The Waterland and Zaan Region is home to many traditional Dutch villages with polders, clogs, windmills and traditional Dutch costumes. The most visited attraction in the area is the Zaanse Schans, an open air conservation area and museum on the bank of the river Zaan, about 25 km north of Amsterdam. It displays the traditional architecture of the area (green wooden houses) and has several functioning windmills and craftmen's workplaces, which are open to visitors.
Volendam is also very popular, which literally swarmed with visitors during the summer. It still is a traditional fishing village, although tourism took over as the engine behind its economy. Its traditional waterfront line looks picturesque, as are the local fishermen and farmers in their traditional costumes (which many visitors wear for the picture).
Less touristed and thus more authentic Dutch villages surround Volendam. Edam, which is on walk-distance from Volendam, is home to a cheese market and already feels more authentic. Marken, which used to be an island but is currently connected by a dyke, is well-known for its characteristic wooden houses. Other villages worth visiting include Monnickendam, Broek in Waterland and Ransdorp, the latter of which is very, very off the beaten path.
If you're interested in Holland's typical polder landscape, you might want to visit the Beemster reclaimed polder. Its land pattern bears a resemblance to the street pattern in Manhattan, New York City (except for Broadway). It's been said that the Beemster functioned as a model for the pattern in New York. In 1999 the Beemster polder was placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about North Holland
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in North Holland - updated Apr 2024
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North Holland Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
