Zaanse Schans
Jump on your bicycle for a daytrip to the wonderful world of windmills, traditional crafts and rolling green fields that is Zaanse Schans. Just a short pedal away by bike from Zaandam, the former milling village awaits you. See its museums, historic buildings, clog makers and liquor distilleries.
Zaanse Schans is known for its charming and numerous windmills. In the town’s heyday as an industrial area in the 18th and 19th centuries, it had about 600 mills. Today there are fewer and many of them have been brought to Zaanse Schans from elsewhere in the Netherlands, but they continue their work, some using traditional methods and others more modern. Walk around and note their uses, which include mustard milling, sawing, oil milling and even dying fabric.
Visit some of the mills to see them in production. They have different opening hours, so it is best to check before you go. De Huisman, the spice grinding mill, which you’ll be able to locate by its smell, is worth a visit for the freshly ground products that you can purchase in its traditional shop.
The area has also been known for its craftspeople. Today you can visit workshops to see demonstrations of clog making, porcelain painting, pewter making and barrel making. Taste the locally crafted liquors at Liqueur Distillery de Tweekoppige Phoenix. Grains ground in the milling town were also used historically for alcohol production.
Get an education in chocolate making using historical techniques at the Cocoa Lab and taste test the treats made at the site.
For a bit of background on the industrial past of Zaanse Schans, visit the Zaans Museum, where you’ll see old utensils and factory equipment. Interact with computer games and displays that simulate the experience of factory work. See the fantastic craftsmanship of Dutch clocks throughout time in the Museum Zaanse Tijd and enjoy the smells and tastes of freshly baked bread and sweet treats in the town’s original 1658 bakery.