Purmerend, Volendam, Monnickendam

Monnickendam is a town with a name that sparks the imagination. As early as the 13th century, monks from the Frisian monastery of Mariëngaarde are said to have built a dam in a peat stream here. Around that dam, a settlement grew into a bustling trading town with an open connection to the Zuiderzee. The old town centre still breathes maritime history – from warehouses and stepped gables to the clock tower of the Speeltoren.

From Monnickendam, the route leads you into the low-lying peat meadow landscape of Waterland. You pass ribbon villages and winding ditches, cycling between windmills and cows in the open fields. Here, water has shaped daily life for centuries.

Further along, you reach Purmerend – a town that originated in the 13th century and later gained city rights. For many years, it was a thriving trading hub, especially known for its markets for fish, dairy and fruit. The town grew steadily, fuelled by merchant spirit and a strategic location.

If you continue the route, you’ll arrive in Volendam. Once a humble fishing hamlet on the Zuiderzee, now a tourist hotspot full of life. The old houses along the harbour look slightly tilted with age, the quay buzzes with tourists, smoked eel and music. But if you look beyond the crowds, you’ll still see traces of a village that never fully let go of its origins.