Summer favourites: 14 great things to do in July and August

It’s almost all outdoor fun in July and August, and if June was anything to go by you can leave your umbrella at home. Website Get yourself over to the IJ The Over het IJfestival in Amsterdam is 30 this year and the lineup is made up of young artists such as Michaël Bloos whose performance Istanbul, bericht van de andere kant, probes mental health issues, and action theatre group YounGangsters whose The Promised Land: an old school Western in outerspace sees the bright side of the frizzled planet. Website See Visconti in the Amsterdamse Bos Ivo van Hove’s stage version of Visconti’s The Damned, which he directed to great acclaim in France, is coming to the Amsterdamse Bostheater in a first for the Stadsschouwburg based ITA. Website Don’t forget the mozzy spray The venue alone is enough to visit the Wilhelminadok in Rotterdam, home of the Pleinbios open air film festival, and brave the mosquitos. Website Visit the zoo The Huis van het Boek in Tha Hague has been transformed into a 19th century zoo where you can take a tour of some delightful illustrations of animals through the ages.