Zaanse Schans Windmills, Marken and Volendam Half-Day Trip from Amsterdam

Description:

• Leave Amsterdam behind for a few hours and discover the typical Dutch countryside outside the capital. You'll drive through a picture-perfect landscape crisscrossed with canals, see authentic wooden houses, windmills and fishing villages, and witness traditional crafts from days gone by. The picturesque village of Zaanse Schans is famous for its original buildings, vividly capturing Dutch life in the 17th and 18th centuries. You'll see the historic shipyard and windmills, and pay a visit to a shoemaker who works with wood to watch his clog-making techniques first-hand!
  
  Next, you'll travel to the world-famous fishing villages of Volendam and Marken, on the coast of the former Zuiderzee (now called Ijselmeer). The old wooden houses here are built on stilts and locals still wear their colorful traditional dress. You can choose to take a 20-minute boat trip from Volendam to Marken, with approximately 45 minutes at each stop. In winter the boat is enclosed for your comfort. The cruise is optional but is included in the cost of the tour.
  
  During the day you'll also stop at one of the few farms where cheese is still made in the traditional way. Please note: The 1pm tour runs for an hour longer than the 4.5-hour tours, with longer visits to Volendam and Marken. It does not visit the windmill village of Zaanse Schans but stops at a lovely windmill near Volendam instead.

  Between November 3, 2008 - March 18, 2009 the 2:30pm tour departs Saturday and Sunday only. The village of Marken will not be visited and more time will be spent at Zaanse Schans (windmill village) and Volendam instead.

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