May be not the most logical place to start, but many tourists come to Haarlem by train. Perhaps you don't realize that you leave your train in one of the best preserved stations of Holland. Designed by architect D.A.N. Margadant it was built between 1905-1908. I recommend that you do not immediately rush into town, but take some time to look around you and let your fantasy work. At platform 3a and 6a you will find some nice tile pictures. Some examples are shown below.

	This tile picture was offered by the Union of Retired People to the Dutch Railways at their centenary.
	Above the entrance of the former waiting room for first class passengers.

Due to commercialization, the station is full of bill boards, which take away much of the original character.
When you walk to the main entrance hall (direction of platform 1), you will find some impressive tile pictures above the ticket counters and the AKO magazine shop.
When you completed your visit, leave the station via the main hall and go right towards the Kruisweg (just opposite the station you will find one of the ugliest building complexes of Haarlem. Also the bus station is situated here). Just before you reach the Kruisweg, you'll find the Tourist Information Office at your right.

Go right now, passing the bus station at your left. At the traffic lights, cross the Parklaan and continue. Kruisweg becomes Kruisstraat and this street will lead you to the centre of Haarlem. But before arriving there, I take you to the Nieuwe Gracht. Cross the bridge and go immediately left. You are now walking at one of the sides of the Nieuwe Gracht. Many of the canalside houses are now offices of lawyers, accountants etc. Some of the houses have nice fronts, like this one at the other side.

Nieuwe Gracht

Return to the Kruisstraat and continue.

You will pass a lot of different shops now and some restaurants (Los Gauchos, Nas Brasas). Be careful here because the footpath can be crowded, and as the street becomes smaller you sometimes have to leave the footpath.
Just opposite the HEMA department store you will find the almshouse Hofje van Oorschot. This almshouse was founded in 1768 and contains of 16 houses. The little statue (by John Linters) in front is not an original part of the almshouse.
It is not always open to the public, only on Saturdays from 10 till 17h. When you enter for a visit, always respect the quitness and the privacy of the inhabitants (and this applies for all the almshouses)

Hofje van Oorschot

The Barteljorisstraat is well known in Holland, due to the Dutch version of Monopoly. It is a short and lovely shopping street which leads to the Grote Markt. Halfway you'll find the jeweller shop Ten Boom. Above this shop is a small museum, dedicated to members of the Ten Boom family who supported persons in hiding during World War II.
Opening hours:
From April, 1st till November, 1st: tuesday till saturday from 10 till 16 hr;
From November, 1st till April, 1st: tuesday till saturday from 11 till 15 hr.

I met some elder American tourists who had problems with finding the museum. May be the following photo is helpfull.

Ten Boom Museum

The Grote Markt is the real centre of Haarlem. Famous buildings are situated here like the townhall, De Vleeshal and the Bavo church. Also the main shopping street of Haarlem, the Grote Houtstraat, starts (or ends) here. During the 750th anniversary of Haarlem the Grote Markt was transformed into a medieval tournament place.
The first photo shows the townhall, which is on your right when you leave the Barteljorisstraat. The photo was taken during the weekly market.

Townhall

The second photo shows the statue of Laurens Janszoon Coster, one of the possible inventors of the art of printing (the other is the German J. Gutenberg). The statue is on your left, opposite the townhall.

L. J. Coster

The last photo on this page is the tower of the Sint Bavo church. Despite its grey colour, the tower is not made of stone. In fact it is wood, covered with lead. During the building (between 1370 and 1520) a stone tower proved to be too heavy, so a wooden tower was built.
When you want to take a look inside, pay attention to the organ. You have to pay an entrance fee.

Tower of St. Bavo church

Now walk towards the statue of L.J. Coster. Leave the statue behind you and walk right on, having the Bavo church at your right. Follow the pavement to the right and walk into the Lange Veerstraat (due to a construction site you cannot enter the Damstraat). After approx. 25 mtr. you will find an alley at your left. Enter it and at the end, go left.
The grey building in front of you is De Waag (on the photo below, the building at the left). De Waag dates from 1595. Original it was a building in which the shipped in goods were weighed and where people paid their import duties. 

De Waag

Also take a look at the roof of De Waag. Some of the details can be seen on the following photo.

De Waag, detail of roof

Pass De Waag, towards Teylers Museum (the building in the centre of the 1st photo) and continue

Teylers Museum is the oldest Dutch museum (visit their Website here). It took its name from the collectioner Pieter Teyler. He died in 1778 and he leaved his fortune and collections to a foundation. These collections became the basis for Teylers Museum. The building that stores todays collections (books, engravings, instruments and science objects) was built in 1885. The front can be seen on the following photo.

