Background information on Zaanse Schans

The Zaan district was one of the world’s first industrialised zones during the 17th century Dutch Golden Age. And it once had over 600 windmills – oil mills, paint mills and saw mills – operating simultaneously at a time. Then in an effort for preservation and conservation between 1961 and 1974, the wooden houses and windmills were relocated to the Zaanse Schans area. Therefore creating an open-air museum and replicating the Dutch industrial era for visitors to experience.

Expect to see a number of historic and functioning windmills, so is a perfect opportunity for you to see how they work. There is a range of mills open for visitors, including a sawmill, a paint mill as well as an oil mill. In addition, there is a wooden clog workshop and demonstration, a cheese shop, a spice shop as well as souvenir shops and museums in traditional wooden houses.

Planning considerations for a half day at Zaanse Schans

1. Getting to Zaanse Schans

You can easily get to Zaanse Schans from Amsterdam, either by bus or a train with some walking – all within a 30-minute journey.

If you prefer a direct bus, then you can catch bus service 800 from the Centraal bus station (the upper level of the Amsterdam Centraal station). The journey takes around 25 minutes and takes you right in front of the Zaans Museum.

If you prefer to take the train, you can take a 17-minute train ride to the Zaandijk Zaanse Schans station, followed by a 15-minute walk to the western end of Zaanse Schans.

The prices for both options are similar (about €4+), so I prefer the bus option because it is slightly quicker, is the more direct option and involves less walking.

As you can see in the graphic above, Zaanse Schans is also very close to the town of Zaandam. So you can easily combine a visit to Zaandam when visiting Zaanse Schans.

2. Costs and tickets for Zaanse Schans

Zaanse Schans is an open area – no gates, no barriers, no gantries – and so is free for all to walk and roam as they like. At least for the near future. You can enter the restaurants and shops without paying a thing, but if you wish to visit the interior of the windmills or museums then their respective fees apply.

It costs £29.50 to purchase a Zaanse Schans ticket that covers all museums and a choice of any 2 windmills open on the day. It also entitles you to a 10% discount in Restaurant De Kraai. But if you have the I Amsterdam City Card, the cost of this ticket is covered.

It is cheaper if you purchase a Zaanse Schans ticket (if you don’t have the I Amsterdam City Card) if you wish to visit most of the museums and 2 windmills. This is because an entry to each windmill costs €7.50, the Zaans Time Museum €12 and the Zaans Museum €17.

3. How long do I need at Zaanse Schans

In general, you can easily explore Zaanse Schans in half a day (about 4 hours). This would include visiting 2 of the mills, the Zaans Museum, wooden clog workshop, Zaan Time museum as well as perhaps, taking a boat cruise. Do not forget too, to include an additional hour or so for your transportation.

4. Opening times (which days to visit)

Take note though, that not every windmill or museum is open everyday. If there is any particular windmill or museum that you wish to visit, make sure to check their website to see if they are open on the day.

Described in the sections below are the highlights to visit at Zaanse Schans. An entry fee (or I Amsterdam City Card) is required for all unless otherwise stated.

5. What else to plan for the day

As I mentioned earlier, a visit to Zaanse Schans generally takes around 4 hours, plus another hour for transportation. That means that you would have another few hours to spare for the rest of the day.

Firstly, you can definitely head back to Amsterdam to cover more of the capital city when planning for your Amsterdam itinerary.

Secondly, you can consider a quick trip to the town of Zaandam. This is where you can find the iconic facade of the Inntel Hotel that looks like several Zaan wooden houses stacked on top of another. At the same time, you can then spend another couple of hours exploring the town, stroll along the Gedempte Gracht, visit the Monet Atelier, Dam Square and the Czar Peter House.

6. Day Tours

If you like a fuss-free day and want to be brought around and told where exactly to go and what exactly to do, then look no further than a guided day tour from Amsterdam. Many of these tours include other places of interests as well to ensure you maximise the use of the entire day. For example, many of these tours also bring you to Zaandam and/or Volendam together with a visit to Zaanse Schans. And there are some who can even fit in a trip to the town of Giethoorn too.

So, have a look at some of the guided day tour options with Get Your Guide* to see which best fits your pace and interests.

Things to do during your half day at Zaanse Schans

Like I said earlier, Zaanse Schans is built such that it is like an open-air museum. And the below lists down the main activities you can do when visiting.

I have listed these activities by the expected order of your walk, assuming that you arrive at Zaanse Schans by bus service 800.

1. Zaans Museum and Verkade Experience

Nearest to the bus stop is the Zaans Museum and is likely to be your first point of contact when arriving by bus 800. Here, you can find a cafe and a visitor information centre, but the main thing is the Zaans Museum and Verkade Experience.

At the Zaans Museum, you can understand more about the industrial history and art of the Zaan region. Then at the Verkade Experience, step into a 20th century chocolate and biscuit factory to see the original and functioning machinery of the process. If you are lucky like we were during my first visit, you may also get to sample the biscuits!

