The Hague / The verdict
Are the Binnenhof and The Hague's centre worth it?
Yes, with adjusted expectations. The Binnenhof is one big construction site until summer 2031, but the postcard view across the Hofvijver is still there, a free 28-metre tower overlooks the works, and the surrounding centre, from the Plein to the Passage arcade, is fully open.
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The The Hague story
The Hague is the Netherlands' buttoned-up coastal city: Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring inside the Mauritshuis's walkable 17th-century palace, the Binnenhof's parliament buildings on their pond, the Peace Palace's world-court grandeur behind Carnegie gates, and then a proper seaside suburb at Scheveningen, pier, rebuilt boulevard, herring stands and all. Diplomats' restaurants line the elegant streets, and Madurodam packs the whole country into 1:25 scale with working trains and boats.
The verdict in 30 seconds
Go
Yes, with adjusted expectations. The Binnenhof is one big construction site until summer 2031, but the postcard view across the Hofvijver is still there, a free 28-metre tower overlooks the works, and the surrounding centre, from the Plein to the Passage arcade, is fully open.
Go if
- history and politics fans who want to see Europe's oldest working parliament complex, even from outside
- photographers: the Hofvijver reflection and the viewing tower both still deliver
- museum visitors chaining the Mauritshuis, Escher in Het Paleis and the Passage on foot
Skip if
- you want to walk the Inner Court or enter the Ridderzaal: both stay closed until summer 2031
- scaffolding and hoardings will ruin the trip for you; the Gothic skyline is half wrapped
What it costs
- Binnenhof complex and Inner Court: €0 (closed to visitors until the renovation completes in summer 2031; free to view from the Hofvijver side). Official source, checked Oct 2026.
- ProDemos guided tour of the temporary House of Representatives: €7.50 (parliament sits in temporary chambers during the works; separate free registration with the House is also required). Official source, checked Oct 2026.
- Hofvijver viewing tower: €0 (free stair climb over the site hoardings for the classic Binnenhof view). Official source, checked Oct 2026.
What travelers report
Based on 14 traveler reports (Apr 2025 to Sep 2026) and the official sources linked on this page. 0 were negative.
What people like
- the Hofvijver view survives the works and keeps producing the postcard shot
- archaeology under the site keeps making news: a 13th-century palace predating earlier estimates
- the free viewing tower and annual open day give visitors real access to a working site
- the centre around it, Plein to Passage, stays compact, walkable and largely car-free
What people complain about
- the complex is a sealed construction site until 2031, so no Inner Court stroll
- cost overruns keep climbing: 2.7 billion euros versus a 475 million original budget
- scaffolding, ponds turned into works yards and noise dull the classic panorama from some angles
- the Ridderzaal needs its own follow-up restoration, so parts may stay closed even after 2031
How to do it right
- Start at the Hofvijver pond for the classic Binnenhof silhouette, then climb the free viewing tower at the pond's corner for a look over the works
- Book a ProDemos tour if you want inside a parliament chamber; the House and Senate sit in temporary buildings during the renovation
- Walk the centre on foot: the Plein, Lange Voorhout, the Passage arcade and Noordeinde Palace are all within ten minutes of each other
- Check the Dag van de Bouw date in June: on that one Saturday the site opens its gates for a rare walk through the works
- Combine with the Mauritshuis on the Plein and coffee on the Grote Markt for a full centre circuit
The trap to avoid
Arriving expecting to stroll through the Inner Court or see the Ridderzaal hall. The complex has been fenced since 2021, archaeology keeps surprising the builders, and the official finish line is now summer 2031; treat the Hofvijver view and the viewing tower as the visit, and save the interior for a return trip.
What to do instead
Why this verdict
Go, but go for the centre and the outside of the complex rather than the inside. The Binnenhof has been a construction site since 2021 and stays that way until summer 2031, at a cost now estimated at 2.7 billion euros against an original 475 million budget; a local explainer calls it a 4,000-room project full of unpredictable finds, and the project’s own update blames labour costs and hidden defects. The Inner Court and the Ridderzaal are unreachable behind the hoardings, which one day report calls a disappointment for sightseers expecting to stroll the parliament quarter.
What remains is still good. The view across the Hofvijver pond delivers the classic skyline, a free viewing tower at the pond’s edge lets you look over the works (one visitor found it sways underfoot but gives the best look at the site and the city skyline), and once a year the June construction open day lets the public walk a ticketed route past the Ridderzaal, Eerste Kamer and Algemene Zaken works. Parliament did not disappear either: the Senate sits at Huis Huguetan on Lange Voorhout and ProDemos runs 7.50 euro guided tours of the temporary House of Representatives chamber.
The silver lining
The dig keeps paying off. Excavations in 2025 found foundations proving the Binnenhof was a royal-scale power centre around 1250, thirty years older than assumed, and archaeologists keep surfacing medieval gate foundations and quay walls as the dig proceeds. The renovation story is now part of the attraction.
The wider centre
Around the fences, the centre earns its visit: the Plein square, the 19th-century Passage arcade, the shopping lanes of the Hofkwartier and Noordeinde Palace’s exterior are all within a ten-minute walk, and a guided centre walk notes the gables, Palace Gardens and Escher museum still make the day while the parliament sits closed. Guides consistently route a one-day Hague visit through exactly this loop, with the Mauritshuis on the Plein as the anchor; a walking report found the Passage, the palace exterior and the Hofvijver worth the wander even with the courtyards sealed, and a 4K walking film shows those streets carrying the day on their own.
Budget your expectations: the postcard is real, and the palace courtyard is a 2031 appointment for a future return visit.
Book or check times
Binnenhof Renovation official site and visitor infoProDemos tours of the temporary parliamentRijksoverheid announcement on the 2031 reopening
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Questions
Can you visit the Binnenhof right now?
The Inner Court and Ridderzaal are closed until the renovation finishes in summer 2031. You can still photograph the complex across the Hofvijver, climb a free viewing tower over the works and join ProDemos tours of the temporary parliament chambers.
How much will the Binnenhof renovation cost?
The latest official estimate is at least 2.7 billion euros, versus an original budget of 475 million. A separate restoration of the oldest parts, including the Ridderzaal, is estimated around another 150 to 225 million.
When does the Binnenhof reopen?
The government says visitors will walk across the complex again in summer 2031, with the first users allowed on site from early 2031. Earlier promises ranged from late 2028 to 2030.
What can you still see around the Binnenhof?
The Hofvijver view, the viewing tower, the Buitenhof square, the temporary Senate at Huis Huguetan on Lange Voorhout, and the Informatiecentrum Binnenhof Renovatie at Plaats 22, plus the whole pedestrian centre around it.
Is the centre of The Hague worth visiting anyway?
Yes. Reports and guides agree the Plein, Passage arcade, Lange Voorhout and the market streets carry a day on their own, and the court buildings are all within a short walk of the fenced complex.
Where did parliament move during the works?
The Senate sits in Huis Huguetan at Lange Voorhout 34, the House of Representatives in a temporary building on the Prinses Irenepad near Den Haag Centraal, and the prime minister's offices at Bezuidenhoutseweg 73.