Zaanse Schans: A Windmills, Crafts and History Self-Guided Tour
- 0.8–1.3 hour
- Free cancellation up to 24h before
- Guided in English
- Instant confirmation
Highlights
Discover the charm of Zaanse Schans on this self-guided 45-minute walking tour through a historic Dutch village of windmills, wooden houses, and centuries-old craftsmanship. Starting at Klaverringdijk, stroll past green-painted homes, cross wooden bridges, and visit working windmills that still produce paint, oil, and timber. Tour highlights include: • De Kat, the world’s only working paint mill • Traditional Zaan architecture with green facades and white trim • A clog workshop showcasing centuries-old shoemaking techniques • Cheesemaking demonstrations with tastings • Museumwinkel Albert Heijn, the first store of the iconic Dutch chain The tour ends at the Museum Zaanse Tijd, home to 17th–18th century Dutch clocks.
Inclusions
What's included
- Lifetime access to this tour in English before your booking date and after it
- Offline access to audio, maps, and geodata
- App for Android and iOS
- Flexibility to explore at your own pace with a self-guided GPS tour
- Directions to the starting point so that when you’re in the right place, the tour will start
What's not
- Smartphone and headphones
- Personal expenses for admission fees not included during the tour
- Food and drink
- Transportation
Itinerary
Stroll by and see how one of the most recognizable symbols of the Dutch countryside is made and remains a proud symbol of Dutch heritage, and a popular souvenir. Personal expenses for admission fees not included during the tour.
Pass by and witness how milk is transformed into more than just a product but a culture. Personal expenses for admission fees not included during the tour.
Walk by and learn about this unique windmill and the only remaining working paint mill in the world. Personal expenses for admission fees not included during the tour.
Sneak a peek as you pass by this reconstruction of a 1680 mill, demonstrating how wind power was harnessed to saw logs into planks. Personal expenses for admission fees not included during the tour.
Pass by and see one of the few remaining working oil mills in the Netherlands where oil is traditionally pressed from seeds – a beautiful example of how wind power was used for industrial production, long before electricity or engines existed. Personal expenses for admission fees not included during the tour.
Stroll past a special piece of Dutch retail history, a faithful reconstruction of the first Albert Heijn store, founded in 1887, which went from humble beginnings in a small neighbourhood to the largest supermarket chain in the Netherlands. Personal expenses for admission fees not included during the tour.
Cancellation
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.
Reviews
5.0
- 53
- 40
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- 10
Ratings come from 3 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.
Know before you go
- Meeting point
- This tour begins near nr 1 Klaverringdijk, 1509 BT Zaandam, Netherlands, at the entrance of the Zaanse Schans windmill area. Before arrival, please install the mobile app and use the code provided on your confirmation ticket. Detailed starting point instructions are available after downloading.
- Pickup
- Everyone meets at the starting point; there is no pickup.
- Ticket type
- Mobile or paper ticket accepted
- Operated by
- VoiceMap Audio Tours
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- The total tour time includes walking the route and passing by the attractions
How it compares in Zaandam
- Its from-price is 90% below the median of the 16 experiences we list in Zaandam.
- It is shorter than most of them.
- By number of reviews it ranks 5 of 16.
- The operator lists free cancellation on it.
About Zaandam
Zaandam, just north of Amsterdam on the river Zaan, is a town of green wooden houses and windmills, where Peter the Great once lodged.
Zaandam grew along the Zaan, where wind-driven mills once sawed timber, pressed oil and ground paint and spices for the shipbuilders and merchants of the Golden Age. A few survive at the Zaanse Schans, a row of green timber houses, mills and workshops on the river bank a short way upstream. In the town itself, a small wooden house is where Tsar Peter the Great stayed in 1697 while he studied shipbuilding.
Top-ranked sights in Zaandam: Zaanse Schans.
