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Explore the cities like a true local
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ZAANDAM CITY CENTRE: THE HISTORIC DUTCH TOWN THAT INSPIRED MONET
Zaandam is best known as the gateway to Zaanse Schans, one of the most popular and beloved heritage sites in the Netherlands. The world-famous Dutch open-air museum, situated just outside central Zaandam, might be the primary reason to visit this part of the Netherlands, but it certainly is not the only one.
In fact, Zaandam, Netherlands, is an excellent base for exploring North Holland—the most quintessentially Dutch province the country has to offer. Zaandam lies smack-dab in the middle of North Holland’s endless pastoral countryside. Think green farmland dotted with cows and sheep, wild flower fields, and verdant gardens, as well as bucolic “typically Dutch” polderland and sleepy harbor scenery.
Zaandam makes for a wonderful stop on any Netherlands itinerary. Here are the best expert tips for enjoying the area.
Zaanse Schans
Discover the Zaanse Schans
The Zaanse Schans is an open-air museum that’s fun for all ages. Open year round, Zaans Schans is a free outdoor park with a collection of historical windmills. While the Zaanse Schans can be visited any time of year, the majority of the windmills are open to visitors from April to October. Besides windmills, you can also visit the souvenir shops, see clogs being made or visit a cheese farm near the Zaanse Schans.
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The Zaans Museum is both physically connected with the Zaanse Schans and connected in terms of its exhibits. It sets itself the objective of offering extra depth to tourist visits to the Zaanse Schans by linking the archetypal image of 'Holland' with the factual history of the Zaan region. |
List of windmills
The windmills were built after 1574.
- De Huisman (The Houseman), a mustardmill
- De Gekroonde Poelenburg (The Crowned Poelenburg), a sawmill
- De Kat (The Cat), a dyemill
- Het Jonge Schaap (The Young Sheep), a sawmill
- De Os (The Ox), an oilmill
- De Zoeker (The Seeker), an oilmill
- Het Klaverblad (The Cloverleaf), a sawmill
- De Bonte Hen (The Spotted Hen), an oilmill
Zaandam- Oude heven
Noord-Holland, or North Holland, wraps around Amsterdam like a flower wreath. Across the region, industrial heritage centers mingle with flat, water-logged terrain. Branching out from the calming narrows of the Zaan River, which flows through the region, are canals, quays, and polders—dyke areas drained and artificially controlled over centuries.
MONET HOUSE
Claude Monet stayed in Zaandam for four months in 1871 with his wife and child. During this time, he painted canvases depicting the town’s landscapes and residents. In total, he painted 24 landscapes and 1 portrait.
The Monet House (Atelier) is a free centre where you can view recreations of the paintings he made while in Zaandam. They feature the windmill and water landscapes heavily, as his visit was just before the Industrial Revolution hit the area.
Zaandam still had its connection to the sea, at the time of Monet’s visit. Areas that are now neighbourhoods were once water, boats and windmills.
The buildings and areas painted in Monet’s Zaandam studies can be found throughout the city centre and just beyond. You can organize a walking tour of the Monet painting sites with the Monet House.
Burgwallen Nieuwe Zijde
Amsterdam
Burgwallen Oude Zijde is a neighborhood (wijk) in the Centrum borough of Amsterdam, Netherlands, comprising the historic Oude Zijde ("Old Side"), the eastern portion of the medieval city center located east of the original Amstel River course. Originally a narrow strip along the Amstel's eastern bank, the area expanded notably after the 16th-century arrival of Portuguese Jewish refugees, fostering development of trade, religious sites, and fortifications that shaped its dense urban fabric.
Key landmarks include the Waag, Amsterdam's oldest surviving city gate built in 1488 as part of the medieval defenses and later repurposed for weighing and anatomy lessons; the Zuiderkerk, Amsterdam's first purpose-built Protestant church completed in 1614 under architect Hendrick de Keyser; and the Montelbaanstoren, a defensive tower initiated in 1512 with a Renaissance crowning added in 1606.
With a population of 4,760 residents and average property valuations of €540,000, the neighborhood sustains a mix of housing, commerce, and institutions like the University of Amsterdam, but is defined by heavy tourism pressures, including the De Wallen red-light district—a cluster of legal window prostitution amid historic canals—and recent municipal restrictions on short-term rentals to curb nuisance.
