Discover the iconic windmills of the Zaanse Schans
Discover our Windmill toursVisiting the Zaanse Schans windmills
The Zaanse Schans is home to some of the most iconic windmills in the Netherlands. This open-air museum showcases traditional Dutch life from the 18th and 19th centuries, with beautifully preserved windmills, green wooden houses, and historic craft workshops.
The area is easily accessible from Amsterdam and offers free entrance to the grounds. While you can explore the windmills from outside at no cost, some museums and workshops require tickets. The Zaanse Schans is busiest between 11:00 AM and 4:00 PM, so visiting early morning or late afternoon provides a more peaceful experience.
Looking for an authentic windmill experience with fewer crowds? Our small group windmill tours take you to historic working windmills and traditional villages just 20 minutes from Amsterdam, where you can step inside centuries-old mills and experience genuine Dutch culture.
The Zaanse Schans - A Dutch Icon
The Zaanse Schans is one of the most photographed places in the Netherlands, famous for its picturesque windmills and traditional green wooden houses. This open-air museum showcases Dutch heritage from the 18th and 19th centuries.
Did you know that the Zaanse Schans area once had over 600 windmills? Today, several beautifully preserved windmills still stand as monuments to Dutch innovation.
At the Zaanse Schans, you can visit working windmills and watch traditional crafts like wooden clog making and cheese production. The area offers an authentic glimpse into Dutch village life, with historic houses, workshops, and museums that bring the Golden Age to life.
Free entrance to Zaanse Schans
The Zaanse Schans area is free to visit. You only pay for parking and museum entries. The windmills themselves can be viewed from outside at no cost.
Rich industrial heritage
The Zaanse Schans was once the world's first industrial area. Windmills processed everything from cocoa and paint to lumber and spices for trade worldwide.
Easy access from Amsterdam
Located just 20 minutes north of Amsterdam, the Zaanse Schans is easily accessible by car, bus, or train. It's a perfect day trip destination.
More than just windmills
Besides windmills, you can visit traditional craft workshops, cheese farms, wooden shoe makers, and charming historic houses along the Zaan river.
Explore authentic Dutch windmills from Amsterdam
Friendly local guide
All our guides are fluent in English and will share fascinating insights about Dutch windmills, their history, and the villages we visit. Sit back and enjoy the ride!
Only small groups
We only plan tours in small groups to ensure a more personal experience. This allows for a deeper exploration, ensuring every guest receives individual attention.
Working Dutch windmills
Once the salvation of the Netherlands, now beautiful monuments: Dutch windmills. As part of the tour, we'll explore still-functioning windmills from centuries past.
Authentic cheese market
Experience a traditional Dutch cheese market and taste local cheeses. Your guide will explain everything about Dutch cheese-making traditions and culture.
The History of Zaanse Schans Windmills
The Zaanse Schans was once the world's first industrial area. In the 17th and 18th centuries, over 600 windmills operated here simultaneously, processing raw materials from around the globe. The area was crucial to the Dutch Golden Age, with windmills sawing wood, grinding spices, making paint, processing cocoa, and producing oil.
Today, the Zaanse Schans preserves this rich heritage with several restored windmills, traditional wooden houses, and craft workshops. Visitors can see how these ingenious structures harnessed wind power to drive Dutch innovation and prosperity.
At the Zaanse Schans, you can explore working windmills, visit historic wooden houses, and watch traditional craftsmen demonstrate centuries-old techniques. The open-air museum offers a unique opportunity to step back in time and experience authentic Dutch industrial heritage in a picturesque setting.
Our satisfied customers
Read the reviews of our satisfied customers and find out what they thought of our tours!
M. Lawrence
We had a wonderful day on our tulip tour. We chose it for a few reasons, the fields are not too far from Amsterdam, we were able to visit the windmill museum, the tour includes lunch, and the total tour time is 6 hours, rather than a much longer day.
T. Chapman
I had an absolutely fantastic experience. The various tulip fields were great, the working windmill tour was amazing, and the lunch was delicious. The guides are very knowledgeable.
B. Das
No words can describe what an experience this was. If someone have dreamt of walking in a tulip field, then this tour is a must.
M. Chu
Awesome tour. Roel has so much knowledge and insight to the farms. The colors of the flowers were incredible!
J. Subirana
Excellent experience visiting multiple tulip fields and a working windmill. Lovely lunch was included and our guide Ruel was outstanding answering all our questions and very knowledgeable of the area and Dutch culture.
T. Dyess
Loved our tour. The bus was comfortable, we toured several farms and learned a lot from our guide. Lunch was terrific.
J. Tadion
What a lovely day! We visited three gardens and fields that were more and more amazing as the day progressed! Lunch, which was included, was great too. Mike is a wonderful organizer and our guide was adorable. He is passionate about tulips and happily shared his immense wealth of knowledge with the whole group. On top of that the bus rides, unlike another tour we took, were mercifully short! And one can actually walk in the tulip fields. The weather may have been cold with a blustery wind in the morning but we felt very warm in our hearts after such a special day.
A. Curran
We really enjoyed our experience. Tour staff were all super kind and engaged with everyone. We got to pick tulips from Mike’s field and see 3 other fields. It was early in the season so the big fields were not yet bloomed. The early bloom fields were beautiful, if smaller and started to be cut. Would recommend taking this tour to see the fields.
S. Corbett
This tour was a nice way to spend an afternoon in the rural areas north of Amsterdam. It was nice to get out of the city and see the countryside. We had a very small group of 9 so that made it easy for our well-informed guide to give us lots of attention and answer all of our questions. We visited 3 tulip farms, in order from small to large and 1 working windmill. It was nice to not be around all the crowds of Keukenhof. We also stopped at a small restaurant and had a traditional Dutch lunch.