The Netherlands is covered with nice little places that either called stad (city) or dorp (village). There is not really something in between, like town in the Anglo-Saxon language. With no room in between, a place in the Netherlands is either a city or a village. The distinction between the two denominations is usually size and/or population density but no fixed rules on where the line is between a village and a city, as far as I know. A better criterium therefore is whether a place has historically been granted a city charter or not.

Bergen in Noord Holland is a wonderful little town very close to the beach. Dutch artists in the nineteenth century discovered Bergen and founded an artist colony. The community, known as the Bergen School, propagated against the principles of impressionism as was very fashionable to do in that time and even published their own magazine. To this day, the town still has an artsy feel over it, with plenty art of galleries and a museum explaining about the school. It even has an art festival that lasts for 10 days.