The Hague

:This article is about the city in the Netherlands; there is also a region known as (the) Hague in France.

Culture

The Hague does not have a reputation for a bustling night life. What night life there is centres around the three main squares in the city centre: the Plein (lit. "(the) Square"), the Grote Markt (lit. "Large Market") and the Buitenhof (lit. "Outer Court", which lies just outside the Binnenhof, or "Inner Court"). The Buitenhof contains the luxurious Pathé Buitenhof cinema and a handful of bars and restaurants in its immediate vicinity. A similar pattern of night life centering around a cinema is present in Scheveningen, although, especially in the Summer, the sea-side boulevard with its bars, restaurants and entertainment attracts the most people.

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The Hague does have its share of good museums and cultural institutions, such as:

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• Madurodam is a miniature city in The Hague, which reflects what the Netherlands look like (focusing on architecture, infrastructure and history).
• The Mauritshuis exhibits many paintings by Johannes Vermeer, Rembrandt van Rijn and Paulus Potter.
• The Royal Theatre and the Nationaal Toneel-group are located at the Korte Voorhout.
• The Gemeentemuseum hosts a large collection of images from the Dutch painter Piet Mondriaan as well as other modern art.
• The Escher Museum is located in the former Royal Palace at the Lange Voorhout.
• Panorama Mesdag houses a cylindrical 'panoramic' painting of 14 meter high x 120 meter long, depicting The Hague and Scheveningen in the 19th century, made by Hendrik Willem Mesdag. It is presented in such a way that it is almost as if one is looking at a real scene instead of a painting.
• The museum Beelden aan Zee has a large collection of sculptures, mainly from 20th-century artists.
• The Museon is a science museum.
• The Congresgebouw hosts the annual North Sea Jazz Festival. However, the festival organisation intends to move to Rotterdam in the near future.
• Lucent Theatre hosts celebrated Nederlands Dans Theatre, or the NDT, a modern dance company. The building of NDT was designed by the Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas in 1988.