The story of Omelegg
Once upon a time on the road, we were heading east to enjoy our holidays. This trip would end up as the historical trip where the idea of an omelette place was born! After returning to our home-town of Amsterdam we started to develop our idea. Finally on April 27th 2013 Omelegg de Pijp opened its doors.
With our very capable father Cyrus on our side who built the entire restaurant we were able to start with very limited resources. Nevertheless we were confident this concept would succeed if we would put all our energy into it.
The never exhausting ambition to serve the best omelettes throughout the city became evident with our third Amsterdam branch, Omelegg Jordaan, which opened its doors in March 2025.
Today after 4 branches, while 3 remaining, with our father still on our side having built all Omelegg restaurants, we can surely state this journey has been a success indeed.
We, Faraz and Nima, are proud to run a family business with a great team that is always dedicated and determined to deliver great service and quality to our guests.
A huge shout out to our lovely teams working hard to deliver great service and good vibes and obviously the hardworking chickens for producing those delicious fresh eggs we serve every day!
Oudezijds Voorburgwal
The bridge over the OZ Voorburgwal between Damstraat and Oude Doelenstraat (bridge 204) forms a clear dividing line between the noisy northern Wallendeel and the quiet southern part. It is one of the most famous streets of the Red Light District, full of sex shops, window prostitutes, peep shows, brothels, bars and coffee shops. The Bulldog has several branches and a hotel here. The canal is also lined with monumental canal houses from the Dutch Golden Age, and the remains of the many monasteries that were located here in the Middle Ages.
In the 17th and 18th centuries the canal was usually called the Fluwelenburgwal. When the buildings on the Oudezijds Voorburgwal were built in the Golden Age, canal gardens were laid out behind the mansions. Almost all of them have since disappeared.
The Bierkaai (beer quay) was the quay on the Oudezijds Voorburgwal, near the Oude Kerk, where barrels of beer arrived and porters loaded and unloaded the heavy barrels. The residents of this part of Amsterdam were known as invincible fighters. The proverbial "fight against the beer quay" is derived from this: dedication to a hopeless cause.
There are more than a hundred national monuments on Oudezijds Voorburgwal. Some well-known buildings there include:
- The Oude Kerk, the oldest building in Amsterdam, on the Oudekerksplein between OZ Voorburgwal and Warmoesstraat.
- The Prinsenhof (OZ Voorburgwal 197), now the five-star hotel The Grand. This former monastery was converted into the Prinsenhof after the Alteratie(Alteration) in 1578. When King Louis Bonapartemoved to the Royal Palace in 1808, the city council moved to the Prinsenhof. The building served as Amsterdam's town hall until the Stoperabecame operational in 1988. The extension of the City Hall with modern façade in the Amsterdam School style to a design by Nicolaas Lansdorp dates from 1926.
- The Agnietenkapel (OZ Voorburgwal 231), a monastery chapel from 1470, rebuilt in 1631 into the Athenaeum Illustre, the precursor of the University of Amsterdam. The University Museum has been housed here since 1988.
- Ons' Lieve Heer op Solder (Our Lord in the Attic; OZ Voorburgwal 40), a former clandestine church, now a cultural history museum.
- De Gecroonde Raep (OZ Voorburgwal 57), a house built by Hendrick de Keyser. This is a well-known example of a stepped gable in the Amsterdam Renaissance style of De Keyser.
Rijksmuseum
The Rijksmuseum is the national museum of the Netherlands dedicated to Dutch arts and history and is located in Amsterdam.The museum is located at the Museum Square in the borough of Amsterdam South, close to the Van Gogh Museum, the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, and the Royal Concertgebouw.
The Rijksmuseum was founded in The Hague on 19 November 1798 and moved to Amsterdam in 1808, where it was first located in the Royal Palace and later in the Trippenhuis.The current main building was designed by Pierre Cuypers and first opened in 1885.On 13 April 2013, after a ten-year renovation which cost €375 million, the main building was reopened by Queen Beatrix. In 2013 and 2014, it was the most visited museum in the Netherlands with record numbers of 2.2 million and 2.47 million visitors.It is also the largest art museum in the country.
