Haarlem is a 900-year-old town located on the river Spaarne, about 12 miles west of Amsterdam and near the coastal dunes. Take a stroll through the historic city center and admire the beautiful medieval houses, the 13th-century city hall and the oldest museum of the Netherlands, the Teylers Museum. Nicknamed `Bloemenstad` (flower city), Haarlem has been the historical center of the tulip bulb-growing district for centuries.