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Neighbourhood of Zaandam in Zaanstad, North Holland, Netherlands
Photo: Malis, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
The Zaanse Schans is an open air conservation area and museum, on the bank of the Zaan River, north of Zaandam in the Netherlands. It displays the traditional architecture of the area (green wooden houses) and has several functioning windmills and craftsman's workshops, which are open to visitors. Located next to it is the regional museum, the Zaans Museum.
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Old coffee grinders, coffee storage boxes and commercial posters from the history of the most famous Dutch grocery store chain.
A small and interesting collection of many types of both old, original clogs (for every day life and special occasions) and new artistic versions of clogs. Every ten minutes or so there is a live demonstration of modern machinery clog making.
the pale dead
This windmill, named De Bleeke Dood, was built in 1656 and operated until 1931. In 2000, the mill was restored to operational condition, and grinds corn every Friday. It has a store selling its products.
This is an excellent pancake house in an authentic former granary. Their specialty are Dutch pancakes, but they also have a range of cakes, salads, soups, snacks, and drinks.
Before or after heading out for the windmills you can have a cup of coffee or tea at the Museum Cafe. There is a beautiful view of the Kalverpolder and the lined-up windmills at the banks of the Zaan River.
This bed and breakfast is the only accommodation in the Zaanse Schans. There are three rooms in unique old Zaan houses that are protected as monuments. Price includes breakfast.
This building dates from the 19th century, but the porch is as old as from 1630. The building has functioned as a book shop annex library at the Rozengracht in Zaandam, but now is a design and gift shop with watches, bags, ceramics, jewellery and many other small products.
By bus
Alternatively, EBS serves the area with buses. Take bus 800 from Amsterdam Central Station which has its terminus right beside the main entrance of the Zaanse Schans.
By car
You can also reach it by car: From Amsterdam take the A7 in the direction of Leeuwarden and take exit 2 Zaanstad-Het Kalf, then turn left and follow the signs for Zaanse Schans.
By boat
The Zaanferry is a boat connection from Amsterdam Central Station to the Zaanse Schans.
Walking to the end of the area is about a kilometer, so you can easily get around on foot. It is also popular to navigate through the surrounding area by bicycle.
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Articles and travel topics about Zaanse Schans and Netherlands.
ItinerariesThe European Route of Industrial Heritage is a tourism information network for industrial tourism in Europe.
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Travel tipsPrioritising the traveller, the Dutch railway network is a good way to cross the country. Practically everywhere is reachable by train, having a network consisting of 3,434 kilometres (2,134 miles) of lines.
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Culture & historyThe Dutch overseas empire (Het Nederlandse Koloniale Rijk) is a historical empire, which is still partially in existence.
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Nature & adventureBicycling is very popular in the Netherlands. It has the highest number of bikes per capita, and essentially everyone cycles here, especially in cities like Amsterdam and Groningen.
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