The museum has on display 8,000 objects of art and history, from their total collection of 1 million objects from the years 1200–2000, among which are some masterpieces by Rembrandt, Frans Hals, and Johannes Vermeer. The museum also has a small Asiancollection, which is on display in the Asian pavilion.
The building of the Rijksmuseum was designed by Pierre Cuypers and opened in 1885. It consists of two squares with an atrium in each centre. In the central axis is a tunnel with the entrances at ground level and the Gallery of Honour at the first floor. The building also contains a library. The fragment building, branded Philips wing, contains building fragments that show the history of architecture in the Netherlands. The Rijksmuseum is a rijksmonument (national heritage site) since 1970and was listed in the Top 100 Dutch heritage sites in 1990. The Asian pavilion was designed by Cruz y Ortiz and opened in 2013.
According to Muriel Huisman, Project Architect for the Rijksmuseum's renovation, "Cruz y Ortiz always like to look for synergy between old and new, and we try not to explain things with our architecture". With the Rijks, "there’s no cut between old and new; we’ve tried to merge it. We did this by looking for materials that were true to the original building, resulting in a kind of silent architecture."
Leidsebuurt-Noordoost
The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam
Since 1973, the Van Gogh Museum has inspired visitors keen to discover the subtleties of the art of one of the most famous Dutch painters. Located on the Museumplein square, today the museum houses the largest collection of Van Gogh's works. It contains around 200 paintings, 500 drawings, and 800 letters by the artist, presenting in particular his moving correspondence with his brother Theo.
Some of the artist's most iconic paintings can be found here. Among others, this is the case of "Almond Blossoms", "Sower", and "Sunflowers".
Works by Vincent van Gogh
The museum houses the largest Van Gogh collection in the world,with 200 paintings, 400 drawings, and 700 letters by the artist. The main exhibition chronicles the various phases of Van Gogh's artistic life.
Works by contemporaries
The museum also features notable artworks by Van Gogh's contemporaries in the Impressionist and post-Impressionist movements and holds extensive exhibitions on various subjects from 19th Century art history.
The museum has sculptures by Auguste Rodin and Jules Dalou, and paintings by John Russell, Émile Bernard, Maurice Denis, Kees van Dongen, Paul Gauguin, Édouard Manet, Claude Monet, Odilon Redon, Georges Seurat, Paul Signac, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.
Heineken Experience Top Experience
The Heineken Experience is a self-guided tour through interactive exhibits housed in the former Heineken brewery. The exhibits and displays aim to provide historical insight into the well-known Heineken pilsner as well as the brewing process. You’ll learn how the hop and malted barley are turned into this tasty pride of Holland, all from the point of view of a bottle of beer.
The brand name is clearly visible as you approach the old brick Bierbrouwerij building, which was a working brewery until 1988. A thorough 2008 renovation transformed the Heineken Experience into four levels of interactive multimedia exhibits, but much of its authentic interior was preserved.
At the beginning of the tour, you’ll learn how Gerard Adriaan Heineken bought the old Haystack brewery in 1864. He became one of the most famous beer brewers in the world because of his award-winning recipe. These days, Heineken is actually brewed in Zoeterwoude instead of here.
Take the self-guided tour and visit the Old Brew Room. You’ll see big mash tuns, or casks, where the barley was once boiled. Staff are on-hand to answer any questions.
Visit the Stable Walk to see the magnificent Clydesdales, the horses that still tow wooden beer carts around Amsterdam for promotional purposes. Ride the 4-D “roller-coaster” movie, and attempt to pour and bottle your own Heineken.
The tour concludes in the futuristic-looking Tasting Bar, where you’ll sample fresh Heineken, with a couple of free beers for each visitor. Enter the party atmosphere of the disco or just stand at the bar. There is no lack of Heineken merchandise, with the shop selling souvenirs to beer lovers. Give yourself two hours to complete the tour.
The Heineken Experience is just south of the Canal Ring and open daily, except a few major public holidays. From Central Station, take the tram to Stadhouderskade, or a hop-on, hop-off cruise to the Heineken landing stage. There are parking lots in the city centre, but spaces are limited.
