Spacious family house in IJsselstein

A complete family house, not a room or half a floor. You have the place to yourself: the living room, the kitchen, the garden and both bedrooms.

Downstairs the living room runs into an open kitchen, with the back garden straight off it. Under the canopy there is a lounge set, so a rain shower does not ruin the evening — useful in the Netherlands. The bathroom is on the first floor and the two bedrooms are above it, each separate. Handy if you travel as two couples, or want to give the children their own space.

The neighbourhood is green and quiet. You would not guess that the tram to Utrecht Centraal is five minutes’ walk away; you are in the old centre in just under half an hour. If you come by car, parking is free right outside, and you can charge an electric car on the property.

There is a proper desk, so a day of work between two days off does not have to happen at the dining table.

IJsselstein is older than most people expect. The old streets still ring the St Nicholas basilica, there is a castle tower from the thirteenth century, and there is a market on Saturdays. It is a ten-minute walk from the house.

The tram gets you to Utrecht Centraal in just under half an hour. From there you are quickly at the Oudegracht canal, the Dom tower or the railway museum. That it is so close and yet you notice nothing of it in the evening is exactly why people stay here rather than in the city itself.

On the other side the Groene Hart starts immediately. Along the Hollandse IJssel you cycle straight into the polder, towards Oudewater or Montfoort — small towns where time appears to have stopped around 1700.

By car Amsterdam is three quarters of an hour away. If you come without one: the tram stops five minutes' walk away and runs until late.