# Zaanse Schans Paint, oil and spice windmills still at work and green wooden houses beside the Zaan. A half-day trip by train from Amsterdam. Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/the-netherlands/zaanse-schans · Revisado: 2026-11-12 The Zaanse Schans is the day trip from Amsterdam that most people make, and it makes sense: in under half an hour you go from the canals to a row of windmills still at work on the banks of the river Zaan, with green-painted wooden houses, drawbridges and workshops. It is not a real village or a theme park: it is a district of Zaandam where, from 1961, windmills, houses and warehouses were brought from all over the region to save them. ## Why so many windmills? Because the Zaan was the first industrial zone in western Europe. In the 17th and 18th centuries it had some six hundred windmills sawing timber for the shipyards, pressing oil and grinding spices, cocoa, mustard and pigments. Those at the Zaanse Schans are survivors of that era: De Kat, from 1664, is the last paint mill in the world still in production, and the miller shows you how he grinds the pigments that restorers buy from all over the world. The Zaans Museum, at the entrance, tells the story with a reconstructed chocolate and biscuit factory. ## How do I get there from Amsterdam? By train. From Amsterdam Centraal a direct train runs to Zaandijk Zaanse Schans station in about 17 minutes; from there it is fifteen minutes on foot across the bridge over the Zaan, with the windmills ahead of you. Do not get off at Zaandam: the "Zaandam Zaanse Schans" stop is a bus stop. You pay by tapping a contactless card when you enter and leave. By car, the official car park is at Schansend 7 and costs €15 per visit; it has limited spaces and fills up in spring. If you like cycling, MacBike runs a guided e-bike tour from Amsterdam along dykes and polders. ## How much does it cost? Entering the site and walking along the dyke is free. What you pay for are the windmills and the museums: the Zaanse Schans Ticket (€29.50 adults, €20 ages 4 to 17) includes the Zaans Museum and the Verkade Experience, the Time Museum, the Windmill Museum, the weaver's house, the cooperage, two windmills of your choice from those open that day, a digital audio guide and 10% off at the De Kraai restaurant. Each windmill also sells its own single ticket. The cheese dairy, the clog workshop and the museum bakery are free. Toilets cost €1 and can only be paid for by card. ## How much time do I need? Half a day. Arrive before 10:00, when the first windmills open and the coaches have not yet arrived; walk along the Kalverringdijk and its windmills, go up one, call in at the cheese dairy and the clog workshop and, from April to September, take a 25-minute trip on the Windmillhopper boat. Have lunch at De Kraai and return to Amsterdam in the afternoon, or combine it with Volendam and Marken if you are driving. ## When to go? From April to September everything is open, including the boat and the pedestrian ferry that crosses to Zaandijk. In winter some windmills and workshops close or cut their hours, but there are far fewer people; check the daily calendar on the official website before you go. If there is little wind, some windmills may be standing still. ## Dónde está - Zonas: Curious Places - Cerca: Amsterdam (a 12.4 km), Haarlem (a 16.0 km), Edam (a 16.2 km), Alkmaar (a 18.1 km) ## Qué hacer - **The Kalverringdijk windmills, inside and out** (2 h · All ages; steep stairs inside the windmills · Free stroll · Zaanse Schans Ticket €29.50 (€20 ages 4 to 17), with two windmills): The Kalverringdijk dyke, on the bank of the river Zaan, lines up the windmills that made the Zaanse Schans famous. They are not a stage set: the Zaan region was the first industrial zone in western Europe and had hundreds of windmills that ground spices, pressed oil, sawed timber or made paint. The ones you see here were brought from other villages from 1961 and several are still producing. Which windmill to go inside De Kat, of 1664, the only paint mill still working in the world: it grinds pigments for artists and restorers. The miller shows you how it is done and you can climb to the gallery. De Zoeker, an oil mill: the pressing stones make the floor tremble. Het Jonge Schaap, a rebuilt hexagonal sawmill, wheelchair accessible. De Huisman, above a spice warehouse where you can taste and buy. With the Zaanse Schans Ticket (€29.50 adults, €20 ages 4 to 17) you enter two windmills of your choice from those open that day and all the museums on the site. Each windmill also sells its own single ticket. Strolling along the dyke and photographing them from outside is free. Tips Climb to the gallery of De Kat if you do not mind heights: the view over the Zaan and the other windmills is the best photo on the site. The inside stairs are almost vertical; with small children, one adult in front and another behind. If there is little wind, some windmill may be standing still. - **Zaans Museum and Verkade Experience** (1 h 30 · All ages · Included in the Zaanse