Your traditional daytrip from Amsterdam. Just 30 minutes away, you find windmills, old shops, cobbly streets etc. Perfect to take your kids, but if you like to do the untouristy thing, you can give it a miss.

Highlights include the Albert Hein shop (Duth 7-11, now one of the biggest retailers in the world, owns shops in Sweden, US, Portugal etc.) and the shop where they make wooden shoes.

~ The area was named 'De Zaanse Schans' after an entrenchment which was erected in 1574 to hold back Spanish troops at the beginning of the Eighty Years War between the Netherlands and Spain. People work and live in the Zaanse Schans: they feel at home in the area and keep alive the glory which this industrial district saw in the golden age. Visiting the Zaanse Schans, you will see a situation characteristic of the landscape of that district until late in the nineteenth century. The dikes were probably built as early as the thirteenth century, the first villages were built along these at a later date. Until late in the last century these were typical 'dike-villages'.    Highly recommend visiting this place, its only 8 miles from Amsterdam and perfect for biking.  There is an "outdoor" muesum displaying a typical working farm along with windmills and barn animals, definetly worth the time spent.

Aalsmeer
Alkmaar
Almelo
Ameland
Amersfoort
Amsterdam
Apeldoorn
Arnhem
Beek
Bloemendaal
Bolsward
Breda
Brunsumm
De efteling
De hoge veluwe
De zaanse schans
Delft
Den Bosch
Den Helder
Deventer
Dokkum
Domburg
Dordrecht
Edam
Eindhoven
Enkhuizen
Enschede
Ermelo
Franeker
Giethoorn
Gouda
Groningen
Haarlem
Harlingen
Heerde
Heerenveen
Heerlen
Hellevoetsluis
Hengelo
Hilversum
Hindeloopen
Holwerd
IJlst
IJmuiden
Keukenhof
Laren
Leeuwarden
Leiden
Lemmer
Lochem
Maastricht
Marken
Meppel
Middelburg
Midsland
Naarden
Nieuw statenzijl
Nieuwolda
Nijmegen
Noordwijk
Onstwedde
Oss
Ossendrecht
Purmerend
Rotterdam
Ruinen
Sloten
Sneek
Stavoren
The Hague
Tilburg
Tjuchum
Utrecht
Valkenburg
Vlissingen
Volendam
Wageningen
West-Terschelling
Woerden
Woldendorp
Workum
Woudsend
Zandvoort
Zoetermeer