Visit De Zaanse Schans
De Zaanse Schans
You must have seen the windmills of the Zaanse Schans. These mills are the last of hundreds of mills that have ever stood here. Just like the Amsterdam canals, it is a relic from the Golden Age. With these tips and attractions you can best plan your Zaanse Schans mill tour. The place where you get the most out of your visit. In this living open-air museum outside Zaandam you will outsmart the masses. Easy to reach from Amsterdam. Perfect for a holiday in North Holland.
Free entrance
Not everyone knows that the windmills of the Zaanse Schans are free to visit. The museum does need access. There are also several windmills. On the one hand, limit the number of people inside. On the other hand, getting extra income. So that they can maintain the mills. There must be some bread on the shelf. You do pay for parking at the Zaanse Schans.
How many windmills are on the Zaanse Schans?
On the Zaanse Schans there are 12 windmills. There are four more nearby. It seems like a lot, but it's not. In fact, this is only a fraction of what stood here centuries ago on mills. According to calculations, 639(!) windmills used to be here at the same time. Via Amsterdam, goods from all over the world came to the Zaanstreek. In the mill village Zaanse Schans a large amount of raw materials was processed. Most of it has disappeared. Only a small part reminds of the former industrial area. Although wood, nuts and cocoa are still processed today. But that is largely for the tourist. Who want to see a touch of the Dutch past.
Busloads of tourists
Until corona broke out worldwide, the Zaanse Schans was the biggest tourist attraction in the Netherlands after Amsterdam. 2.5 million tourists a year came to see the mills. Buses ran back and forth all year round. Filled with tourists who marveled at the windmills, the water and the landscape (the polder). After March 2020, that was different. The Zaanse Schans during corona looked nothing like what it had once been. The question is whether, now that the pandemic seems to be over, this will come back. Did you know that most tourists arrive around 11:00 and leave around 16:00? Take advantage of that.
Tulips out of season
The average Dutch person is confronted with tulips in April and May. After that it is another year waiting for all those beautiful colors. With the organization of tulip tours for years, we had a very short season. That's how we came up with the idea to also offer tulip tours outside the regular off-season (April and May). From October to March you can also get a tour in a tulip hatchery. The tourists love it. In addition, we have realized a tulip picking garden in Venhuizen.
Tulips in iconic places
You sometimes wonder, where do all these Tulips come from? Tulip fields in the Netherlands only bloom for 4 weeks in the fields in April and May, We received many questions from people who could not travel to the Netherlands during this period. That is why we decided to go together with Giethorn tours from October to March with the tulips to the most beautiful places in the Netherlands.Photos in the Tulip Fields are beautiful but isn't it unique if you have a tulip photo with a windmill, Giethoorn or the city of Amsterdam in the background? Tulip tours Holland planted 10,000 tulips in Giethoorn at the end of 2021. This way you can see tulips in the spring during your boat trip in Giethoorn. We estimate that our tulips can be seen in mid-April.