Seen from the air, Naarden is a star. The little town in the Gooi, thirty minutes east of Amsterdam, is wrapped in a perfectly geometric twelve-pointed fortress, with ramparts, moats and bastions arranged in a double ring that was one of the most advanced designs in seventeenth-century Europe. It was built to defend the approach to Amsterdam and later became part of the Dutch Water Line, the system of flooding fields that protected the heart of the country. Inside the walls, the houses sit in neat little streets, and the old town is quiet and well preserved.
The history here includes a dark moment. In 1572, during the Eighty Years' War, Spanish troops entered Naarden after the town surrendered, and the people were massacred, a story still told in the town. The philosopher and educator Jan Amos Comenius, a Czech refugee who spent his last years in Amsterdam, is buried in Naarden, and a small mausoleum commemorates him. The Grote Kerk is the setting each spring for a traditional performance of Bach's St Matthew Passion, which attracts a devoted audience.
For the rider, Naarden is a pleasant place for a halt rather than a place to ride. The streets within the walls are narrow and cobbled, and parking in the middle is limited, so leave the bike outside the ramparts and walk in. The ramparts themselves make a nice stroll, with water and grass on both sides, and the walls are lovely in autumn. Roads in the surrounding Gooi are flat, quick and busy with commuters, cyclists and trams, so you need to take care at junctions and roundabouts. Speed cameras are common, and fines are heavy. On the way east, the roads climb gently toward the Veluwe woodland, and the landscape changes into heath and forest.
Bussum, just over two kilometres away, is a town of thirty thousand and has fuel, supermarkets and a good choice of cafes. Within the old walls there are small restaurants and bakeries around the market square. Weekdays are quiet, and weekends bring tourists.