as a waitress.

Experience Haarlem as a local.

In my work as a waitress, I get to talk to a lot of people that are first-time visitors of Haarlem. It didn’t take me long to realise I love sharing my knowledge of the city with people.

I have drawn a lot of maps on napkins over the past few years!

I also realised through talking to non-Dutch speaking visitors that it is hard to find information on Haarlem online that isn’t written in Dutch.

This is where This is Haarlem comes to the rescue!

Here on this blog, but also on Instagram .

Ready to explore Haarlem with me? This post is a good place to start.

Please say hi!

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions, tips or just want to have a chat!