Amsterdam Countryside

Today you’ll arrive in Edam, leaving time to visit this beautiful little town. Historic Edam rests along the IJsselmeer, formerly called the South Sea (Zuiderzee) and is famous for its wonderful cheeses. It’s also home to a gorgeous 17th century town hall, a beautifully preserved Waag Museum, and a Gothic church, as well as one of the smallest drawbridges in all of Holland. Edam is an easy 25 minute bus ride from Amsterdam Central Station.

Today you’ll bike along the IJssel Lake to Monnickendam, a lovely quaint little port with picturesque canals, and then on to the peninsular village of Marken. Marken is known for its characteristic black and green wooden houses on stilts. The historic lighthouse is located on a breakwater in the former Zuider Zee.

From Marken you’ll take the Ferry to Volendam. Volendam is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the Netherlands, well-known for its old fishing boats and the traditional 18th century style clothing still worn by some residents. The women’s costume of Volendam is often featured on tourist postcards and posters (although there are believed to be fewer than 50 women, most of them elderly, who wear the costume as part of their daily lives today). In Volendam you can visit the local museum with, amongst other historic items, an exhibition on the traditional costume.

From Volendam it is only a short ride back to your hotel in Edam. Dinner tonight will be in the pleasing restaurant of the Hotel de Fortuna, where you will spend all 4 nights of your trip and which offers fine international cuisine.

On this day you‘ll cycle on peaceful canal dikes through some of the oldest and deepest polders of North Holland before entering De Rijp, the village Jan Adriaanszoon Leeghwater called “Holland’s best village.” Leeghwater, who was born in De Rijp in 1575, engineered the amazing reclamation of the polders around the village and also designed the beautiful town hall in 1630. This is a lovely village for a stroll and a coffee stop.

After your stop in De Rijp you will bike on to Schermerhorn where you will have the chance to climb up into an authentic, working windmill that also shows a brief film about the development of windmills and polders in the area.

Later you’ll pass through several picturesque villages on our way to the historic Hoorn, once a major South Sea port and today a lively pleasure boat harbour town with terrific 17th century architecture. You can view a magnificent scale model of Hoorn as it was in 1650 in the ornate and interesting West Fries Museum. You’ll also have time to wander around the splendid old city center with its wonderful array of pubs, shops, and galleries.

In the late afternoon you’ll bicycle along the IJsselmeer back to Edam. There’ll be time for shopping (or a good Dutch beer) before dinner in our hotel restaurant.

Today you can choose between two scenic roundtrips: one towards Amsterdam and another to the Zaanse Schans.

We especially recommend the Zaanse Schans; an open-air museum full of windmills, wooden houses, and traditional Dutch crafts. Despite the fact that visitors from all over the world visit this neighborhood every day, it is good to know that people still live here.  Stroll past the bakery museum and enjoy the smell of fresh cookies, or take a look at the warehouse where clogs are made. You should be sure not to miss the cheese factory, pewter foundry and the various windmills.

Those who prefer a day in the city can cycle to Amsterdam and enjoy exploring on their own leisure, perhaps visit a museum, stroll along the canals, or relax on a sunny terrace. However, since biking in Amsterdam is quite unnerving even though there are bike paths in the city, we strongly recommend that you leave your bike in the guarded bike parking (fietsenstalling) near the Central Station and take the tram to the museums.

Return your bike to the rental store in town and leave at your leisure after breakfast.