The windmills of Zaanse Schans, 17 minutes by train from Amsterdam.

Zaanse Schans is the easiest day trip from Amsterdam of all: a 17-minute train, a walk across the bridge over the Zaan and you are among windmills that still grind pigments, oil and spices. This plan arrives before the coaches, goes into the windmills worth visiting, takes to the river by boat and returns to Amsterdam by mid-afternoon, with time for a museum or a stroll along the canals.

The day, hour by hour

9:00 · Train from Amsterdam Centraal. Get off at Zaandijk Zaanse Schans, not Zaandam. Fifteen minutes on foot, crossing the bridge with the windmills in front of you.

9:45 · Zaans Museum. Buy the Zaanse Schans Ticket here (€29.50, €20 for ages 4 to 17) and tour the Verkade Experience, the rebuilt chocolate and biscuit factory.

10:45 · Kalverringdijk windmills. With the ticket you enter two: De Kat, the 1664 paint mill, and whichever is open that day from De Zoeker, Het Jonge Schaap or De Huisman. Climb up to the gallery at De Kat.

12:00 · Windmillhopper boat. Twenty-five minutes along the Zaan in front of the windmills, from the 't Glop square. From April to September, except Thursdays: €12.50 adults.

12:45 · Lunch at De Kraai. 29-centimetre pannenkoeken in an 18th-century barn. With the Zaanse Schans Ticket, a 10% discount.

14:00 · Cheese dairy, clogs and bakery. The workshops of the site, free and five minutes away.

15:30 · Return. Train from Zaandijk Zaanse Schans; in Amsterdam Centraal around 16:15.

17:00 · Amsterdam canal cruise. If you have energy left, end the day on the water: 75 minutes on a covered boat from the Stadhouderskade, with the houses lit up at dusk.

With children or in the rain

With young children, swap the second windmill for the cheese dairy and the clog workshop, which entertain them more, and do not skip the boat. If it rains, extend your time at the Zaans Museum and have lunch early at De Kraai, which is spacious and covered.