Scheveningen Beach, Pier, and Boardwalk

Scheveningen Beach is a popular beach with a large pier, wide boardwalk, great aquarium, grand 1880s hotel, cafes, and summertime cafes that pop up with grass shack umbrellas and tropical plants by the sand. In summer, the atmosphere is festive and on hot days, crowded. It's nice to walk along the boardwalk, or strand, without too many bikes speeding close to you. Two boardwalks run along the beach, one directly on the sand, and one slightly back, with cafes. Many of the cafes are glassed-in to keep you warm from the cold North sea air. There is a giant lego giraffe that kids enjoy.

The beach is wide with nice sand, blue water from a distance, and brownish water up close. Many people swim in summer. The pier is long, and there is a ferris wheel with enclosed cabins. There is a huge hotel at the end of the pier, and a spiral staircase leading to bungee jumping. Surfers ride the waves that form at the end of the pier. 
Grand Hotel Kurhaus adds a sense of place to the beach, which is otherwise flat and expansive, with no geographical features. The hotel, which also includes a famous concert hall (Kurzaal), is in a beautiful Renaissance Revival building, built in the 1880s by German architects, with painted ceilings inside the Kurzaal by Belgian artists. Queen Wilhelmina stayed at this hotel when she was 13, and was the first to sign the guest book. Duke Ellington, Edith Piaf, Charles Trenet, and Bela Bartok have performed in the Kurzaal here. The Grand Hotel Kurhaus was mostly rebuilt in 1979 (except for the original dome), after falling into disrepair in the early 1970s when beachgoers started taking trips to the mediterranean instead of coming to Dutch beaches. It became treasured again after being given national historic status.
If you walk along the shore north of the pier, the beach becomes natural, with dunes and marshland, and paths criss crossing the dunes. A bike path also runs for miles through the marshland.
On the south end of the beach are two jetties, with a red striped lighthouse and a green striped lighthouse. Here you can bask in the wide open sea, after being in tight quarters in the little towns of Holland. This is a half hour walk from the pier.
In Scheveningen, there is also a Legoland Discovery Center, and a glow in the dark indoor mini golf, plus other touristy activities.
If eating at Scheveningen, it's best to choose an established cafe back from the beach at the boardwalk, rather than one of the pop up summertime cafes. The pop up cafes have all new staff and it will take hours before you get the right meal and the right cheque, and finally get to leave. They also have loud, unbearable music, and a claustrophobic feel.
Scheveningen Beach is an eleven minute car ride from The Hague, another great place to explore, with art museums such as Maurithuis and the wonderful Escher in the Palace Museum, parks and squares such as Het Plein, and impressive buildings such as Binnenhof Castle.

Directions

Scheveningen Beach, Pier, and Boardwalk is located at Strandweg 150, Den Haag, Netherlands. There are huge parking structures in the town where you can park your car. You can also take the train and bus to the beach from The Hague.

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