Zaans Museum and Verkade Experience

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.