Thialf
The speed skating rink where most of the world's records were set, in a country that treats the sport as national.
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Speed skating is the Dutch national sport in a way that takes some explaining to outsiders: the country wins a large share of the Olympic medals in it, the World Cup rounds are broadcast to very large audiences, and skaters are household names. Thialf at Heerenveen is where it happens. It opened as an outdoor rink in 1967 and was covered in 1986, and its combination of altitude, ice preparation and air handling has made it, for decades, the fastest indoor track at sea level in the world - a very large number of world records have been set on this ice, and it hosts World Cup rounds, world championships and the national championships. It seats around twelve and a half thousand and the atmosphere at a championship, with an orange crowd and a brass band, is the thing to see. Public skating sessions run outside events.
What you actually see
- The fastest sea-level ice - a very large share of world records set here.
- A national sport - speed skating watched and practised at a level found nowhere else.
- Twelve and a half thousand seats - the championship atmosphere with an orange crowd.
- Public sessions - the same ice open outside competition.
When to go
October to March, in the season. Half a day.
Honest expectations
The season is winter only and the rink closes in summer. Championship tickets sell out immediately. Public sessions are busy and the ice is a 400-metre oval, not a leisure rink. Heerenveen is otherwise unremarkable.
Nearby
The Frisian lakes are north-west; Drents-Friese Wold is south-east.
What to pack for Thialf
Chosen from what this place is for. Tap a kit for the full checklist.
Opening times, ticket prices and seasonal closures change - check the official source before you go: official site.