Things to do in

Zaanse Schans

Enjoy the picturesque Dutch countryside on a day trip by comfortable coach. Encounter the famous windmills, and learn about Dutch traditional crafts. Take advantage of free wi-fi on board the coach before your first stop at the quaint village of Zaanse Schans. Stroll around at your leisure and admire the well-preserved historic windmills and houses.  Next, head to the fishing village of Volendam. Visit a cheese shop that still makes cheese using the traditional Dutch method and take in a demonstration. Enjoy lunch at a traditional fish restaurant at your own expense, before visiting the Volendam Museum and the Old Dutch Bakery. Select the all-inclusive tour option for more activities including a boat ride, visit to an operating windmill, and clog-making demonstration. In Volendam, try to spot the recognizable Dutch traditional costumes often featured on tourist postcards and posters. Afterwards travel back in time to the quaint island community of Marken.

Join a guided tour from Amsterdam to visit the windmill village of Zaanse Schans which is an open-air museum housing working windmills, wooden houses, barns, and shops dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries. Enjoy live commentary from your guide, a clog workshop and a cheese-making demonstration. Meet your guide and driver at a central meeting point just across from Central Station in Amsterdam. Settle in for a comfortable, air-conditioned ride on a single deck bus that will take you to your destination in just 20 minutes. Upon arrival in the village, follow your guide for an orientation tour of the village. Visit the clog museum for a live wooden shoemaking workshop. Then, taste some Dutch farmer cheese on the cheese farm. Get a sense of Zaanse Schans' prosperity from the 18th and 19th centuries in the windmill village. Alongside windmills and barns, see houses that were originally built as homes for rich windmill owners and merchants. Admire their colorful facades painted in traditional hues of green, beige, and light blue. Finally, it is time to further explore the village on your own. Before you set off, take insider tips from your guide and learn about the region's local history and culture. At the end of the tour, hop back on the bus for your return journey to Amsmterdam.

Immerse yourself in the culture of the Netherlands on a tour through the jewels of the Dutch countryside. Visit a cheese producer, a clog factory, a fishing village, and see the iconic windmills. Start your tour at Amsterdam’s Central Station and head in the company of your guide to the first destination of the day, Zaanse Schans. Admire the typical Dutch windmills of the town, and learn about how they are still used today. Next, drive to the Waterland area to arrive at the second stop of the tour, Edam. Walk around some of the town’s most historical sites, including the town square where the famous cheese market used to take place. Then, head to Volendam to visit a local cheese producer, learn about the production of Edam and Gouda cheeses, and try a cheese tasting. Head towards a clog factory next to discover the secrets of this typical Dutch shoe. Finally, travel back in time to the 17th century as you wander through the fishermen’s houses in the Marken, and explore this quintessential fishing village.

Go on the perfect Dutch trip from Amsterdam and head to Zaanse Schans that brings the 18th and 19th centuries back into the present-day Netherlands. Explore the wooden houses, barns, and workshops, and get even more value for money with this ticket. Visit the Weaver’s House, where two families lived with their five looms. See the Coopery, where you'll observe how barrels were made. Get free entrance to the Zaans Museum and to the Verkade Chocolate and Biscuit Factory and experience a real-life Willy Wonka event. Benefit from a free audio guide in 8 languages offered at the Zaans Museum.

