Naarden-Vesting is one of the best-preserved star forts in Europe. The double ring of walls, bastions, and moats was laid out in the late 17th century and has survived almost intact — from the air it looks like a perfect six-pointed star stamped into the flat Dutch landscape. Walking the ramparts on a clear morning, with the Gooimeer lake glinting to the north and Amsterdam's skyline faint on the horizon, is one of the quieter pleasures near the capital.
The town inside the walls is small and quiet — a few hundred residents, cobbled streets, a large church, and some good independent shops. It is not a day trip for nightlife or a long restaurant list; it is a day trip for the fortress itself, and for the peculiar calm that comes from being inside something so deliberately and beautifully defensive.
Every Easter the Grote Kerk hosts a famous performance of Bach's St Matthew Passion, a tradition that has continued for over a century. Tickets sell out far in advance.
Naarden is about 25 kilometres east of Amsterdam, easy to reach by train or car.