Hungarian, also called Magyar, is the official language of Hungary. Hungarian is a member of the Ugric branch of the Finno-Ugric languages. It has been determined by a number of other languages, including Turkish, German, Latin, French, and several Slavic languages.

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is one of the world’s best hangouts, a canny blend of old and new: radical squatter art installations hang off 17th-century eaves; BMWs give way to bicycles; and triple-strength monk-made beer is drunk in gleaming, minimalist cafes.

Amsterdam has many fascinating neighbourhoods to explore, from red light sleaze to bohemian chic to stately grandeur. The landscape is riddled with graceful bridges and eccentric churches, the air laden with carillon chimes. Most attractions are within the canal belt, so sightseeing is a breeze.

Hoge Veluwe

Hoge Veluwe is the country’s largest national park and home to the wonderful Kröller-Müller Museum. The park itself covers 5500 hectares (13,500 acres) and is a strange mix of forests and woods, shifting sands and heath moors that provide a sense of isolation (if not actual isolation) found nowhere else on the Dutch mainland. Red deer, wild boar and mouflon (a Mediterranean sheep) roam here. The Kröller-Müller Museum has 278 works by Van Gogh, as well as smaller collections of Picasso and Mondrian.

Hoge Veluwe is accessible by bus from Arnhem, which is an hour’s train ride east of Amsterdam. White bicycles are available free of charge once you’re inside the park.

Maastricht

One of the Netherland’s oldest towns, Maastricht has a lively international feel. Its history stretches back to 50 BC, when the Romans set up camp there. Fortification walls still partly surround the city, and you can explore a labyrinth of tunnels on the city’s western outskirts.

The Randstad

The Randstad literally translates as ‘Urban Agglomeration’. It’s the Netherlands’ most densely populated region, spreading in a circle from Amsterdam, incorporating the Hague, Rotterdam and Utrecht, and smaller towns like Haarlem, Leiden and Delft.

The area’s most spectacular sight is the bulb fields near Leiden which explode into colour between March and May. Even from the window of a train they’re intoxicating, but a back-roads bicycle trip is the best way to enjoy them. The Keukenhof, south of Haarlem, is the world’s largest garden.

Delta Region

The province of Zeeland makes up most of the Delta region. It was once a solitary place where isolated islands and medieval towns were battered by wild winds and seas. After the tragic 1953 flood, Zeeland was defended from the sea by the monumental Delta Project, but it’s still a bit of a wild spot.

Red Light District

There’s something oddly compelling about the throbbing red light district, where scantily-clad and often utterly bored women beckon from their windows to the passers-by.

It draws in visitors, regardless of moral rectitude or erotica-induced need for smelling salts. It is, in fact, more of a brand name than a call to louche arms. These days everyone knows about Amsterdam and its sex industry.

But you needn’t worry about your hormones staging a coup d’etat on your brain - for all its subject matter and worldly denizens it’s an oddly unerotic place, albeit an extremely fascinating one.

The district’s foundations were laid by the glories of the Dutch empire, reliant on soldiers and their testosterone. When ships came in, the port would get an injection of sea-weary sailors with gold to splash about, and the area - known as the Walletjes - was where women who were willing to soak it up were to be found.

These days, crowds clog the alleyways, peep-shows and alleyways while buxom but mostly-bored sex workers beckon from pink-lit windows. There are 450 of these windows and a street specialising in every taste - Latinos on Oudezijds Achterburgwal and Molsteeg, Asians on Stofstraat, and the ‘high-end’ glamour pusses along tiny Trompettersteeg by the Oude Kerk.

Wadden Islands

The country’s five northern isles in the shallow Waddenzee are important bird-breeding grounds and provide an escape for stressed mainlanders who want to touch roots with nature. Texel is the largest and most poulated island while Schiermonnikoog is the smallest and most serene.

The islands stretch in an arc from Texel to Schiermonnikoog. Texel has 24km (15mi) of beaches and hosts the world’s largest catamaran race in June. Terschelling is known as a good-time isle, while Vlieland has more of a family atmosphere. Ameland has quaint villages but explodes with tourists during summer. Ferries from Den Helder, Harlingen, Holwerd and Lauwersoog connect the islands to the mainland.

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is one of the world’s best hangouts, a canny blend of old and new: radical squatter art installations hang off 17th-century eaves; BMWs give way to bicycles; and triple-strength monk-made beer is drunk in gleaming, minimalist cafes.

Amsterdam has many fascinating neighbourhoods to explore, from red light sleaze to bohemian chic to stately grandeur. The landscape is riddled with graceful bridges and eccentric churches, the air laden with carillon chimes. Most attractions are within the canal belt, so sightseeing is a breeze.

Hoge Veluwe

Hoge Veluwe is the country’s largest national park and home to the wonderful Kröller-Müller Museum. The park itself covers 5500 hectares (13,500 acres) and is a strange mix of forests and woods, shifting sands and heath moors that provide a sense of isolation (if not actual isolation) found nowhere else on the Dutch mainland. Red deer, wild boar and mouflon (a Mediterranean sheep) roam here. The Kröller-Müller Museum has 278 works by Van Gogh, as well as smaller collections of Picasso and Mondrian.

Hoge Veluwe is accessible by bus from Arnhem, which is an hour’s train ride east of Amsterdam. White bicycles are available free of charge once you’re inside the park.