Windmills & Souvenirs

Tourists like to go to the Rijks museum and the many other attractions in Holland but the place that most visitors describe as the highlight of their visit is, - Zaanse Schans.


I always take visitors there and have even guided Dutch natives there. It is a wonderful place to visit to see a delightful old hamlet on the banks of the river Zaan. 'The open-air museum includes a wooden shoemaker, pewter factory, bakery, cheese-maker, dairy farm, and a century-old grocery store. Original buildings have been preserved to depict Dutch life in the 17th and 18th centuries. Don’t miss the historic shipyard, the clog-making demonstration and millers demonstrating how their windmills work.Lots of shops offering Cheese, souvenirs, antiques, wooden toys and old fashioned Drop (Dutch candy made with salt). I know. I can see you pulling a face … ., but its redeeming quality is the licorice.

The first Albert Heijn grocer store can be seen.- Now it is the largest grocery chain in the country.


Admission to Zaanse Schans is free. There is a small fee for the museums, mills and the Loo (you always pay for the Rest Room in Holland.). There are four direct trains per hour that take you from Amsterdam Central Station to the Koog-Zaandijk station in 17 minutes.

Some of the attractions are closed in the winter but there is still lots to see. Bear in mind that it is an outdoor village. I’ve been there on an ice-rain day in the winter.