Zaanse Schans, windmills near Amsterdam

12 photos and 2 videos, March 2011

 Castellano

Zaanse Schans is a neighborhood located very close to Amsterdam on the banks of the river Zaan. It tries to be a faithful reproduction of life in the region of the Zaan during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Oriented towards tourism, it gives us the image of a typical Dutch village with wooden houses painted on green, the little bridges over canals, craft shops and of course, traditional Dutch windmills. The most popular are buildings set in the second half of the twentieth century as a typical Dutch village replica of the eighteenth century. You can visit a factory-cheese shop, a fabrication shop including clogs with free demonstration and several museums. You can visiti the windmills and there are several restaurants.
How to arrive. It can be easily reached by train from Amsterdam. From Amsterdam Centraal Station, buy a ticket to Koog-Zaandijk (direction Uitgeest or Alkmaar, it is the fourth stop). The journey takes a quarter of an hour. On leaving the station, a dispenser is easy to find with free site plans. You have to walk 10-15 minutes from the station to get to the places you see in these photos. There is also a paid parking next to the main museum. All the information at www.zaanseschans.nl.

Best things. What I liked most was to see windmills in operation near Amsterdam and the clog making demonstration. Also in the month of March there were few people there and the walk along the river was very pleasant. 		Map of Zaanse Schans


Video Zaanse Schans Video Zaanse Schans Houses Wood Cruise

Windmills Windmills Windmills Windmills Windmills

Landscape Clogs Clog making Chimney


The entry into Zaanse Schans as such is free, you only pay if you want to visit one of the windmills or one of its museums. The place can be seen in about three hours, making it perfect as a half-day tour from Amsterdam. You can combine this visit with Alkmaar (cheese market on Fridays from April to September). With a round trip ticket on a train to Alkmaar Sprinter type, you can get off at Koog-Zaandijk, visit Zaanse Schans and then continue the trip to Alkmaar or come and visit first to Alkmaar returning Mills.

Photos of MARKEN,       Photos of HAARLEM,       Photos of AMSTERDAM,