Last Updated on April 13, 2024 by
Could one ever tell to have visited the Netherlands without checking its beautiful countryside? When I am thinking of this country, is not the beautiful Amsterdam that comes to my mind first. I see windmills, tulips, rivers and fields until the eye can see. Therefore, when it came to plan my trip to the Netherlands, checking off the Zaanse Schans cycling route from my bucket list was one of my first priorities. In this blog, you will discover al the information you need to plan a visit to Zaanse Schans, renting a bike and exploring the most famous windmills in the Netherlands.
Table of Contents
What is Zaanse Schans?
Zaanse Schans is a neighbourhood village belonging to the municipality of Zaandam, just at 20 minutes from Amsterdam. The name Zaanse Schans originates from the middle ages. Partly from the nearby river Zaan and partly from the positioning of a schans (an earthen sconce fortification) in the current location of the village during the Eighty Years’ War in the 16th century.
The medieval fortification is unfortunately no longer surviving. However, the Zaan district flourished as a shipbuilding and windmill area already in the 17th century. At the time of the Zaan’s industrial peak period between 18th and 19th century, there were more than 600 windmills in the area. As the neighbourhood flourished, the village flourished as well. This lead to the a construction of wealthy mill owners residences, tea domes and the colourful village we know today was built.
Kinderdijk vs Zaanse Schans, which is better?
If you are planning a trip to the Netherlands, and want to visit the windmills, you’ll probably come across two different places. Kinderdijk and Zaanse Schans. Both places are equally famous, so you’ll probably ask yourself, which is better? The straight reply is probably no one is better than the other (technically). However, one might be better FOR YOU and your holiday plans.
Indeed, the ideal plan would be to visit them both, but if you, like me, have just a week or so in the Netherlands, you might need to pick-up just one of them. In my case, I excluded Kinderdijk solely because of its distance from Amsterdam. In fact, this is located at 2+ hours train ride from the capital, in a place which is actually better positioned to be visited from Rotterdam rather than from Amsterdam. Because I was travelling with my little twins, I was getting out a little later than normal from the hotel. So, I thought it wasn’t worthier enough.
On the other hand, Zaanse Schans is quite close to Amsterdam (just 20-40 mins by train) and it’s the perfect place for a day trip. Particularly as a family aiming to spend some quality time visiting a place rather than spend part of the day on the public transport.
How do I get to Zaanse Schans from Amsterdam?
Zaanse Scahns can be easily reachable from Amsterdam by train, car, and even bike! Read below for more information about each way.
Going to Zaanse Schans by Car
The car trip to Zaanse Schans from Amsterdam is actually very short. Indeed, you’ll need just 18 mins (circa) to get to the windmills by car. This because Zaanse Schans is far just 20 km from the city via the A10.
To note that the area of the Windmills (including the village) is completely car-free. There is only one parking designed for visitors and this is called “Schansend 7“. You can put the exact name on Google maps or in any GPS map and this will pops out. The parking cost 15€ per day and it’s at less than 10 mins walk from the windmill area. For reference, I tagged the location on the Google Map above and you can just click it and open this with your phone.
Train from Amsterdam to Zaanse Schans
Public transport in the Netherlands works very well. Despite travelling with our little ones we didn’t have any issues in getting around by train, tram and buses from one place to another. Zaanse Schans didn’t make any exception. In fact, the train ride is just 20 mins. The journey might take up to 1h depending on where you are staying in Amsterdam and the day of the week.
The shorter connection is the Sprinter Train from Amsterdam Central to Zaandijk Zaanse Schans. Zaandjik is the closest station to Zaanse Schans and from there you’ll need to walk for about 15 mins.
A one-way train ticket cost € 3.70 and you can pre-book it here.
Cycling from Amsterdam to Zaanse Schans
If you are on a more ambitious mission of cycling in the Netherlands, there are good news! In fact, cycling from Amsterdam to Zaanse Schans is actually possible.
