Amsterdam
The Rijksmuseum, canals and the National Maritime Museum.
Route by public transport ↗
Windmills, a tsar in a wooden cottage and the smell of chocolate.
3 museumsThe Zaan region was one of the world's first industrial areas, powered by hundreds of windmills. At the Zaanse Schans they still turn. And in Zaandam stands the wooden cottage where the Russian tsar Peter the Great stayed in 1697.
From Amsterdam Centraal the train takes approx. 12 minutes to Zaandam and approx. 17 minutes to Koog-Zaandijk. From there, walk across the bridge to the Zaanse Schans: wooden houses, working windmills and craft shops. The Zaans Museum on its edge tells how the region grew rich on windmills, shipbuilding and factories such as Verkade. In Zaandam itself you can see the Czar Peter House, a simple wooden cottage inside a stone shell. Come early in the day; the Schans is very popular.
One day, four moments. How to get the most out of your visit.
Six places to complete your museum day.
Wooden houses, warehouses and working windmills on the river Zaan. Some mills can be visited inside, such as a paint mill or an oil mill.
The story of the Zaan region: windmills, trade and factories, with the Verkade Experience about chocolate and biscuits.
The wooden cottage where Peter the Great stayed in 1697 to learn shipbuilding.
A working paint mill, where pigments are still ground the traditional way.
Walk or cycle along the river, past green wooden houses, old factories and windmills.
Buy your tickets online and plan the rest of your day around them.
All museums in Zaanse Schans. Click a museum for the route.
The Zaan region lies just north of Amsterdam, between the IJ and the polders of Waterland.
The Rijksmuseum, canals and the National Maritime Museum.
Route by public transport ↗Cheese market on Fridays and the story of the 1573 siege.
Route by public transport ↗Wooden houses and quiet paths in Waterland.
Route by public transport ↗Travel times are indicative. Live times on 9292.nl ↗.
Zaandam has hotels for every budget, most near the station. Amsterdam is fifteen minutes away by train, the Schans just a few. In the evening it is quieter than Amsterdam, and often cheaper.
Restaurants, shops and hotels near the museums, picked for museum visitors.