Make the most of your time in Amsterdam with an I Amsterdam City Card, and enjoy free entrance to many of the city's top museums and attractions, including the Rijksmuseum, Hermitage Amsterdam, Moco Museum, and Rembrandt House Museum. The card also comes with discounted entry to other attractions, such as Heineken Experience, Madame Tussauds, and Amsterdam Dungeon. Valid for 24, 48, 72, 96, or 120 hours from first use, unlimited access to the city's public transportation system for the duration of your card allows you to get around quickly. You can also enjoy one free canal cruise from several canal cruise companies at many locations in Amsterdam. Complete listing offers I amsterdam City Card Enjoy free entrance* with the I amsterdam City Card to the following museums and attractions Free admission to the following museums/attractions: Allard Pierson Museum Amsterdam Diamond Factories and the Diamond Museum Amsterdam Museum Amsterdam Pipe Museum ARTIS Royal Zoo Cobra Museum Amstelveen EYE Filmmuseum Foam - Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam Geelvinck Piano[la] Museum  Hermitage Amsterdam Portrait Gallery of the Golden Age – Hermitage Outsider Art Museum – Hermitage  National Holocaust Memorial - Jewish Cultural Quarter National Holocaust Museum Jewish Cultural Quarter Hortus Botanicus - Botanical Garden Huis Marseille - Museum for Photography Jewish Historical Museum - Jewish Cultural Quarter ARTIS –Micropia  De Nieuwe Kerk Amsterdam Oude Kerk Museum Ons' Lieve Heer op Solder - Our Lord in the Attic Multatuli Huis - Multatuli Museum Portuguese Synagogue - Jewish Cultural Quarter  Museum Het Rembrandthuis - Rembrandt House Museum Het Scheepvaartmuseum - The National Maritime MuseumMoco Museum Museum Het Schip - Amsterdam School Arts and Architecture Rijksmuseum  Science Center NEMO Stadsarchief Amsterdam - City Archives Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam Museum Tot Zover - Funeral Museum THIS IS HOLLANDTropenmuseum Museum Van Loon Verzetsmuseum - Dutch Resistance Museum Museum Willet-Holthuysen Amsterdam ArenA Stadium Tours Amsterdam Tulip Museum Het Grachtenhuis - Museum of the Canals Molen van Sloten & Kuiperijmuseum Woonbootmuseum - Houseboat Museum A'DAM Lookout (entrance with I Amsterdam City Card until 6:00 PM) Amsterdam Metropolitan Area In Haarlem: Frans Hals Museum Teylers Museum Free Canal Cruise In Volendam/Marken: Rederij Volendam Marken (ferry) Volendams Museum In Enkhuizen: Zuiderzee Museum In Zaanse Schans: Zaans Museum & Verkade Experience Kuiperij Tiemstra (Coopery) Wevershuis- The Weaver’s House Tsar Peter House, Zaandam Mill Museum Zaan Time Museum Sawmill Dyestuff Mill De Bonte Hen (Oil Mill)  In Muiden: Amsterdam Castle Muiderslot  In Naarden: Amsterdam Fortress Museum Naarden-Vesting  In Laren: Singer Laren  In Zaanse Schans: Free Ferry from Amsterdam to Zaanse Schans Free giveaway In Amsterdam: De Drie Fleschjes - Free shot of genever (18+) Holland Casino Amsterdam - Free entrance (18+) Free canal cruise in Amsterdam Blue Boat Company Lovers Canal Cruises Amsterdam Circle Line B.V. 25% discount – Music & Stage Bimhuis – Jazz Boom Chicago - English improv comedy theatre Het Concertgebouw - The Concertgebouw Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ - Contemporary music Nationale Opera & Ballet - Dutch National Opera & Ballet 25% discount - Attractions The Amsterdam Dungeon Amsterdam Icebar XtraCold (18+) Dutch Cheese & Wine Cruise or Cocktail Cruise  Heineken Experience (18+) House of Bols Cocktail & Genever Experience (18+) Het Kattenkabinet - The Cat Cabinet Madame Tussauds Amsterdam Museum of Prostitution – Red Light Secrets  Museumphoto Body Worlds Hop on Hop off Holland: Cheese, Windmills & Villages 25% discount - Transport & Rentals Pedal boat Bicycle rental & Bike Tours  Mokumboat.com – Rental boats to drive yourself  25% discount - Food & Drink Blue AmsterdamThe Pancake Bakery Pancakes Amsterdam Restaurant-Café In de Waag Restaurant Pasta e Basta Restaurant Wagamama - Noodle restaurant Reypenaer Proeflokaal - Cheese tasting

Depart Amsterdam by luxury bus on this exciting tour and head north of the city to see the historic windmills of Zaanse Schans on the banks of the river Zaan. Explore the traditional 17th-century houses and a collection of beautifully preserved windmills from the nation’s industrial heritage. Continue on to visit Edam, a beautiful town known worldwide for its cheese. Before the end the day, go to Volendam and Marken, passing many authentic polders, the name given to land reclaimed from the sea. Wander down narrow streets, past colorful houses and visit the harbors full of fishing boats. You will have some free time to shop for souvenirs and sample the local fish specialties. Back in Amsterdam, you will be dropped off at the meeting point.