The two main routes getting to Zaanse Schans both departs from Amsterdam Central station. Nevertheless, one is quite short, less visually appealing and involves taking the Buiksloterweg ferry from the station to the other side of the river into the SS118. The whole length of the trip should be around 1h one way (16.45 km).
The second route takes a long turn and it is estimate to be a cycling of 2 hours (one way). Indeed, this is a much more scenic view crossing Amsterdam central canals, the picturesque city of Zandaam and some lovely countryside towns (like Wormer) for a total length of 35 km circa.
Practical stuff. Information you need to visit Zaanse Schans
Find below all the information you need to plan a visit to Zaanse Schans.
Is there an entrance fee to Zaanse Schans?
The grounds of the Zaanse Schans are free to enter and walk. However, some museums, windmills and shops have an entrance fee. For example the fee for the Windmill Museum is € 11. If you are planning to deep-dive into all the museums and attractions of Zaanse Schans, it might be worth to buy a Zaanse Schans Card. This will give you free entrance to some attractions and a few discounts in the area. The I Amsterdam Card gives you also access to some attractions in the area and might be more convenient if you are planning to spend a few days in Amsterdam.
How much time do you need to visit Zaanse Schans?
Zaanse Schans is the perfect place for a day trip from Amsterdam. There is plenty of activities to do and attractions to check. Therefore 4 to 5 hours should be is the minimum amount of time to get a good comprehension of the area. During our day trip, we completed our visit with also a short trip to Zaandam.
When is the best season to visit Zaanse Schans?
Spring and Summer are definitely the best seasons to organise your trip to Zaanse Schans. During spring you can take advantage of the numerous tulip fields in the area. During summer, the weather is so pleasant that allows you to organise some outdoor picnics and stay out longer. Winter and autumn bring with them a major likelihood of rain and cold temperatures that will make your trip poorly. Moreover, despite the ground of Zaanse Schanse are open all-year-around, some attractions open only during spring and summer.
What is the weather in Zaanse Schans in spring?
As you can see from the different pictures in this blog, we found a variable day. When we arrived the weather was very grey and dark. It looked almost it was going to rain! However, after lunch the sun came out and it was perfect to walk and take nice pictures! If you are travelling in spring, variable weather is probably the norm in the Netherlands. During summer, sunny days are more likely to happen.
Is Zaanse Schans children-friendly?
Absolutely YES! We travelled with our two years old twins and had a wonderful time in Zaanse Schans. Children loved to see the windmills and walking around the village. There are also plenty of children-friendly restaurants. Just keep an eye on the smaller children (especially when walking freely). This because there are a lot of shallow water canals and not-well-posted paddles they can potentially fall.
Renting a bike at Zaanse Schans
If you are planning to rent a bike for your trip to Zaanse Schans, read well this paragraph. Indeed, we found out that renting a bike (particularly during peak season) is not easy or smooth as it looks! There are two ways of getting around Zaanse Schans by bike. The first one, is with an organised tour. The second one is independently. Let’s address them both below.
Zaanse Schans cycling route. Organised rental tour in Zaanse Schans
If you don’t feel confident in getting around Zaanse Schans with a bike independently, there are several tours that will get you discover the best of the area, sometimes combining also with the city of Zaandam. Get your Guide has a good selection of tours and bike tours for the area at a reasonable price. Tours range from 3 to 5 hours and are perfect to explore the area.
Independent bike rental in Zaanse Schans
If you don’t want to join any tour, you’ll need to rent your bike independently. This is a very nice opportunity to explore the area at your own pace and with your own schedule. Unfortunately, there is just one rental bike in the area of Zaanse Schans. This is called Bike rent Station Zaanse Schans and it’s located immediately on the left at the exit of the Zaandijk train station. To note that I won’t recommend attempting your luck and try to find a bike without reservation on arrival. Indeed, because this is the only bike rental in the area, all the bike get sold-out in a few hours after opening during peak periods.
The best thing to do is booking your bike(s) in advance. To do this, you have to email bikerentstation@zohomail.eu. When emailing them, be as specific as possible by stating your arrival date and time, your height and the type of bike you need. Particularly if you need also some children seat as we discovered these are quite limited.
