Where is it?
Gelderland is in the mid-east part of the country.
Landscape
Gelderland consists of three diferent landscapes. In the South-West you find a river delta landscape, with Rhine and Maas as central elements. You find dikes, rivers, fertile clay soil. The area is called "De Betuwe". Especially in spring it is a beautiful area with lots of flourishing fruit trees. In summer you can buy cherries, apples, pears and other fruits right with the farmers.
In the North-West, is an area called "Veluwe", consisting of moors, wood and sand dunes. On the North side of the Veluwe you may find the Ijsselmeer coast, whre you can sail, swim and do other things that are water related.
The eastern area, called "Achterhoek" has a nice combination of farmland and woods. Personnally, I think this landscape is more interesting than the Veluwe.
Towns and villages
Along the river IJssel, you can find Doesburg and Zutphen as nie smaller towns.
In the Betuwe area, you find a number of smaller towns. Tiel, Geldermalsen, Zaltbommel, Culemborg. They have no special attractions, but are just nice for a short visit.
North of the Veluwe are some old towns worth visiting:
- Elburg has old fortifications.
- Harderwijk is nice, because of the Dolfinarium, a small zoo with sea anlmals. It also has some fortifications.
- Wageningen is a small student town. Also nice for a short visit.
The large towns are:
- Apeldoorn is a large town, not worth visiting.
- Arnhem is historically important, because of the Battle of Arnhem. The allied forces tried in 1944 to speed up the victory, but unfortunetaly failed.
- Nijmegen is a very old town, founded by the Romans to defend the Northern frontier. You still can see the remainders from that time. Nijmegen is also well known with hikers because of the "Vierdaagse" a large scale hiking event, where you have to walk 40 km a day during four days for a medal reward.
In the Achterhoek most towns are small, with not specific interesting points.
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