Discover Zaanse Schans With This Sightseeing Big Bus Tour

Begin your tour at our central meeting point. A comfortable, air-conditioned single deck bus will take you to the destination in just 20/30 minutes.

The windmill village Zaanse Schans is an open air museum that houses a collection of working windmills, wooden houses, barns and shops dating back to the 18th and 19th century. All these buildings were brought here from 1961 onwards bringing back to life this most prosperous period of the Zaan region.

In its golden age the Zaan Region developed into an industrial area on a scale never seen before, with 600 active windmills. Windmills are wooden factories powered by wind. In these small factories many tasks were being executed with the aid of wind energy: wood sawn by machines, grinding spices, oil for food and paint, flower, cocoa powder and many other things.The prosperity in the 18th and 19th century can be seen in the Zaanse Schans windmill village in several ways. Alongside windmills, barns and other buildings, you will see beautiful houses that were originally built as home to rich windmill owners and merchants. These houses have attractive facades and have been painted in traditional colors such as green, beige and light blue.

At arrival in the village, your guide will take you on an orientation tour of the village. You will visit the clog museum (wooden shoemaker shop) and in the cheese farm you will get to taste Dutch cheese. Then it is time to further explore the village on your own. Before you set off to discover the Zaanse Schans on your own, your guide will give you further information on the Zaanse Schans and its unique character, inform you about local history and culture and give you insider’s tips about what to do and where to go.

IMPORTANT DEPARTURE INFORMATION:

* From March 20 up to and including May 9th 2021: 14:30pm  
* From May 10 up to and including October 31st, 2021: 11:30am

Back in Amsterdam your guide will give you your ticket for a regular City Canal Cruise. The voucher can be redeemed at the docks. The ticket for your City Canal Cruise is an so called "OPEN TICKET". This means that no timeslot has been allocated and you can board any next available boat at one of the 2 docks:

* The first dock is located at Stadhouderskade 501 opposite the Hard Rock Cafe. Take tram 1, 2, 5,11 and 12 stop at Leidseplein from there the dock is a 2 minute walk.
* The second dock is located at Stadhouderskade 550, opposite Heineken Experience. Take tram 2, 5,and 12 stop at Rijksmuseum from there the dock is a 5 minute walk or take metro No. 52 and stop at Vijzelgracht. From there the dock is only a 2 minute walk.