You will begin with to a trip to the enchanting village of Giethoorn in the north of the Netherlands for a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Known as the “Venice of North”, the village is notable for its many canals and complete lack of roads. You will explore this fairy tale village, where less than 3,000 people live, throughout a 1-hour guided boat tour. Explore the preserved village on foot, and see how each farmhouse is built on a small man-made island. Wander the narrow footpaths to discover hundreds of bridges, and enjoy the peaceful atmosphere of the village. Your trip will continue to the village of Volendam, where you can admire brightly painted wooden houses and see locals wearing their colorful regional attire. Your guide will take you on a short walk through the Volendam harbor, which has been one of the most popular tourist attractions in the village since 1875. This is a great place to pick up souvenirs and gifts for those at home or for yourself, and to have photos taken in traditional Dutch costume in one of many photo studios of the village. Your last destination is to explore the most picturesque traditional 17th-century Zaanse Schans village which contains houses and a collection of beautifully preserved windmills from the nation’s industrial heritage. In Zaanse Schans village you can stroll past the charming greenhouses and visit a factory where the clogs popular in this part of the country are made. There’s also nothing more Dutch than cheese, and whilst there you can try some at the Catharina Hoeve Farm where you will also learn about its production.

Leave Amsterdam for half a day on this guided tour of the rolling Dutch countryside. Sit back and travel comfortably in a coach to the rural village of Edam. Take a walk through the quaint streets of Edam. En-route to Volendam, stop to visit an old cheese farm to see how authentic Dutch cheese is made. Indulge in trying some of these huge spheres of delicious cheese. Upon arrival in Volendam, follow your guide on a journey through the fishing village’s winding streets. Hear about how this bustling place was once the harbor for neighboring village Edam. Enjoy some free time to eat lunch. Next, move on to visit the windmill village of Zaanse Schans. Once used to ground spices, dyes, lumber, oil, cocoa powder, and many other items, the mills are still in use today. Some are now living museums where you can learn about the ins and outs of milling. Visit a wooden shoe factory and behold how traditional clogs are created using antique machines. Afterward, go inside a windmill and take a look at all the mechanisms and go out onto the platform for a remarkable view over the surrounding area.  Filled with newfound knowledge and a taste of the traditional Dutch ways of life, relax and reminisce about your trip while on the journey back to Amsterdam.

Enjoy an afternoon learning about the inner workings of windmills in the village of Zaanse Schans. To begin, find out how the mill saws a tree into a plank and then learn more about the history of the famous Dutch windmills at an exhibition in the basement of the mill. Next, come inside the world's last-remaining, still-working paint windmill, which is dated back to 1782. If there is enough wind, you can even experience the grinding process and watch how the mill grinds chalk under the large grind stones. In the back of the mill is where the loggers stands, and it is where tropical wood is chopped. Be sure to check out the impressive working wooden interior of this "old" industrial factory.

Your experience begins as your guide meets you near Amsterdam's Central Station, from where you travel to the typical Dutch windmill village of Zaanse Schans. Zaanse Schans is an open-air museum complete with a cheese farm, clog factory, diamond museum, bakery museum, and Kuiperij, where barrels were made to transport goods, green timber houses, traditional crafts, and windmills. Following noon, be transferred to the unique Dutch village of Giethoorn, heading further north out of Amsterdam. As you travel, listen to nice stories including the history and significant elements in the region of Giethoorn throughout the roughly 2-hour bus ride, with a break included to ensure a pleasant journey. Giethoorn is beautiful in all seasons, and contains a simple beauty which hardly seems real. Discover this as you glide gently through its small canals, passing old but pretty thatched-roof farmhouses. Throughout this 1-hour boat trip around town, be accompanied by a local guide who also doubles as your captain. Get to know everything about Giethoorn throughout your boat trip, with extra time included to walk along a narrow footpath by foot or by bike, or to learn how to operate the ''whisper boat'', an electric-motor boat. In the evening, arrive back to Amsterdam's center with the rest of your night to look forward to.