Amsterdam -
Beyond Amsterdam
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Want to experience authentic Dutch heritage? Hop on a bus in Amsterdam and travel 30 minutes north to the charming fishing village of Volendam. Visitors can walk around the bustling harbor to see colorful boats and have photos taken of themselves dressed in Dutch costumes with striped clothing, high-pointed bonnets and wooden clogs . A stroll around the old village offers many attractive sights such as historic houses built on stilts and a beautiful 17th century church. Visit the Volendam Museum to learn about the village’s history and see artifacts, vintage furnishings and folk art.
Location: Volendam
Volendam website
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Amsterdam -
Beyond Amsterdam
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A 40-minute train ride from Amsterdam will bring visitors to Alkmaar and its famous cheese market tradition that dates back to 1593. Every Friday between April and September, visitors can watch while costumed cheese traders re-enact a centuries-old practice of weighing more than 2,000 cheeses, stacking them on sled-style carriers and loading them onto trucks. This colorful and lively event is so popular and fun to watch that it draws about 100,000 spectators annually. What’s more, there are plenty of stalls surrounding the market where visitors can buy Dutch cheeses like Gouda and Edammer.
Location: Alkmaar
Alkmaars Cheese Market website
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Amsterdam -
Beyond Amsterdam
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Gouda is famous for its cheese market, which is held every Thursday morning in the spring and summer months in front of the Gouda City Hall. It's fun to watch the local farmers selling their cheese.
Location: Gouda
Gouda website
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Amsterdam -
Beyond Amsterdam
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Delft, about one hour from Amsterdam, is the home of Delft, the blue and white pottery made in and around Delft and the tin-glazed pottery made in the Netherlands from the 16th century. Delftware includes pottery objects of all descriptions such as plates, ornaments and tiles. It's easy to walk to all the sites within the old center of Delft, including the Nieuwe Kerk (New Church), perched right on the lovely Markt (Main Square), and the Oude Kerk (Old Church)— where Delft's favorite son, the painter Vermeer, is buried—plus the elegant Museum Het Prinsenhof, a 15th-century convent that's now a Delft history museum.
Location: Toeristen Info Punt Kerkstraat 3 (Markt) 2611 GX Delft
Delft website |
Amsterdam -
Beyond Amsterdam
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A 20-minute drive, half-hour bus ride, or hour bike ride northwest of Amsterdam, you'll find Zaanse Schans, an enticing outdoor Dutch history museum on the Zaan river—basically a mini theme park of eight windmills, a cheese-maker, a jenever (Dutch gin) tasting room, a pannenkoeken (pancake) restaurant, and other examples of typical Dutch life, all connected by a pathway that's perfect for biking or strolling. You can also take a ferry around the entire area, gazing at the sights from the sea.
Location: Schansend 7 1509 AW Zaandam
Zaanse Schans website
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Amsterdam -
Beyond Amsterdam
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Located in Scheveningen, The Hague, Madurodam is a 1:25 scale model of a Dutch city. It features traditional Dutch buildings and famous landmarks from around the country. Buildings, markets, canals, windmills, Schiphol Airport, the Port of Rotterdam, Dam Square, the Delta works are all perfectly replicated to the smallest detail. Instead of being a static miniature city, Madurodam is actually full of life. The windmills turn, airplanes land at the airport, trains run through the park and the boats are floating.
Location: George Maduroplein 1 2584 RZ Den Haag
Madurodam website
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Amsterdam -
Museums
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The permanent exhibition of the Museum of the Canals is open the entire year round on the first floor of the museum. In five interactive rooms, you can witness the history of Amsterdam and its canals, where clever use of multimedia brings the story of the canals to life.
Location: Herengracht 386
Museum of the Canals website
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Amsterdam -
Museums
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Eduard Douwes Dekker was a boy of simple descent who transcended his environment. With the novel "Max Havelaar", he was immediately famous. In the Multatuli House, the birthplace of Dutch largest 19th-century writer, the museum and the Multatuli Society are established. In the Multatuli-Huis you can see his furniture, utencils and books.
Location: Korsjesportsteeg 20
Multatuli Museum website
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Amsterdam -
Museums
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The Amsterdam City Archives (Stadsarchief Amsterdam) preserves documents pertaining to the history of Amsterdam and provides information about the city. With archives covering a shelf-length of about 49 kilometres, the Amsterdam City Archives is the largest municipal archive in the world.
Location: Vijzelstraat 32
Amsterdam City Archives website
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Amsterdam -
Museums
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The Heineken Experience, located in Amsterdam, is a historic brewery and corporate visitor center for the internationally distributed Dutch pilsner, Heineken beer. The industrial facility was built as the first Heineken brewery in 1867, serving as the company's primary brewing facility until 1988 when a more modern, larger facility was constructed on the outskirts of the city.
Location: Stadhouderskade 78
Heineken Experience website
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