Teylers Museum

Just behind the museum is a big construction site. In december 2003 a heavy piece of wood dropped from one of the builder's cranes and damaged the 18th century glass dome of the museum.
Before entering (or after leaving) the museum, take a look at the white lift bridge and the houses behind it:

Lift bridge

Go right, keeping the Spaarne at your left and continue.

You are now walking towards one of the finest bridges of Haarlem, the Langebrug. But first, take a look at the different fronts, look inside doorways (some of them have nice tiles) or look for woodcuttings above doors. An example can be seen on the following photo.

Wood cutting

When you reach the crossing with the Gedempte Oude Gracht (at the corner you will find a shop with well designed lighting equipment), you can see the Langebrug at your left.
The new Langebrug was built next to the old one. Building started in october 1993. The complete project (including reorganization of the traffic system and demolishing the old Langebrug) was finished in april 1995. Due to the shape of its contraweight, the nickname of the bridge is 'paint roller'. When the bridge is raised, you can see a painting covering the complete bottom of the bridge. This painting expresses the bonds of friendship between Haarlem and Mutare (Zimbabwe).
The Langebrug is part of one of Haarlem's arterial roads, so traffic can be very busy here. Always use the pedestrian crossings!

Lift bridge

Walk back now to the crossing with the Gedempte Oude Gracht and continue

At the crossing go left. You are now walking at the Gedempte Oude Gracht (see the photo below). Although you can find many shops here, it is not the main shopping street of Haarlem. After ca. 150 mtr. you can view the high department store of V&D (see the photo below).

View on Gedempte Oude Gracht

Walk right on until you reach V&D. You have now reached the Grote Houtstraat, which is the main shopping street of Haarlem. Just opposite V&D you will find a branch of McDonalds. Take a closer look at the building and discover some nice details like the one below.

Wall decoration McDonalds

If you want to have a panoramic view of Haarlem, enter V&D and go to restaurant La Place on the 6th floor. Buy yourself a drink and take a seat at one of the windows and enjoy (hoping that the visibility is good).
To continue, walk into the Grote Houtstraat, having V&D at your right. Do not only look into the windows of the many shops, but also pay some attention to the buildings itself. You will then find things like the following at nr. 110.

Little statue against wall

Walk right on, until you reach the end (or begin) of the Grote Houtstraat (Albert Heijn supermarket at your right). Before you go further, you may want to allow yourself some rest on one of the terraces in this area (if weather conditions are fine, of course). If you don't want to rest, cross the street and cross the bridge. You are about to enter the Houtplein and depending on where you stand now, you have the Italian restaurant Napoli just in front of you, or it is at your left (at the other side of the street). If the latter, cross the street and then walk (leaving the canal behind you) in the direction of a green stack of telephone boxes (which is actually a work of art). On top of it you will see the formula E = cm². Just before it there is a bus stop, so when you're tired you could end the tour here.
You can do the following things now:

1. take a bus back to the railway station (all the buses leaving from the stop will go there)
2. walk back to the Grote Houtstraat. Then walk right on until you reach the Grote Markt. From there you follow the first part of the tour in opposite direction to return to the railway station.
3. Extend your walk in the direction of the Haarlemmerhout, the small forest near the centre of Haarlem. Continue reading.

Keep on walking, leaving the stack of telephone boxes behind you. Cross the street (Chinese restaurant in front of you) and continue. This street is the Dreef. After approx. 300 meter you reach a crossing. Go left and after 75 meter you see the magnificent neo-classical building Paviljoen Welgelegen, opposite the Haarlemmerhout.
The place was bought in 1769 by Henry Hope, an English banker. In those days it was a country estate, far away from the centre of Haarlem. Hope hasn't actually lived here, he used it as a museum for his collection of art.
In 1808 it was sold to Lodewijk Napoleon, brother of the famous French emperor. After having a lot of owners it finally became property of the government. Today it is used by the Provincial Executive of the province Noord Holland.

The first photo shows the front of Paviljoen Welgelegen, the second a detail of the front.

	Paviljoen Welgelegen, front view
	Paviljoen Welgelegen, detail of front

After enjoyed Welgelegen you can go to the Haarlemmerhout, especially during hot summer days it can be quiet cool in this small forest.