A day trip to Zaanse Schans

Coming to the Netherlands and thinking about discovering some old windmills? I’ll share with you shortly what you can find only 15km from Amsterdam!

I had a short trip a week ago to a small city near Amsterdam that is famous for its Windmills. It’s called Zaanse Schans. I will share with you my experience of the trip and also a few helpful information about the area. I imagine if you are reading this article, either you have a plan to go there for a tourist activity or just spending the weekend. Anyway, you will enjoy the read!

Transportation

Reaching Zaanse Schans is relatively straightforward from Amsterdam Centraal. Get a train and within 30-40 minutes you will reach the city. Sometimes it also makes more sense to ride an Uber from Amsterdam if you are more than two people. The Amsterdam train is overpriced, especially if you don’t have a subscription. So do a comparison before you choose your ride!

Windmills & Nature

When we reached the station and entered the city, there was a large crowd entering the town at the same time as us. There was sparkling sunlight in our eyes, and I could hardly look around without a pair of sunglasses. Everybody seemed like they were headed in the direction of the Windmills, and as the crowd was huge and as we wanted to enjoy more of the streets’ vibe and check out the house architecture, we decided to take a different path from the rest of the crowd.

At first, the Windmills are not obvious, and you need to take a walk for a few minutes to see them. Along the way, we see multiple hot chocolate bars and chocolate shops. We tried one and to be honest, it was good!! I recommend you do the same!

But let’s go back to the Windmills. Windmills are the first reason why Zaanse Schans is famous among travelers. Although some of them are not working and it’s there as a museum, it’s still enjoyable to go in them and see how these giant ovals are working.

For me personally, the main reason Windmills look great is because of other compelling elements in this city. The first one is a long river in the middle of the town. The water of the river was slow-moving, and many ducks were swimming there. It was relaxing to see the scenery next to the windmill. We got our hot drink and sat somewhere near the river, stretched our muscles, and relaxed.

Many people there seem to be in a rush, but I'm not exactly sure why. But try to take your time to enjoy the flow.

Bars & Restaurants

If you are planning to have your lunch there, it’s better to pack your sandwich and get your drink there. Unfortunately, there are very few restaurants and bars in the area. That was a downside for me as I hoped to find a good beer next to the Windmills! You can most probably find something if you walk 3-4km, but that’s a lot if you are not driving.

Atmosphere

In short, the city and the environment were very touristy, and almost everything is commercialized for tourists. This is not necessarily a bad thing. You can definitely enjoy the scene and the hot chocolate! But if you are looking for a place to chill and do an ultimate unwind over the weekend, this is probably not the place.

To wrap this up, here are more images of our short trip. If you’ve been there and found something hidden, share it in the comments!