Opening times
The bike rental shop is open from 1st April to 31st September all week from 9 AM to 6 PM. To note these times are just an indication as the shop will likely close earlier. Indeed, when we visited we had to drop off the bike by 5 PM.
Prices
The rental fee is 5€ for the first hour and 3 € for every hour after that. To note these have to be paid in cash, so get your money before you go there as the nearest ATM is in a village at 15 mins by bike (I know this because we had to cycle there!). For a 4/5 rental we paid around € 50 in total.
Bike parking in Zaanse Schans
There are various spaces where to leave your bike in Zaanse Schans, but we decided to leave ours at the beginning of the village. In front of the Zaandam Time Museum there is a small road with a bike parking. It gets quite busy during the day but it’s a good spot to leave the bike and explore the village.
Our Experience with the rental bike
To be honest with you, I wouldn’t recommend this place if there were other options close by. Unfortunately, this is the only place in the immediate proximity of the windmills and station! My opinion comes from the not-exactly nice experience with them (which I discovered correspond to many feedbacks on Google reviews). In fact, I emailed the shop more than 1 month before our trip. I confirmed with them our bikes inclusive of children seats. They confirmed everything with us and I reconfirmed the booking the day before with our train tickets times. To me, this was particularly important since I was with the children so I needed no surprises during the trip.
On arrival, just a second after we arrived, a huge group of people who apparently didn’t book arrived and suddenly got all their attention. The lady who managed the place (that from the many google reviews is deemed as “rude”) knew we had a booking and we were waiting with two little children because she asked us on arrival. However, she started ignoring us (and another couple who booked) because she probably saw a lot of money coming from the big group. So we kept waiting for like for 15 mins or more. Once she finally decided to have time for us, very rudely she told us the bikes all have been given away because of the big group before (who BTW arrived after us) and other previous customers.
Magical bike appearance
At this point, I got really mad stating that this was very unprofessional as we got a reservation that was double confirmed and we were there even earlier than the schedule but she kept ignoring us. She kept telling that we never told her about the children seats and these weren’t available. So I took out my email conversation with her and slammed this into her face (not so aggressively but you got point!). She went blanc and suddenly disappeared behind the shed where the bikes were.
Magically, two bikes with children seats appeared out of nowhere with the surprise of me, my husband and even the couple who was waiting there with us. We had all no clue of what’s was going on and why she made all that scene if the bikes were actually there. We finally got the bikes but we lost more than 40 mins after our arrival.
Our day bike trip to the windmills was very nice in the end. Nevertheless, this shop ruined the start of our day and made us loose a lot of precious time. You know I like to share here our experiences both the bad and good ones. In this way, it’s easy to prepare if you decide to follow our footsteps for your trips.
Zaanse Schans cycling route
Now that you know all the essential information to visit Zaanse Schans, it’s time to plan your route. There are 2 main circuits that you can complete in the space of a day/half day. One longer and one shorter. I will give you information on both of them below. The route I personally followed was actually a mix between them. I honestly planned to follow the longer route, but I ended up mashing up both circuits for two main reasons.
First, we stopped way too many times taking pictures and checking the little ones on the back of the bike. We realised it was quite late to complete the whole route and it was better to head back and stop for lunch. Second, my phone died half way, so I couldn’t check the map that I saved and we skipped a few passages here and there on the main Noord itinerary!
However, you can choose one of the routes below or mix and match the two of them as we did. The most important thing is having fun!
Around the Noord cycle itinerary
The Around the Noord cycle itinerary was our main choice at the beginning. This will take you around the peaceful Netherlands’ countryside for about 30 kilometres. It’s made of beautiful sceneries, colourful landscapes and traditional farmhouses. The route is almost all flat, doesn’t take too many car-crowded roads and it’s very relaxing as one it can imagine. Nevertheless, it is quite long to complete, especially if you are travelling with young children (we realised this half-way). Therefore, it is ideal for families with older children or people who don’t have a strict timetable. It is also great when the weather is 100% good as you don’t want to get caught in the rain while in the middle of nowhere.
