4 beautiful towns in the Netherlands!
For a long time, I thought The Netherlands was, oh well, Amsterdam, cheese, tulips, and coffee shops (wink, wink). Then, on a sunny summer day, I decided to plan a 5-day trip. Naturally, I looked up the most beautiful towns in The Netherlands.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Amsterdam, but I wanted to explore the country beyond its famous metropolis.
Rotterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht are some of the larger cities worth visiting. However, in this post, I’ll focus on the smaller towns that are perfect for a day trip from Amsterdam.
Whenever we are short on time or are not in the mood to explore on our own, we book organized tours. This is how we discovered these 4 beautiful towns.
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Table of Contents
4 beautiful towns in The Netherlands
Zaanse Schans – The windmill village
I’ve also written about it here (for my Romanian readers), calling the place “The Windmill and Chocolate City” because that is how I will always remember it.
It is a 17-minute train ride from Amsterdam, and it is an accessible getaway from the busy streets and canals of the large city.
We spent half a day in one of my favorite beautiful towns in the Netherlands. We indulged in chocolate and chocolate drinks while admiring the windmills.
The windmills used to pump out the water and keep the place dry and livable are a testament to Dutch resourcefulness. Others might have resigned themself to eke out a living in the swamps, but not the Dutch. They transformed an unhospitable bog into a verdant paradise.
Although we visited on an overcast day, the colorful houses lightened up the mood.
When you find yourself in Amsterdam and you are looking to spend a few hours away from the craziness, Zaanse Schans is the go-to place!
If you want to fill your whole day, you can always book a day trip and visit other places, too.
During the tulip season, you can book a Keukenhof + Zaanse Schans + Canal cruise trip and experience one of the things The Netherlands is famous for: the picture-perfect tulip fields.
Volendam – The doll-house town by the sea
Driving along the greenest fields I have ever seen, with classic Dutch songs playing in the background, I couldn’t get my eyes off the window.
Dozens of chubby cows, looking so happy and relaxed, shared the pastures with ducks and geese. No one distrubed them.
As I daydreamed about starting a new life in The Netherlands, we arrived at another beautiful town: Volendam.
We were told that Volendam is a tiny fisherman village in North Holland, that used to be the harbor of nearby Edam. Needless to say, I had a whole different picture in my mind before I got there.
Volendam surprised me with its beauty and narrow canals, framed by alluring scarlet homes with their wide windows.
I lost the group while I agonized about what to photograph first: the pretty flowers, the picturesque houses, or the long, sunny strip of beach.
Remember, you can see Volendam together with Zaanse Schans and Edam on a perfect day trip from Amsterdam. Or, if you want something different, choose one of the many organized tours available from Amsterdam.
What can you do in Volendam?
- Visit a cheese factory and learn how cheese is made directly from the producers. Watch a demonstration, taste several types of cheese, and spend your money wisely on at least three varieties of cheese.
- Move forward to one of the places where you will get to taste, see how they are done and, if you’re lucky like me, get to make them yourself. What am I talking about? Stroopwafels, of course! They are tasty and sweet and go well with a cup of coffee or tea, especially on a rainy day.
- Grab a waffle soaked in chocolate and admire the locals going about their daily lives while enjoying it. I promise you’ll understand why famous painters such as Picasso or Renoir fell in love with this small but charming town.
Giethoorn – The fairy tale town
Even among the beautiful towns in the Netherlands, Giethoorn stands out.
Also known as “The Venice of the North,” Ghiethoorn is a place without cars, where every house is located on a small island of its own. Yet, the price of a cottage is a 7-digit number, and the town attracts circa 1 million tourists yearly.
So, if you would like to stroll, ride a bike, or a boat in a fairytale-like setting while gawking at the houses of rich folk, a day trip to Ghiethoorn is just the thing for you.
Upon arrival, we took a boat tour of the canals and learned a bit about the town’s history.
Then, we explored the village on foot, crisscrossing the bridges connecting the tiny islands. Obviously, we took dozens of pictures.
Finally, exhausted by so much beauty, we enjoyed a canal-side lunch, watching the ducks floating by lazily.
Unfortunately, we found out about the Village & Nature Reserve Boat Tour only later. Otherwise, we would have booked it.
What could be more charming than exploring a beautiful nature reserve while sipping coffee?
de Rijp – The village between tulip fields
During my trip to see the tulip fields near Amsterdam, we stopped along the way in the charming town of de Rijp.
After visiting the 3 places I described above, I thought I couldn’t be charmed by another Dutch village, but somehow this one did the trick.
Just strolling around the narrow streets lined by colorful houses is a pleasant pastime.
Visit the smallest candy shop in the country, chat with its owner, and learn a little bit about the town’s history. You will be surprised to find out that this was once one of the most important ports in the region.
You can enjoy a similar experience if you book a Bike Tour from Amsterdam. Pedal by picturesque villages, windmills, and pretty fields (provided it is not winter).
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