Looking for advice on what to see outside Amsterdam
I will be in Amsterdam this fall and will have a free day. I've been to Amsterdam several times and want to explore outside the city.
If you've traveled there, what places outside of Amsterdam would you recommend seeing?
I plan to hire a guide with a car, so I can direct him/her to take us almost any place.
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It’s been close to 20 years but one place we visited was Volendam. Quaint little town north of Amsterdam and along the way we toured windmills, wooden shoe maker, etc. It was part of a tour. You might investigate day tours outside Amsterdam that do stuff like that, if that interests you.
It depends on what your interests are. The Hague offers a wealth of experiences…..the Mauritshuis Museum to see Vermeer’s ‘The Girl with a Pearl Earring’ and other works of art. You can take a tour of the International Court of Justice. There is the Grote Markt for eateries. On and on.
Mike,
If you head towards Volendam you can stop at Marken, Edam, and Zane’s Schans but head further north to Hoorn. Haarlem is 15 minutes train ride but is a smaller version of Amsterdam. Utrecht is an easy train or car ride. Kasteel de Har by Utrecht is easier by car. Further away but still doable by car is Kinderdijk or Giethoorn(stop at Zwolle on the way.) If you have never been to Antwerp, it’s an easy high speed train ride and you can see The Cathedral of our Lady, the Red Line Museum, and the print house. I think the Rubens house is still being renovated. Hope this helps.
Thanks for the suggestions. I'll put something together based on your input.
I would add Delft, Zaanse Schans is fun to see, and Rotterdam would be a great stop for lunch at the very cool market place and the innovative art cube apartments nearby - really interesting architecture.
Volendam was an optional excursion for our Belgium/Netherlands cruise last year where Tauck arranged an ebike ride to a cheese factory. It's a quaint but a bit touristy village on the water. The cheese factory/dairy with it's automated cow milking machine was fascinating. We've also been to Zaanse Schans on our own. Just took the bus directly from Central Station. It's a bit like Colonial Williamsburg with windmills you can tour (for a price) and a few shops/restaurants.