Hoofddorp in facts and figures.

Hoofddorp sits at the centre of the Haarlemmermeer, a roughly 185 km² drained polder lying between Amsterdam, Haarlem and Leiden. The town is about fifteen kilometres south-west of central Amsterdam and five kilometres from central Haarlem. Schiphol Airport adjoins the northern side — the airport and the town are physically linked by the A4 motorway and the railway.

The polder itself is not a natural landscape. Until the mid-nineteenth century there was water here — the Haarlemmermeer — drained by three steam pumping stations between 1849 and 1852. The result is a strikingly flat, geometrically laid-out region: canals and roads run dead-straight, plots are rectangular, and the ground level lies below sea level across almost the whole polder.

Elevation

The lowest point of the urban area lies around five metres below NAP; average ground level in Hoofddorp hovers around three and a half metres below. That makes the town one of the low-lying places of the Netherlands, comparable to large parts of the Zuidplas and Beemster polders. The drainage system that keeps the polder dry still runs — though steam has long been replaced by electric pumps.

Hoofddorp lies in the maritime-temperate climate of western Netherlands: mild winters, cool summers and a steady westerly breeze. The North Sea and IJsselmeer dampen extremes, while the open polder around the town leaves the wind free play. The prevailing wind is westerly.

Average annual temperature is around ten degrees Celsius. Summers are usually mild, with monthly averages of around seventeen to eighteen degrees in July and August; winters tend to stay just above freezing. Rainfall is spread evenly across the year, with a slight peak in late summer and autumn.

The open landscape makes the town prone to mist and low cloud in colder months — a phenomenon that has historically affected aviation at Schiphol. Yet the climate is generally mild and supports year-round outdoor life, cycling and gardening.