Zaanse Schans

Zaanse Schans is a real residential and working district, preserved from 1850. Despite the fact that people still live here, for tourists it is an open-air museum.


The territory is small, but there are many different small museums and shops: mills, cheese factories, boat trips, manufacturers of wooden shoes and so on. See their schedule on the official website.

Attention! The territory itself can be visited free of charge and at any time. So, if you are a photographer or a romantic and want to be here at dawn or dusk, then no problem. And given that this is the touristic place, it makes sense to come in the evening, before sunset, as we did. There were almost no tourists and the light was perfect.

The main interest is the perfectly preserved mills. And due to the fact that they stand on the banks of the river, this place looks incredibly beautiful. The houses that you see near the mills were collected in the region and brought here by special trailers.






Getting there: parking fee is 10 euros (N 52 28.398 E 4 49.322). There is bus 391 from Amsterdam Central Station (information), daily ticket is 12 euros. In July and August there is also bus 817 from Volendam / Edam. The nearest train station is Zaandijk - Zaanse Schans, then 1 km on foot. The train is cheaper.