Half Day at Zaanse Schans: The Dutch Experience in One Place, Zaandam, Netherlands

You can’t say that you have visited the Netherlands if you haven’t seen the traditional Dutch windmills. Especially when there is Zaanse Schans, an open-air museum replicating a Dutch industrial village, located just under 30 minutes away from Amsterdam. At Zaanse Schans, you can visit the working paint mill, oil mill and saw mill, see a wooden clog-making demonstration, sample cheese as well as understand more about their history in the various museums. All in one place! So, read on to find out exactly what to plan for and what to see at Zaanse Schans.

The Zaan district was one of the world’s first industrialised zones during the 17th century Dutch Golden Age. And it once had over 600 windmills - oil mills, paint mills and saw mills - operating simultaneously at a time. Then in an effort for preservation and conservation between 1961 and 1974, the wooden houses and windmills were relocated to the Zaanse Schans area. Therefore creating an open-air museum and replicating the Dutch industrial era for visitors to experience.

Expect to see a number of historic and functioning windmills, so is a perfect opportunity for you to see how they work. There is a range of mills open for visitors, including a sawmill, a paint mill as well as an oil mill. In addition, there is a wooden clog workshop and demonstration, a cheese shop, a spice shop as well as souvenir shops and museums in traditional wooden houses. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).