2. Wooden Clog workshop

The wooden clog workshop is free for all to enter, so make sure to visit it. Here, you can see a display of the evolution of the clogs and the highlight of it all is the live demonstration of the making of a wooden clog. However, the demonstration tends to happen only when tour groups arrive. So you may have to wait around when you are there. I have been there for 4 times now and I never had to wait too long for a demonstration to happen. It is a very interesting demonstration of how they carve and produce a clog so it is sure worth watching.

3. Weaver’s House

This is a reconstructed living quarters where you can see live demonstrations of cloth-weaving. Unfortunately I have never got to see this despite being there 3 times since its opening.

4. Tiemstra’s Coopery

Here, you can watch live demonstrations on the traditional craft of barrel-making featuring the original tools used. However again, the Tiemstra’s Coopery is often closed especially during the low seasons and I haven’t been able to visit it either.

5. Cheese Tasting and shop

If you love cheese, then this is one you shouldn’t miss. Because I’ve never sampled so many different types of cheese at a single place as this. There are so many that you are also spoilt for choice as to which to buy! You can taste anything from original, to chilli, then from truffle to garlic. The shop is often extremely busy though, and yes, one of the reasons is because it is free to enter.

And in case you are lucky enough, you might be able to watch a cheese-making demonstration. Sadly I haven’t been lucky enough, because other than my first visit in September 2010 when they briefly explained the process to us (without any demonstration), the staff were all too busy with the crowd during my subsequent visits to even answer any questions.

6. The windmills

There are a few windmills that are open to visitors at Zaanse Schans, but they are almost never all open on the same day. Also, the standard Zaanse Schans ticket and the I Amsterdam City Card only allow you to visit up to 2 of them. The main mills are (from nearest to furthest) De Kat the paint mill, De Zoeker the oil mill as well as Het Jonge Schaap the saw mill. All 3 mills are quite different and described below.

De Kat the paint mill: This windmill grinds raw materials such as chalk to produce the pigments used for paint. It is the only of such windmill in the world.

De Zoeker the oil mill: This windmill presses seeds and peanuts to produce oil, and again is only of such in the world.

Het Jonge Schaap the saw mill: This windmill uses the wind to saw timber. It is fascinating to see how it saws quicker as the winds get stronger, and slower as the wind slows. Also, you get a very interesting silent video on how the saw mill was rebuilt to what it looks currently.

De Huisman: This currently houses a spice shop that is free to enter.

7. Boat cruise (Windmill hopper)

Located at the square next to the spice shop De Huisman is the jetty where the Windmill Hopper cruise departs. This is a 25-minute cruise along the canals to allow you a good view and commentary of the windmills. The open boat is only able to take 12 people at a time though, so I’d recommend you to make a booking prior to your visit to avoid disappointment.

To illustrate this, even though I’ve done four trips to Zaanse Schans, I have never once managed to go on this cruise. That is because we’ve either had bad weather cancellations, trips were fully booked, or that they were closed that day.

Each trip costs €12.50 per person and departs every half hour on days that they operate.

8. Zaan Time Museum

This museum is located at the westernmost end of Zaanse Schans and features a collection of Dutch timepieces over the last 500 years. Particularly, it also features one of the earliest world clock, telling the local time from 17 different locations around the world.

Yet again, another one I have never got to visit.

Lunch

In case you are hungry and need to have lunch, you can either head to Restaurant De Kraai for pancakes at 10% discount with your ticket, or to the Zaans Museum cafe.

After that, you can continue your plans for the rest of the day, with a couple of suggestions explained earlier in this article. That is, either head back to Amsterdam to continue on your Amsterdam exploration, or head to Zaandam for a couple of hours visit. You can also refer to my 4-Day Amsterdam Itinerary (Plus Keukenhof in spring) on how you can integrate half a day at Zaanse Schans to your Amsterdam itinerary.

What I did

Altogether, I’ve now been to Zaanse Schans a whopping four times! And each time I’ve been there, I was with different groups of people visiting Amsterdam. That really proves that many people think of Zaanse Schans as a crucial part of an Amsterdam itinerary.

I have to say that, since my first visit in September 2010 to my last visit in March 2023, the village hasn’t changed much. However, the tourist crowds as well as the ticket pricing have both increased significantly over the years. To illustrate this, a Zaanse Schans ticket in 2010 cost €9.50 including entry to one mill. Today, a Zaanse Schans ticket cost €29.50 although it includes entry to two mills. Then, an entry to a mill in 2010 cost only €1.50, but entry to a mill today cost €7.50!

Otherwise, the standard activities at Zaanse Schans remain about the same – the Zaan Museum, the windmills, the wooden clog workshop and the cheese shop.

My thoughts on Zaanse Schans

Zaanse Schans is definitely a perfect place to head to if you are in Amsterdam, not only to see the working windmills, but also to experience some of the traditional Dutch industries of the 18th and 19th centuries.

In my opinion, you either have to visit Zaanse Schans, or Kinderdijk when visiting the Netherlands. Kinderdijk though, is much further away from Amsterdam and requires at least a 2-hour journey.

And especially for a first-time visitor, Zaanse Schans covers a much more all-round experience with the Dutch culture, including the wooden clog demonstration and cheese tasting all in one single place. So even though it’s touristy, it’s definitely one you have to include in your Amsterdam, if not your Netherlands itinerary!