Posts Tagged With: De Passage

Flags for Princess Amalia (Or: Decorations at the De Passage)

Posted on December 7, 2025 by Niki

Today when walking through De Passage I noticed that Dutch flags had been raised. After a second it clicked ー today is Princess Amalia’s 22nd birthday (Wikipedia). She is next in line for the throne.

Although you can’t see it that well in the photo, one of the big clues was the strip of orange also hanging by each flag, for the royal family.

In other news, if you are looking for something to do on New Year’s Eve, check out this article from indebuurt.nl (in Dutch): Everything about New Year’s Eve in The Hague.

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Golden lights (Or: Christmas tree in De Passage)

Posted on December 2, 2025 by Niki

Last week, the Christmas tree arrived in De Passage, a covered shopping area in The Hague.

This is in the older part of De Passage, outside of the Apple Store. The older part meets at this point. De Passage is designed in such a way that the Christmas tree is visible from everywhere.

Here is a photo from a bit further away, to give you an idea of how the area looks:

It’s a great place to walk through, especially when the weather is bad. The older part is a bit cold in the winter, but the new part closer to Grote Marktstraat is much warmer.

If you click the “De Passage” tag at the bottom of this post, you’ll see similar blog posts about this part of The Hague.

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Bee bold, write (Or: Designs at P.W. Akkerman)

Posted on July 9, 2025 by Niki

There is a fountain pen store in De Passage, a covered shopping area called P.W. Akkerman. Their latest campaign is “Bee bold. Write.”, complete with eye-catching bee and beehive designs.

I took it looked cute, and it worked well with the yellow color underneath (I can’t remember if it is usually yellow or not. I’ll have to check again the display is removed.)

I personally have not been inside but I know it is a great store. Two of my coworkers were gifted fountain fens when they left the company, and I only heard praise for P.W. Akkerman when they opened the gifts.

Random news article from dutchnews.nl: Beautiful addiction: art meets taxidermy in new Amsterdam museum. The museum is called Art Zo and is about a 20 minute walk from Amsterdam Central Station. Have a look at the website if you will be visiting Amsterdam.

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Pink (Or: A different tree in De Passage)

Posted on February 17, 2025 by Niki

De Passage (a covered shopping area) has a tree in the center, where the Christmas tree usually stands. A few weeks ago a tree with pink leaves appeared.

It is fake, of course, but still pretty. Since it is in the center, you can see it from far away no matter how you enter De Passage.

In other news… today it was -3C (about 27F). That is actually pretty cold for the Netherlands these days. 

Ice rinks open in multiple places in Netherlands after freezing night from nltimes.nl. It is an artificial ice rink, created by spraying many layers of water and letting them freeze overnight.

Dutch skaters out in force to enjoy the ice – before it melts from dutchnews.nl

We will have another day or two of cold before the weather freakishly jumps up to a high of 15C (60F) on Friday. I am sure all of the terraces will be overflowing with sun-starved Dutchies then.

Now that’s a mental image for you!

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Singing in De Passage (Or: Christmas choir, 2024)

Posted on December 23, 2024 by Niki

A few days ago I came across a Christmas choir performing in De Passage (a shopping area in The Hague’s city centre):

They were singing for Artsen Zonder Grenzen (the Dutch branch of Doctors Without Borders). And, as things go in this modern day, they even had a QR code as well where you could donate – see the paper at the bottom of the image.

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De Passage’s Christmas tree (Or: In the spotlight)

Posted on December 3, 2024 by Niki

De Passage (literally “The Passage”) is a covered shopping area in The Hague’s city centre. Here’s a look at the 2024 Christmas tree which arrived a few days ago:

It’s in the middle of the old part of De Passage, visible from every part. To be fair, I think it is the same decorations as last year, but that doesn’t detract from it. It does make me realize I should check if Bijenkorf has their Christmas tree up yet, though…

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Store window (Or: Hamilton tobacco & gifts)

Posted on November 6, 2024 by Niki

Here is a random photo this week, of a store window in De Passage:

This is a store window at Hamilton tobacco & gifts, a souvenir store that I can still remember visiting back when I was actually a tourist around 2009-2011 sometime. As you can see from the photo, they have a nice collection of Dutch memorabilia, Delft blauw pottery, Nijntje (or Miffy if you’re not from the Netherlands), etc.

Random news:

Artwork stolen from Scheveningen hotel; Man walked out with 50 kg statue in suitcase

Dunkin’ to stay in the Netherlands but some stores will shut

Andy Warhol artworks stolen in Dutch gallery heist

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Start of the holiday season (Or: Lights at De Passage)

Posted on October 16, 2024 by Niki

De Passage (the covered shopping area in The Hague’s city centre) has started getting ready for the coming holiday season. It’s a bit early, but in the Netherlands the first holiday is Sinterklaas. That holiday is on 5 December, a full three weeks before Christmas.

It’s not much yet (there’s no Christmas tree yet), but it’s a start.

And in other news: Jeers for beers: mechanic chucks out artwork at Lisse museum from dutchnews.nl. The artwork was two handprinted beer cans left on display in an elevator, so the mistake definitely makes sense. The museum has gotten a lot of publicity due to it, so I am sure they are happy. (The not-beer cans were later found in the trash, so there was no harm done.)

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In De Passage (Or: Hat Exhibition Chapeau!)

Posted on September 5, 2024 by Niki

The hat exhibition “Chapeau!” has returned to De Passage in The Hague’s city centre:

De Passage is a covered shopping area first opened in 1885. Insane! That makes it the oldest shopping area in the Netherlands.

More than 20 years ago a hat store in De Passage closed, but the stock was never removed from the upper area above the shop. In 2020, 3,000 hats were found. In 2022 (and again this year), 2,000 of those hats were put on display. This is the same spot where they display the Christmas tree every year.

Read more at the official website in Dutch or English.

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Wet paint and Valentine’s Day (Or: De Passage)

Posted on February 18, 2024 by Niki

De Passage (a covered shopping area in The Hague’s city centre) has received a new coat of paint. Black paint around the trim to be precise. Every day they paint a bit more, leaving “wet paint” (English) and “nat” (Dutch) signs in their wake. Woe be the person who doesn’t notice…

One place that might have caused some issues was the angel wings photo opportunity area. I found the “nat” sign there amusing for some reason.

Another fun thing in De Passage is the Valentine’s Day promotion. Even though the holiday has already passed, the promotion is still available:

In English: Valentine’s Day in De Passage. Win a romantic one night hotel stay in De Passage or a box of chocolates worth 75 euros. Take a photo, share it on social media and tag @depassagethehague. (Yes, De Passage does have one or two hotel rooms for special occasions.)

Here is a look at where you take the photo, in the centre of De Passage. This is where the Christmas tree is usually at during the holidays.

Like I mentioned, it’s still up and available if you want to try your luck!

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