The Perfect Day Trip from Amsterdam

Do you dream one day of visiting the “Venice of the North”? Strolling across the beautiful bridges of Amsterdam, enjoying every season (because Amsterdam is beautiful all year round, depending on what kind of weather you’re looking to deal with). Well, when you come to visit – don’t JUST visit Amsterdam! In this blog post, I am going to share what, I think, is the PERFECT day trip from Amsterdam is and how you can book it for your journeys!

I’m sure that most of you know that just a short distance away from Amsterdam are the famous Holland Windmills!

Zaanse Schans is a neighborhood in the Dutch town of Zaandam, near Amsterdam. Historic windmills and distinctive green wooden houses were relocated here to recreate the look of an 18th/19th-century village. The Zaans Museum has regional costumes, model windmills, and interactive exhibits on chocolate making. Artisan workshops demonstrate rare handicrafts such as wooden clog carving, barrel making, and pewter casting.

When visiting Amsterdam I enjoyed taking a tour with Get Your Guide and I absolutely loved this tour!

We were able to watch live demonstrations of several different types of craftsmen at work, including a clog maker crafting the famous wooden shoes of the Netherlands. Then we wandered around the “Clog Village” before traveling through the distinctive polders (land reclaimed from the water) of the Beemster area.

From there continue on to Edam, also commonly referred to as the pearl of the Zuiderzee. Edam’s ancient streets and tranquil canals are lined by beautiful 17th-century buildings, including the leaning Carillon tower, the Great Church, and town hall. Most famous in Edam is beyond any doubt the public weighing house, where in summer still every Wednesday the famous Edam Cheese is being sold.

After a stroll around this history-rich town, you’ll have the opportunity to see how Edam’s world-famous cheese is made and, of course, to taste it in a close-by cheese farm.

Finally, we stopped in the beautiful seaside village of Volendam. This typical fishing village with its bustling harbor has been a major tourist attraction as early as 1875. People come from all over to see the small buildings and houses and take in the locals in their traditional Dutch clothing. This is a great place to pick up souvenirs for those at home or a memento for yourself, and to have photos taken in traditional Dutch costume. Your guide will take you on a short walk through the oldest parts of the city, exploring a labyrinth of twists and turns to sites such as St. Vincent’s Church, the wooden Stolphoevekerk, and the Visafslag (Fish Auction).

This entire experience was very interesting and educational! I learned so much about the landscape of most of the Netherlands and especially what the original use was for the windmills! Did you know that they were used to pump water out of basin areas? Most of the landscape was marsh so there was no way to build on that (obviously) but after some interesting ingenuity, the people reclaimed the land from the marsh and sea!

Now obviously there are many many different day trips you can take or find to do when you are visiting the Netherlands. However, if you’re looking for one of the perfect day trips from Amsterdam – I’ve found it! Click here to book or to learn more! Happy Travels!