Volendam
The neighbouring village on the IJsselmeer, with a busy dyke and a long fishing tradition.
Route by public transport ↗
Cheese, bells and a floating cellar.
2 museumsEdam gave its name to a cheese known all over the world. Behind the name is a small, quiet town of canals and little drawbridges. And a museum with a cellar that floats on the groundwater.
Edam was once a busy Zuiderzee port, with dozens of shipyards. What remains is a compact centre you can cover entirely on foot. The Edams Museum fills the oldest brick house in town and the old town hall across the square. The bus leaves from the back of Amsterdam Centraal (IJzijde) and takes approx. 30 to 40 minutes. Start at the museum, have lunch by the water and spend the afternoon around the Speeltoren and the Grote Kerk.
One day, four moments. How to get the most out of your visit.
Six places to complete your museum day.
A late Gothic merchant's house from the 16th century, the oldest brick house in Edam. Go down to the floating cellar, which rose and fell with the groundwater and never flooded.
On the first floor the museum shows the historic Mayor's Chamber and changing exhibitions.
On Wednesdays in July and August the old cheese market is re-enacted, with porters, cheeses and hand-clap bargaining.
All that is left of the Church of Our Lady. Its bells from 1566 still play a short tune every quarter of an hour.
St Nicholas Church was rebuilt in 1701 after fires caused by lightning, with a lower tower than before.
Cross the little drawbridges and follow the old harbour towards the IJsselmeer, where the shipyards once stood.
Buy your tickets online and plan the rest of your day around them.
All museums in Edam. Click a museum for the route.
Edam sits on the IJsselmeer, between Waterland and West Friesland. Fishing villages and old harbour towns are close by.
The neighbouring village on the IJsselmeer, with a busy dyke and a long fishing tradition.
Route by public transport ↗Wooden houses on mounds and a lighthouse on the point. Best reached across the water.
Route by public transport ↗Old Dutch East India Company town with a harbour, a distinctive harbour tower and the Westfries Museum.
Route by public transport ↗Travel times are indicative. Live times on 9292.nl ↗.
Edam has small hotels and B&Bs in historic buildings, for every budget. By day the bus takes you to Volendam, Hoorn or back to Amsterdam. In season, the boat from Volendam crosses to Marken. In the evening the lanes fall quiet and the canals are yours.
Restaurants, shops and hotels near the museums, picked for museum visitors.