Schans Ticket (€29.50 adults, €20 ages 4 to 17)): The modern building at the entrance to the site explains why there are so many windmills: in the 17th and 18th centuries the Zaan region was the country's great industrial estate, with shipyards, sawmills and mills of every kind. Inside is the Verkade Experience, a production line from the old Verkade chocolate and biscuit factory in Zaandam, with the smell of cocoa and machines that start up. It is the place to begin the visit, to buy the Zaanse Schans Ticket, which includes it, and to take shelter if it rains. It has a café and lends wheelchairs. - **Windmillhopper boat on the Zaan, in front of the windmills** (25 min · All ages · €12.50 adults · €8.50 children): The best view of the windmills is from the water. The Windmillhopper is an open boat for twelve people at most that goes up the Zaan with a local guide for 25 minutes: it passes in front of the windmills, the warehouses and the merchants' houses and stops just long enough for photos. It leaves every half hour from the 't Glop square, beside the De Huisman spice mill, from April to September, every day except Thursday. It costs €12.50 for adults and €8.50 for children. If it leaves you wanting more, from May to September cross the river on the volunteers' pedestrian ferry, from 10:00 to 17:00, and return along the other bank, Zaandijk's, with the windmills opposite. - **Cheese dairy, clog workshop and crafts of the Kalverringdijk** (1 h · All ages · Free for most): Between the windmills and the green wooden houses there are workshops where people work as they used to and which you can visit for free. At the Catharina Hoeve cheese dairy they show how Gouda is made and give you a taste. At the clog workshop you see a pair carved by machine in a few minutes. The De Gecroonde Duyvekater museum bakery smells of freshly made biscuits, and at the pewter foundry they cast figures in front of you. Everything is five minutes on foot away and is what entertains children most. Bear in mind that a good part of this is also shops: there is no obligation to buy. In winter some workshops cut their hours; the daily calendar on the official website tells you what is open each day. - **By e-bike from Amsterdam along dykes and polders** (5 h · Adults and teenagers used to cycling · From €56.68 with electric bike): A different way to arrive: by electric bike from Amsterdam, with a guide. The MacBike route crosses the IJ by ferry, leaves the city to the north and follows dykes and canals between polders and green wooden houses to the windmills of the Zaan, where there is time to visit before returning. It is a full day, from €56.68 with the electric bike included. With a headwind, you will be glad of the battery. ## Dónde comer - **De Kraai restaurant** (Restaurant, Zaandam, €€). Qué pedir: an apple and bacon pannenkoek; if you have the Zaanse Schans Ticket, show it for the 10% discount. - **De Hoop op d'Swarte Walvis** (Restaurant, Zaandam, €€€€). Qué pedir: the midday meal on the river terrace, looking at the windmills. ## By plane: Fly to Amsterdam and take a train to the windmills The Zaanse Schans has no airport of its own and does not need one: you fly to Amsterdam Schiphol, with direct flights from Madrid, Barcelona and many other Spanish cities, and from Amsterdam Centraal the train to Zaandijk Zaanse Schans takes about 17 minutes. The normal thing is to sleep in Amsterdam and come for the morning. ### Dónde dormir if you're flying - **Inntel Hotels Amsterdam Zaandam** (Hotel): The place It is Zaandam's most photographed building: the façade is almost seventy Zaan wooden houses, in four shades of green, stacked one on top of another. Inside, a four-star hotel with rooms decorated with nods to the region's history, a wellness club with a pool and the Puur Saen restaurant. Who it is for For those who want to sleep outside Amsterdam, paying less and a step from the train: it is beside Zaandam station, a few minutes from Amsterdam Centraal and one stop from Zaandijk Zaanse Schans. With children, the indoor pool is a good end to the day of windmills. - **De Hoop op d'Swarte Walvis rooms** (Small hotel): The restaurant with a terrace over the Zaan also rents rooms in its house of 1717, in the middle of the windmill dyke. It is the only way to see the Zaanse Schans empty, first thing and at dusk, when the coaches leave. Its website does not publish how many rooms it has or prices: write or call to book. ### Servicios - **Train from Amsterdam to Zaandijk Zaanse Schans**: About 17 minutes from Amsterdam Centraal to Zaandijk Zaanse Schans station and 15 minutes on foot to the windmills. ## Car-free: Zaanse Schans by train from Amsterdam The easiest day trip from Amsterdam without a car: a direct train of about 17 minutes, a fifteen-minute walk and the whole site on foot. Parking costs €15 and fills up; the train wins. The budget per person per day includes sleeping in the area, food and entry to windmills and museums with the Zaanse Schans Ticket. Presupuesto orientativo: 90–150 € por persona