Some of the main stops include Zaanse Schans, Zandjik, Wormerveer, West Knollendam, Spijkerboor, Jisp and Wormer.
Allow at least 2 hours to complete the circuit without any stop.
How to use the Around the Noord map
To use the map on the infographic above, just click on the picture. The infographic is connected to google maps and this will show the itinerary on your phone.
Zaanse Schans cycling route. The Wormer cycling route
The second circuit is a little shorter and get around the main windmill route at Zaanse Schans starting from Zandjik. The route covers around 11 km and pass through the villages of Wormer and Wormerveer. It’s an ideal route for a short tour or for those who don’t have much time.
Allow at least 50 mins to complete the circuit without any stop.
Things to do at Zaanse Schans
Cycling is of course a nice thing to do in Zaanse Schans. Nevertheless, the main reason why people visit is the windmills! One of the most iconic sights of the Netherlands. We organised our day mainly in 3 parts: cycling in the morning and late afternoon, eating break and walking tour.
We spend a good 1h 30 mins on the bike getting around the crowded cycling route of Zaanse Schans. When we finish our circuit, we left the bike at the main parking of the village and started a proper walking tour of the area. We took a long break for lunch to finish with another walk followed by another hour of cycling (on a different path). As Zaanse Schans has plenty of things to do wether you have or not have a bike, you might want to check out my top list below.
Visit the Windmills
Windmills are, of course, the main sight of the Zaanse Schans area. There used to be more than 600 mills but now only 10 of them survives. Some of them have a shop you can visit, some others have been converted into museums and some are not open at all. Below there is a comprehensive list of the windmills you can check-out at Zaanse Schans.
What Windmills I can visit in Zaanse Schans?
- De Huisman. This windmill dates to 1786 and it’s always been a spice warehouse. Is now restored to its original glory and converted into a spice shop where you can still immerse yourself in the smell of cinnamon!
- De Kat was built in 1781. Since then produces paints and pigments of high quality.
- De Gekroonde Poelenburg is a very special mill. Indeed, this is a paltrok mill meaning this is built on a vertical structure that is able to sail with the wind! The windmill was built in 1733 and unfortunately can be visited only exernally.
- De Zoeker mill was built in 1672. It worked as an oil mill before moving into the current location. The windmill is open to public only during summer.
- Het Jonge Schaap is a six-sided, over-wheeling wood saw mill. Reconstructed from the original mill dating 1680, is the youngest addition to the mills of the area.
- De Bonte Hen survives since 1693 and originally built as a saw mill, is now a oil mill.
- De Os it was originally an oil mill dating before 1663. This makes it one of the oldest industrial mills built in the Zaan area. You can recognise it because it’s the only one missing the cap and sails.
- Het Klaverblad Is a very small mill standing at the top of a barn called “hollow post mill”, a lost type of mill that is now brought back to the area.
- De Bleeke Dood. This is the oldest smock mill still existing in The Netherlands. The mill is closed but there is a shop, where bread mix and flour is for sale every Friday
- De Ooievaar was not originally built in the Zaan area but transported from Assendelft. It was used for the production of different types of vegetable oils.
Zaanse Schans Windmill map
Use the map above to find all the mills! Just click on each mill and follow the directions. Read below the description of each mill to discover when they were built and how they are used.
Explore the Zaanse Schans Village
Before visiting Zaanse Schans, I honestly didn’t know there was actually a little quaint village to explore alongside the mills! Indeed, I was pleasantly surprise to find this. To note that many of these houses are currently inhabited by the Zaan villagers. Therefore, I would recommend to refrain yourself of stepping into their gardens or courtyards to take pictures. Indeed, those houses lie in small little islands connected by bridges and they are very photogenic. The village itself is very pretty and built in the traditional colour green of the area.
