Things to do in Zaanse Schans, Haarlem & North Holland

At Zaanse Schans, working windmills line the Zaan, and you can watch hand tin casting, sailmaking at the Weaver's House and barrel-making at the Coopery before visiting the Zaans Museum. The Volendam Marken Express ferry links Volendam, with its traditional-costume photo shoots and antique steam-powered clog factory, to the former island of Marken in about 30 minutes, so both villages fit into one trip, ending with a walk along Marken's dike and old village streets. On Friday mornings in season, a bell opens the Alkmaar Cheese Market on the Waagplein, where carriers haul cheeses on wooden barrows to be weighed at the Waag while traders bargain over prices. Haarlem pairs the Frans Hals Museum, with the world's largest collection of paintings by Frans Hals, and Teylers Museum, the oldest museum in the Netherlands, whose original Oval Room of 1784 is always on display, while Amsterdam Castle Muiderslot, a moated castle founded shortly after 1285, recreates 17th-century interiors beside historic gardens and a plum orchard overlooking the former Zuiderzee.

Good to knowThe Zaanse Schans museums and mills open daily, and the Zaanse Schans Card covers seven museums or crafts plus two mills. The Alkmaar Cheese Market runs only on Friday mornings in season, with extra Tuesday evening markets and a children's market in July and August, and both Haarlem museums are closed on Mondays. At Muiderslot three free audio tours are included, one of them designed for children.