y día. ### Dónde dormir without a car - **Inntel Hotels Amsterdam Zaandam** (Hotel): The place It is Zaandam's most photographed building: the façade is almost seventy Zaan wooden houses, in four shades of green, stacked one on top of another. Inside, a four-star hotel with rooms decorated with nods to the region's history, a wellness club with a pool and the Puur Saen restaurant. Who it is for For those who want to sleep outside Amsterdam, paying less and a step from the train: it is beside Zaandam station, a few minutes from Amsterdam Centraal and one stop from Zaandijk Zaanse Schans. With children, the indoor pool is a good end to the day of windmills. - **De Hoop op d'Swarte Walvis rooms** (Small hotel): The restaurant with a terrace over the Zaan also rents rooms in its house of 1717, in the middle of the windmill dyke. It is the only way to see the Zaanse Schans empty, first thing and at dusk, when the coaches leave. Its website does not publish how many rooms it has or prices: write or call to book. ### Servicios - **Train from Amsterdam to Zaandijk Zaanse Schans**: About 17 minutes from Amsterdam Centraal to Zaandijk Zaanse Schans station and 15 minutes on foot to the windmills. ## As a family: The Zaanse Schans with the family It is one of the day trips that works best with children: close, flat, outdoors and with workshops where you can watch cheese or clogs being made. Half a day is enough, and the Zaanse Schans Ticket costs €20 for ages 4 to 17. ### What works best Climbing to the gallery of the De Kat windmill The Windmillhopper boat, 25 minutes on the river The cheese dairy and the clog workshop, free The Verkade Experience at the Zaans Museum, with its smell of chocolate ### Where to sleep Inntel Hotels Amsterdam Zaandam, with an indoor pool ### Where to eat De Kraai, 29-centimetre pannenkoeken ### Bear in mind The stairs in the windmills are almost vertical The dyke has no railing towards the water ### Qué hacer as a family - The Kalverringdijk windmills, inside and out - Zaans Museum and Verkade Experience - Windmillhopper boat on the Zaan, in front of the windmills - Cheese dairy, clog workshop and crafts of the Kalverringdijk ## With young children: The Zaanse Schans with small children With children up to six, stay at ground level: the workshops, the museum bakery, the boat and the museum with the biscuit factory entertain them more than climbing a windmill. Everything is a few minutes away and you can use a pushchair on the main paths. ### What works best The Windmillhopper boat, short and calm The cheese dairy and the clog workshop The Verkade Experience at the Zaans Museum ### Where to sleep Inntel Hotels Amsterdam Zaandam, with a pool ### Where to eat De Kraai, open from 9:00 ### Bear in mind Toilets on the site cost €1 and can only be paid for by card Hold their hands by the water and on the dyke's cycle lane ### Qué hacer with young children - The Kalverringdijk windmills, inside and out - Zaans Museum and Verkade Experience - Windmillhopper boat on the Zaan, in front of the windmills - Cheese dairy, clog workshop and crafts of the Kalverringdijk ## With teenagers: The Zaanse Schans with teenagers So that it is not just a photo of windmills, give them the bike: the e-bike route from Amsterdam along dykes and polders turns the trip into an adventure day. And the De Kat paint mill, with its machinery running, surprises them. ### What works best Arriving by e-bike from Amsterdam with MacBike Climbing to the gallery of De Kat The boat on the Zaan ### Where to sleep Inntel Hotels Amsterdam Zaandam, with a pool and gym ### Where to eat De Kraai, pannenkoeken to share ### Bear in mind The bike route takes a whole day: check it against the wind forecast ### Qué hacer with teenagers - The Kalverringdijk windmills, inside and out - Windmillhopper boat on the Zaan, in front of the windmills - By e-bike from Amsterdam along dykes and polders ## Consejos ### Arrive before ten At midday in season, the dyke fills up with groups. ### Get off at Zaandijk Zaanse Schans That is the train station. "Zaandam Zaanse Schans" is a bus stop. ### Bring a card Many places on the site, including the toilets, only accept card payment. ### Check the day's calendar The official website tells you which windmills and workshops are open each day. ## Preguntas frecuentes ### How do you get to the Zaanse Schans from Amsterdam? By train from Amsterdam Centraal to Zaandijk Zaanse Schans, about 17 minutes, then a fifteen-minute walk. ### Is the Zaanse Schans free? Walking around the site is. The windmills and museums are paid for, individually or with the €29.50 Zaanse Schans Ticket. ### How much time do you need? Half a day is enough for two windmills, the cheese dairy, the museum and the boat. ### Can you go with a dog? Yes, on a lead, around the site. They are not allowed in the museums, and in each windmill or shop it depends on the place. ### Is it open in winter? Yes, but some windmills and workshops close or open for fewer hours. The Windmillhopper boat only runs from April to September.