Cheese, chocolate and wooden-clogs. Discover the Zaan’s factories
There are a lot of traditional activities one can check-out at Zaanse Schans. For example, you can make your own milk chocolate at Blik op Cacao. Moreover, you can learn all about the different Dutch cheese at Catharina Hoeve Farm.
If you are curious on how the famous Dutch shoes (clogs) are made, there is a nice workshop at Zaanse Schans where you can see the clog-makers in action!
Get the best view of the area in the Uitzichttoren viewpoint
While doing a nice little walk around the area, we discovered there was a wooden observation tower right on the edge of the town, near the car park. The tower is not particularly tall but it offers a great view over the windmill route. Indeed you can see at least 5 of 10 aligned windmills from there!
Do some Museums’ hopping
With lot of historical heritage and beautiful sights, Zaanse Schans resembles an open-air museum. However, there are also proper museums too! One of my favourites is the Albert Heijn Museum Shop, just at the entrance of the village. This is where the famous Dutch supermarket chain is born!
Other worthy museums to check:
- Zaans Museum and Verkade Experience where you can learn about the history of the Zaan and explore also a chocolate factory
- Bakery Museum de Gecroonde Duyvekater. A place where to learn all about the traditional Zaanse Duivekater cake (and taste also some!).
- Windmill Museum. Displaying around 1,100 windmills miniatures this is an excellent place to learn about the history of Zaanse Shans and its windmills.
Eat the best Dutch pancakes
Last but not least, we’ve been told that a visit to Zaanse Schans is not complete without tasting its famous pancakes. The best place to go for this yummy treat is Restaurant De Kraai. They serve traditional 29cm-Dutch pancakes with different fillings. We tried ham and cheese, salami and cheese and finished with Nutella and whipped cream. We booked our table in advance, but we than discovered that a good 90% of the restaurant works as a self-service spot. The place is quite large so it accommodates a lot of people.
The restaurant is also well-equipped for families with small children. Indeed, we’ve been provided with high-chairs and there was some paper and colours for the kid’s entertainment. Moreover, in the women’s toilet there was also a baby change that we were more than happy to find!
End your day with a stop at Zaandam
If you have completed all your activities in Zaanse Schans and have still some time to spare, I warmly recommend you to hop back on the train from Zandjik and do a brief stop to Zaandam.
Zaandam is a small industrial city on the banks of the river Zaan. Its historical heritage lies in the whaling industry and mill factory. However, now it’s mainly famous for its quirky architecture. As soon as you get out of the train station you will be immediately caught by the green and blue buildings making this place so iconic. The walk is really pleasant and there are a lot of nice places to stop for a cafe or a early dinner.
Where to stay in Zaanse Schans
A visit to Zaanse Schans doesn’t necessarily needs a hotel close by because the location is very close to Amsterdam. Nevertheless, if you want to explore the area for a few days or just want a place to stay out of the Amsterdam main hub, Zaanse Schans has plenty of nice options.
Mid-range stays
If you want to opt for the “iconic” stay, Inntel Hotels in Zaandam is probably your place to be. Indeed, the lovely building above is not just an icon architectural piece of the Netherlands, but you can actually stay inside! It’s a 4-stars hotel ideally located in between Amsterdam and Zaanse Schans and easy connected to main hubs through the close by train station. Rooms starts at €229 per night for a double but prices sky rocket during peak periods.
Budget stays
If you want to look at a windmill right from the window of your bedroom Boutique Hotel Zaan has an optimal location ideal to explore the area. A tranquil riverside escape that won’t break the bank. In fact, prices start at €117,80 for a double room with village view.
Luxury stays
If you are searching a luxury stay, neither Zaanse Schans or Zandaam have yet those type of high-end retreats. Indeed, both cities have a traditional Dutch countryside soul and is better to keep your feet in Amsterdam if you don’t want to give up some extra comfort. Intercontinental Amsterdam is my forever favourite for its elegance and historical heritage. However, I have a soft spot also for the sober luxury of Waldorf Astoria. Perhaps, younger travellers might find the W Amsterdam an optimal choice for its sleek interior design and excellent location.
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