Every design for Apeldoorn

Apeldoorn is known above all for Paleis het Loo. In 1684 William III of Orange bought the old house Het Loo, still standing as Kasteel Het Oude Loo, and had a palace built beside it, because the village lay in the middle of a hunting ground. Members of the royal family lived there until the death of Queen Wilhelmina, and since 1984 the palace has been a museum.

Yet the town itself has a gentler feel than its royal neighbour suggests. Apeldoorn was first mentioned in 792 and stayed a small village for centuries, until paper-making brought growth from the late sixteenth century. King William I later paid out of his own pocket for the Apeldoorns Kanaal, finished in 1829, to give the local economy a push. What people remember most is the green: parks such as the Oranjepark and the Kanaalpark, wide avenues, detached houses and relatively little high-rise, all on the edge of the Veluwe woods.

The name means trees standing by water, and coming back here still feels like that: shade, quiet and the sense that this is where you belong.