De Zaanse Schans
You must have seen the windmills of the Zaanse Schans. These mills are the last of hundreds of mills that have ever stood here. Just like the Amsterdam canals, it is a relic from the Golden Age. With these tips and attractions you can best plan your Zaanse Schans mill tour. The place where you get the most out of your visit. In this living open-air museum outside Zaandam you will outsmart the masses. Easy to reach from Amsterdam. Perfect for a holiday in North Holland.
Free entrance
Did you know that visiting the windmills at Zaanse Schans is actually free? While you'll need tickets for the museum, the windmills themselves are open to everyone. There are several beautiful mills to see, though they do limit visitor numbers inside. They also collect some fees to help with maintenance costs - after all, keeping these historic structures in good shape isn't cheap! Just remember that while the windmill viewing is free, you will need to pay for parking at Zaanse Schans.
How many windmills are on the Zaanse Schans?
On the Zaanse Schans there are 12 windmills with four more nearby. It seems like a lot, but in fact, this is only a fraction of what stood here centuries ago. According to calculations, 639(!) windmills used to operate here simultaneously. Via Amsterdam, goods from all over the world came to the Zaanstreek, where in the mill village Zaanse Schans a large amount of raw materials was processed. Most of it has disappeared, with only a small part remaining to remind us of the former industrial area. Although wood, nuts and cocoa are still processed today, it's largely for tourists who want to experience a touch of the Dutch past.
Busloads of tourists
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Zaanse Schans was the biggest tourist attraction in the Netherlands after Amsterdam, drawing 2.5 million tourists a year to see its iconic mills. Buses used to run back and forth throughout the year, filled with visitors who marveled at the windmills, water, and polder landscape. While tourist numbers dropped dramatically during the pandemic, they have since recovered, with the area once again bustling with visitors. Did you know that most tourists arrive around 11:00 and leave around 16:00? Take advantage of that by visiting early in the morning or later in the afternoon to enjoy a more peaceful experience.
Tulips out of season
The average Dutch person encounters tulips in April and May, then waits a full year for those beautiful colors to return. After organizing tulip tours for years with such a short season, we had an idea: why not offer tulip experiences outside the regular April and May window? Now from October to March, you can tour a tulip hatchery and see how these beautiful flowers grow - and our customers absolutely love it! We've also established a wonderful tulip picking garden in Venhuizen for visitors to enjoy the hands-on experience.
Tulips in iconic places
Tulip fields in the Netherlands only bloom for about 4 weeks in April and May, and we received many questions from people who couldn't travel here during this limited period. That's why we have started organising tours to Giethoorn as well, so we could accommodate tourists in off-season. At the end of 2021, Tulip tours Holland planted 10,000 tulips in Giethoorn, allowing visitors to enjoy these iconic flowers during their spring boat trips through the village. We expect these tulips to be visible from mid-April. While photos in traditional tulip fields are beautiful, isn't it unique to capture tulips with a windmill, Giethoorn's canals, or Amsterdam's cityscape in the background?
