We will be staying in the Amsterdam area and will have 1 free day for "traditional" dutch sightseeing. We will only have time to do one of the following: Zaanse Schans, Zuiderzee museum, Marken, Open Air Folk Museum near Arnem, or Kinderdijk windmills. From this list, which one would you recommend?
Posted by
The Netherlands
1675 posts
These are all so different that it’s impossible to recommend any without a bit more information. When will you be here? Who are in your party, adults only or children too? What are your interests other than wanting to experience something traditionally Dutch? Do you rely on public transport or will you have a car?
Posted by
OP
4 posts
June, two adults and two late teen/early 20s children. Admittedly, we want a taste of the stereotypical elements of Holland such a windmills and a traditional Dutch village, but the more authentic the better.
Posted by
San Diego, California
5872 posts
For me, hands down it's Kinderdijk, plus the trip there on the waterbus, thru the Rotterdam port areas , is very interesting. Perhaps my Trip Report will be helpful. I've detailed how to get to Kinderdijk. My pix of the windmills came out beautifully.
Enjoy this beautiful country. Safe travels!
Posted by
IJzendijke, The Netherlands
2145 posts
You can’t really go wrong. The advantage of the Zuiderzee Museum is that it is easy to combine with Enkhuizen and Hoorn. Both have very nice historic centers and an easy walk from their railway stations.
The Open Air Museum near Arnhem is larger and has more to offer. The historic center of Arnhem is not that interesting, but instead you can easily visit Utrecht on the way to or back with the train.
If you prefer the real deal, Kinderdijk is the place to go seeing windmills in their original setting. You can combine it with a visit to Dordrecht, much overlooked but certainly worth doing. The Waterbus from Rotterdam stops there too. For going back you can take the train to Rotterdam. Instead of visiting Dordrecht, the train calls at Delft, The Hague and Leiden, worth considering if you didn’t visited them yet.
Marken has as far as I know no windmills. You can take the ferry to (overtouristy) Volendam and Edam, the first has a windmill but no idea it’s open to public. The places mentioned above are not villages, but on the way to Marken there are a lot of them and best to explore with the (e-)bike. Zuiderwoude, Ransdorp, Broek in Waterland, Holysloot, etc. are very charming and think the places you are looking for.
Zaanse Schans is just 17min. with the train, plus an additional walk of about 15 minutes. I have visited it last August and liked it very much. Not so original as Kinderdijk, but the windmills work as soon there is some wind and the different types makes it to my opinion more appealing, but that’s how I see it.
Posted by
Chicago
3330 posts
You can combine it with a visit to Dordrecht, much overlooked but
certainly worth doing.
For anyone who may be interested, Dennis Callan has a couple of recent videos on Dordrecht. It looks very appealing. I have added it to my list for my return trip.
Posted by
Tucson, Arizona
533 posts
I went to Zaanse Schans on the last day of my solo trip this past April. I enjoyed it very much. Yes, it was touristy but it was very easy to get to and fit the bill for me. The other places you mentioned are possibly/probably better and maybe I will get back there someday and go to one of them, but I had a great time at Zaanse Schans and I don’t regret going there at all.
Posted by
OP
4 posts
Thanks to everyone for the helpful comments. Looks like I've got lots of fun choices to look forward to.