Where the Christmas Market Ends, the City Keeps Going
Walk the Lange Voorhout on the morning of 26 December and you'll find the linden avenue bare again: the chalets of the Royal Christmas Fair are gone, the crushed-shell path swept flat, the fire pits cold. The fair runs from Thursday 3 to Wednesday 23 December 2026, daily 12:00–21:00, and it does not open on 24, 25 or 26 December. Tweede Kerstdag in The Hague is not a market day. It is a museum day, a skating day, and a day for the long table — and the city is better for it.
Spend the Afternoon in the Mauritshuis
With the fair closed, the museums carry the day. The Mauritshuis opens 10:00–18:00 on 26 December, and through 17 January 2027 it hosts an exhibition of 25 works on loan from the Thyssen-Bornemisza, including El Greco, Jan van Eyck and Piero della Francesca. Note that Vermeer's View of Delft is off view during this period. Two minutes away, the Prince William V Gallery opens 12:00–17:00. Escher in Het Paleis, at Lange Voorhout 74, opens 11:00–17:00 — a natural stop if you're walking the avenue where the market stood. Kunstmuseum Den Haag and Panorama Mesdag had not confirmed their 2026 holiday hours at the time of writing, so check before you build a day around them.
Skate Between the Kurhaus and the Sea
Head to Scheveningen on tram 1 or 9. Cool Event Scheveningen, the rink in front of the Kurhaus, runs 7 November 2026 – 28 February 2027, daily 10:00–22:00, with entry between €7.50 and €12.50. A short walk away on the boulevard, Skate by the Sea is open 5 December 2026 – 11 January 2027: weekdays 12:00–22:00, weekends 10:00–22:00, disco skating from 17:00, same price band. If the sea air cuts too cold, De Uithof has an indoor rink with the season running to 21 March 2027. Book nothing in advance for the outdoor rinks — you pay at the ice.
Warm Up with Mulled Wine and a Circus Tent
The fair's food stalls are shuttered on the 26th, but the season's flavours are still around the city in December: mulled wine, fire pits and choirs were the staples of the Lange Voorhout chalets, and the same winter menu turns up across the centre in the weeks around Christmas. For a set-piece afternoon, the Groot Kerstcircus fills the Malieveld from 18 December 2026 to 3 January 2027, with tickets from €21.90 to €59.90 — one of the few large entertainments running straight through Tweede Kerstdag. The Residentie Orkest's Christmas concerts in the Nieuwe Kerk, including Sunday 20 December 2026 at 19:30 (€15–42), fall before the 26th and were sold out as of October 2026; if you want a concert on your trip, plan it for the days before.
Look Ahead to Hofvijver and the New Year's Dive
Second Day of Christmas sits at the start of The Hague's end-of-year run, and it's worth staying for it. On 31 December the Hofvijver hosts a free light and laser show from 22:00 to 01:00, with the programme starting at 21:00 — and no fireworks. On 1 January 2027 at 12:00, the Unox New Year's Dive takes place at Scheveningen; registration opens at 10:30 and costs €4 on the spot. If you want a day trip in the other direction, Delft's Lichtjesavond on Tuesday 8 December 2026 lights the Christmas tree on the Markt and opens Delft Verlicht until 3 January 2027 — about 12 minutes by train from Den Haag Centraal, though it falls earlier in the month than Tweede Kerstdag.
Plan your 26 December around the Mauritshuis in the morning, the Scheveningen ice in the afternoon, and the Malieveld circus or a warm table in the evening — then stay through New Year to see the Hofvijver lit and the divers run into the North Sea. Check museum hours and circus times directly with each venue as the date approaches, and you'll have a Second Day of Christmas that needs no market at all.