Amsterdam Countryside: Windmills, Villages and Tulips
Some of the best things near Amsterdam are not in Amsterdam at all. Within 30 minutes of the centre you can stand under working 18th-century windmills, watch Gouda being made on a cheese farm and wander fishing villages where locals still wear traditional dress on feast days — and in spring, seven million tulips bloom at Keukenhof. Here is how to see the Dutch countryside in a half day or full day, with the top-rated tours to book.
At a glance
- 1Zaanse Schans windmills
- 2Cheese farm & clog workshop
- 3Volendam & Marken villages
- 4Keukenhof tulips (spring)
Zaanse Schans: working windmills, 20 minutes out
Start at Zaanse Schans, a riverside village of green wooden houses and working windmills just 20 minutes north of Amsterdam. The mills still grind pigments, press oil and saw timber, and several open their creaking interiors to visitors for a few euros. Guided half-day tours from Amsterdam start from about €35 and beat the tour-bus crush that builds from mid-morning — go at 9am or after 3pm if you visit independently by the direct bus 391.
The cheese farm and clog workshop
Within the village, the Catharina Hoeve cheese farm runs free demonstrations of how Gouda and Edam are made, followed by a generous tasting counter of aged, smoked and herb cheeses — most tours build in time here. Next door, the clog workshop carves a wooden shoe from a wet poplar block in about five minutes, a genuinely entertaining bit of showmanship. Both are free to enter, which makes Zaanse Schans one of the cheapest half days you can have from Amsterdam.
Volendam and Marken: the old fishing villages
For a full day, continue to the former Zuiderzee fishing villages. Volendam is the livelier one, its dike-top street lined with fish stalls selling smoked eel and kibbeling; Marken, a one-time island reached by causeway or the Marken Express boat, is quieter, all green wooden houses on stilts. Combined coach tours covering Zaanse Schans, Volendam, Marken and often the cheese town of Edam run from about €50 for a full day — far simpler than juggling three separate bus lines.
In spring: the Keukenhof tulip gardens
From roughly mid-March to mid-May, add Keukenhof — 32 hectares and around seven million bulbs in bloom near Lisse, about 40 minutes southwest of Amsterdam. Entry with return shuttle transfer starts from about €40, and the surrounding bulb fields stripe the landscape in colour from mid-April, the sweet spot for a visit. Book in advance: timed slots on peak spring weekends sell out well ahead, and combination tours pairing Keukenhof with the windmills cover both icons in one day.
Book the experiences in this itinerary
Top-rated tours for exactly what this plan recommends in Amsterdam — prices per person.