To avoid lines, come before beer o’clock, or book the tickets ahead.
The ultimate Amsterdam beer
Amsterdam has aways been a city of beer lovers. It is home to a variety of breweries and places for beer tasting, but Heineken is still the biggest name and one of the most traditional Amsterdam beers. After Heineken constructed a larger and more modern brewery on the outskirts of Amsterdam, they converted their former home into a museum that opened in 1991. Now dubbed the Heineken Experience, it offers four floors of multimedia exhibits, historical brewing arte facts and a tasting bar. There’s also 'Brew Your Ride', a 4D adven
WHERE TO EAT AND SLEEP IN ZAANDAM
Nieuwendijk
amsterdam
Amsterdam, capital of the Netherlands, has more than 100 kilometers (62 mi) of grachten (canals), about 90 islands and 1,500 bridges. The three main canals (Herengracht, Prinsengracht and Keizersgracht), dug in the 17th century during the Dutch Golden Age, form concentric belts around the city, known as the Grachtengordel. Alongside the main canals are 1,550 monumental buildings.[1] The 17th-century canal ring area, including the Prinsengracht, Keizersgracht, Herengracht and Jordaan, were listed as UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010,[2] contributing to Amsterdam's fame as the "Venice of the North".
PANCAKES Amsterdam Centraal
PANCAKES Amsterdam gives a modern and new twist to a traditional pancake house and makes the difference with original creations made from fresh, sustainable and local products. The perfect place for a delicious pancake in an uncomplicated atmosphere!
Surprising pancakes at central locations
The branches of PANCAKES Amsterdam are mainly located in the centre of Amsterdam. The first location, PANCAKES Amsterdam Negen Straatjes, is located at Berenstraat 38. On the edge of the Red Light District and opposite Central Station, there is PANCAKES Amsterdam Centraal at Prins Hendrikkade 48. The third member of the pancake family is PANCAKES Amsterdam Westerkerk, located between the Anne Frank house and the Westerkerk at Prinsengracht 277. The fourth location is behind Central Station, PANCAKES Amsterdam Aan 't IJ. Here, you have a beautiful view over the IJ, the Adam Tower and the Eye Film Museum. Nowadays, you can also go to the Zuidas for a tasty pancake.
Discover Amsterdam Canals: Everything You Need
A visit to the Museum of the Canals (Grachtenmuseum Amsterdam) is the perfect way to learn more about the history of Amsterdam’s Canal Ring. The museum looks at the 17th-century city expansion projects that led to Amsterdam’s ring of canals which received UNESCO world heritage status in 2010. After seeing the interactive displays, you’ll look at Amsterdam in a whole new light when wandering through the city’s streets or taking a canal cruise.
400 years of history
The museum is housed in a monumental building on the Herengracht, where you travel through 400 years of history on a whirlwind tour. Canal Museum Amsterdam not only shows what was so special about the creation of the Amsterdam canals , but also why it is still the case today.
Canal Museum Amsterdam is for everyone who loves the city, or is about to fall in love with it. A voyage of discovery through the Amsterdam canals starts here.
Dutch National Opera
The Dutch National Opera (DNO; formerly De Nederlandse Opera, now De Nationale Opera in Dutch) is a Dutch opera company based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its present home base is the Dutch National Opera & Ballet housed in the Stopera building, a modern building designed by Cees Dam and Wilhelm Holzbauerthat opened in 1986.
Madame Tussauds Amsterdam
The Royal Palace of Amsterdam in Amsterdam (Dutch: Koninklijk Paleis van Amsterdam or Paleis op de Dam) is one of three palaces in the Netherlands which are at the disposal of the monarch by Act of Parliament. It is situated on the west side of Dam Square in the centre of Amsterdam, opposite the War Memorial and next to the Nieuwe Kerk. During the Batavian Republic, the public floors of the building became the first Amsterdam museum under Louis Bonaparte. When Bonaparte was made king by Napoleon, the building was used as the royal palace. After the fall of Napoleon, it became the palace of the Dutch Royal House. The public floors still function as a museum and are open to the public most days of the year.
