Wijk Aan Zee: Beach, Dunes and Culture

When choosing a stay in Wijk Aan Zee, different kinds of visits may be important: the beach and scenic trails, art in the sculpture park, or a chess festival. In addition to the theme, planning may also involve the specific duration of an outing, set tour times and the requirement to have a Duinkaart to visit the reserve.

Wijk Aan Zee beach is a family-friendly beach. The so-called Blauwe Loper allows older people and people with disabilities who use a wheelchair, electric wheelchair, rollator or other aid to get close to the sea on the beach.

Dunes and trails around Wijk Aan Zee

The Noordhollands Duinreservaat stretches from Wijk Aan Zee to Bergen, inclusive. A Duinkaart is required to visit the reserve. The reserve and adjacent forests in North Holland have many trails for walking, cycling and horse riding.

One clearly defined walking option is the “Rondje Wijk aan Zee” circular route: it is 5.5 kilometres long and takes about an hour and a half on foot. The route passes through the landscape around the seaside resort. Alongside the many trails for walking, cycling and horse riding, this offers a single circular route with an approximate time frame.

Paasduin offers a good view of the village of Wijk Aan Zee. The focus here is on the village view; by contrast, the Rondje Wijk aan Zee can be described by its distance and walking time.

Art, chess and regional history

The Een Zee van Staal sculpture park, with seventeen steel sculptures, is located in the dunes of Wijk Aan Zee. Admission to the park and the guided tour are free. On the first Sunday of each month, the approximately one-and-a-half-hour tour starts at 2 p.m. at the sculpture park entrance. If you plan to join the tour, check the date before your visit.

The long tradition of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament dates back to the first tournament in 1938. Chess world champions such as Magnus Carlsen, Viswanathan Anand and Garry Kasparov have played in Wijk Aan Zee. The tournament is also an annual festival in Wijk Aan Zee, attended by chess players of all skill levels. If the festival is important to your travel plans, check the event dates in advance so you can plan your stay around them. As a possible reason for travelling, the chess festival differs from the routes: here, the focus is on the game, while the circular route is on foot and the regional tour is by bicycle.

Another regional perspective is offered by the “Langs bunkers en forten” tourist cycling route. Among other things, it passes the remains of the Atlantic Wall and the famous Defence Line of Amsterdam. Its military history focus sets it apart from the “Rondje Wijk aan Zee” circular route, which passes through the landscape around the seaside resort.

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