Nieuwe Kerk (Amsterdam)
Station Leiden Centraal
Rotterdam
Stadsdriehoke
Stadsdriehoek is a neighborhood at the center of Rotterdam, Netherlands. The name Stadsdriehoek ("City Triangle") refers to the historical triangular form of the city of Rotterdam, which was bordered by the Coolsingel and the Schiedamsevest to the west, the Goudsevest to the northeast, and by the Nieuwe Maas to the south.
The district contains the famous Blaak which is almost half a kilometer long, To the western end there is the Churchilsplein which connects to the Coolsingel, West blaak and the Schiedamsedijk and to the eastern end right underneath the Cube house there is the Burgemeester van Walsumweg.The street also contains the Blaak (Rotterdam Metro).
Next to the Blaak there is the Cube houseFamous attraction which features a set of houses that look like a triangle. The Market Hall is located on the Dominee Jan Scharpstraat In the Market Hall you can visit the indoor market that's within, The building also has residential and office spaces.
The triangular form of the city of Rotterdam dates back to the Late Middle Ages. At that time, the Blaak formed the southern border of the city. In the 16th century, the "Waterstad" was established, extending the city to the Nieuwe Maas. This new area lay outside the levee and was an area for maritime and business activities. With this, the present-day form of the Stadsdriehoek was completed.
Almost none of the historical buildings in the neighborhood were spared from the Rotterdam Blitz on May 14, 1940. Only two buildings more than 200 years old survive today, the Grote or Sint-Laurenskerk (English: Great, or St. Lawrence Church) and the Schielandshuis.
In line with the Rotterdam redevelopment plans, the residential functions of the Stadsdriehoek were greatly reduced after 1946. After 1975, however, a great deal of housing was added to the neighborhoods (as well as surrounding areas). Most of the central functions of the neighborhood lie in the neighboring Cool district, which was assigned an important shopping and entertainment role in postwar rebuilding plans.
Cube houses (Dutch: kubuswoningen) are a set of innovative houses built in the cities of Helmond and Rotterdam in the Netherlands, designed by architect Piet Blom. They are based on the concept of "living as an urban roof": high density housing with sufficient space on the ground level; its main purpose being to optimize the space inside. Blom combatted the ideas of conventional residential architecture by tilting the cube shape on its corner and rested it upon a hexagon-shaped pylon. Blom's main goal was to create an urban area that felt like a village.The cube houses around the world are meant to optimize the space as a house and to efficiently distribute the rooms inside.
In 1972, Piet Blom was assigned to fill an empty site in the city center of Helmond with a meeting center. Blom proposed a plan that mixed cultural facilities with houses and concluded that the cube houses should surround Theater 't Speelhuis (English: the playhouse), creating an interesting architectural whole.
The houses in Rotterdam, the country's second largest city, are located on Overblaak Street, right above the Blaak metro station. The 1977 original plan showed 55 houses, but not all of them were built.[6] There are 38 small cubes and two so called 'super-cubes', all attached to each other.
As residents are disturbed so often by curious passers-by, one owner decided to open a "show cube", which is furnished as a normal house, and is making a living out of offering tours to visitors.
The houses contain three floors:
- ground floor entrance
- first floor with living room and open kitchen
- second floor with two bedrooms and bathroom
- top floor which is sometimes used as a small garden
The walls and windows are angled at 54.7 degrees. The total area of the apartment is around 100 square metres (1,100 sq ft), but around a quarter of the space is unusable because of the walls that are under the angled ceilings.
In 2006, a museum of chess pieces was opened under the houses.
In 2009, the larger cubes were converted by Personal Architecture into a hostel run by Dutch hostel chain Stayokay.[8]
In 2019, the Art cube opened at Overblaak 30. The Art cube is a place where art and architecture come together. With the original living layout intact, this cube house forms the backdrop for the work of various local artists.
Cool, Rotterdam
Cool is a neighborhood of Rotterdam, Netherlands in the Centrumborough. It is enclosed by the Weena in the north, the Mauritsweg and Eendrachtsweg in the west, Vasteland in the south and the Coolsingel and Schiedamse Vest in the east.
Umberto Mastroianni Farewell (1957)
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