Cycle route The Zaanse Schans
Zaandijk, Koog aan de Zaan, Zaandam
At the Zaanse Schans in North Holland you can enjoy a full day out! It’s the place every visitor should go at least once to get a taste of old-school Dutch life. It breathes the atmosphere of the 18th and 19th centuries. The wooden houses, barns and workshops make it a one-of-a-kind village in the Netherlands. But the many windmills are the real stars of this region! In the 18th and 19th centuries, industry was booming in the Zaan region. That was a direct result of the glorious trade during the Golden Age in the 17th century. Back then, around six hundred windmills were operating here at the same time. Zaan entrepreneurs were inventive and created all sorts of products using the industrial mills. Thanks to the Zaan invention of the crankshaft, they were even able to saw wood with the mills. Shipbuilding played a big role: in the Golden Age there were no less than 26 shipyards launching over a hundred ships per year. Wealthy mill owners and traders in the Zaan region built beautiful, colourful wooden houses with both a fancy front and back façade as a symbol of status. You’ll see loads of these houses along this route, with the stacked houses in Zaandam being the absolute highlight. There are all kinds of old crafts to explore at the Zaanse Schans. The smell of fresh cookies will float into your nose as you pass the bakery museum. At the warehouse you can see how clogs are made, and make sure to pop into the cheese farm and the pewter foundry. From the river Zaan you get a stunning view of the unique row of windmills lined up next to each other. And it’s not just here — as you cycle on towards Koog aan de Zaan and Zaandam, you’ll spot even more windmills! Enjoy this nostalgic cycling route through cultural heritage. The houses at the Zaanse Schans are still lived in, and the residents really appreciate it if you can keep that in mind.
| Directions | Distance | Total distance | |
|
Start: Provincialeweg , 1551 CG Zaanstad | 28.9 KM | |
|
From
68
to
63
|
1517 M | 1.5 KM | |
| Head east on Provincialeweg | 646 M | ||
| Turn left onto Middel | 871 M | ||
| You are now at section 63 | 0 M | ||
|
From
63
to
91
|
3113 M | 3.1 KM | |
| Head northwest on Middel | 203 M | ||
| Make a slight right to stay on Middel | 1.4 KM | ||
| Continue straight | 985 M | ||
| Turn right | 14 M | ||
| Turn left | 547 M | ||
| Turn left onto De Groene Valk | 3 M | ||
| You are now at section 91 | 0 M | ||
|
From
91
to
92
|
1777 M | 1.8 KM | |
| Head east on Krommenieërweg | 671 M | ||
| Turn right onto Krommenieërweg | 145 M | ||
| Make a slight left onto Marktstraat | 234 M | ||
| Turn right onto Zaanweg | 680 M | ||
| Make a slight right | 33 M | ||
| Turn left onto Zaanweg | 13 M | ||
| Turn left | 1 M | ||
| You are now at section 92 | 0 M | ||
|
From
92
to
94
|
1635 M | 1.6 KM | |
| Head northeast | 24 M | ||
| Make a slight left | 94 M | ||
| Continue onto Nieuweweg | 99 M | ||
| Continue straight | 200 M | ||
| Enter Unieplein and take the 2nd exit onto Rigastraat | 47 M | ||
| Exit the roundabout onto Rigastraat | 54 M | ||
| Make a slight right onto Bordwalserstraat | 144 M | ||
| Make a slight left onto Rigastraat | 133 M | ||
| Continue onto Koetserstraat | 358 M | ||
| Make a slight left | 114 M | ||
| Turn right onto Zaandammerpad | 342 M | ||
| Turn left to stay on Zaandammerpad | 26 M | ||
| You are now at section 94 | 0 M | ||
|
From
94
to
73
|
2316 M | 2.3 KM | |
| Head south on Engewormer | 636 M | ||
| Turn right onto Kalverringdijk | 1.7 KM | ||
| Turn right onto Kalverringdijk | 7 M | ||
| You are now at section 73 | 0 M | ||
|
From
73
to
50
|
2861 M | 2.9 KM | |
| Head east on Leeghwaterweg | 1.4 KM | ||
| Continue straight | 373 M | ||
| Turn right onto Westerdijk | 154 M | ||
| Turn left onto Zuiderweg | 298 M | ||
| Keep left onto Zuiderweg | 597 M | ||
| You are now at section 50 | 0 M | ||
|
From
50
to
74
|
1074 M | 1.1 KM | |
| Head southeast on Zuiderweg | 174 M | ||
| Continue onto Wormerpad | 900 M | ||
| You are now at section 74 | 0 M | ||
|
From
74
to
72
|
2744 M | 2.7 KM | |
| Head southeast on Kruidpad | 1.2 KM | ||
| Turn right onto Spouwpad | 928 M | ||
| Turn left | 22 M | ||
| Continue straight | 41 M | ||
| Continue straight | 64 M | ||
| Continue onto Kuilpad | 378 M | ||
| Turn right onto Doctor H.G. Scholtenstraat; Dr. H.G. Scholtenstraat | 15 M | ||
| Turn left onto De Kuil | 138 M | ||
| You are now at section 72 | 0 M | ||
|
From
72
to
71
|
1327 M | 1.3 KM | |
| Head southwest on Kalf | 207 M | ||
| Turn left onto Doctor H.G. Scholtenstraat; Dr. H.G. Scholtenstraat | 410 M | ||
| Turn left onto Klaverweg | 22 M | ||
| Turn right onto Doctor H.G. Scholtenstraat; Dr. H.G. Scholtenstraat | 379 M | ||
| Turn right | 25 M | ||
| Make a slight left | 19 M | ||
| Make a slight right onto Paltrokstraat | 265 M | ||
| You are now at section 71 | 0 M | ||
|
From
71
to
70
|
2212 M | 2.2 KM | |
| Head south on Oostzijde | 2.2 KM | ||
| Make a slight right | 45 M | ||
| You are now at section 70 | 0 M | ||
|
From
70
to
64
|
224 M | 0.2 KM | |
| Head southeast | 50 M | ||
| Make a slight right onto A.F. de Savornin Lohmanstraat | 174 M | ||
| You are now at section 64 | 0 M | ||
|
From
64
to
55
|
1117 M | 1.1 KM | |
| Head southwest on Wilhelminastraat | 242 M | ||
| Turn left onto Hogendijk | 673 M | ||
| Make a slight right | 13 M | ||
| Make a slight left | 15 M | ||
| Turn left | 31 M | ||
| Turn right | 39 M | ||
| Turn left | 104 M | ||
| You are now at section 55 | 0 M | ||
|
From
55
to
69
|
2851 M | 2.9 KM | |
| Head southwest on Albert Heijnweg | 313 M | ||
| Turn right | 177 M | ||
| Turn left onto Houtveldweg | 67 M | ||
| Turn left onto Aris van Broekweg | 241 M | ||
| Turn left onto Westzanerdijk | 2.1 KM | ||
| You are now at section 69 | 0 M | ||
|
From
69
to
68
|
4113 M | 4.1 KM | |
| Head west on Overtoom | 122 M | ||
| Turn right onto Zuideinde | 3.9 KM | ||
| Make a slight right | 57 M | ||
| You are now at section 68 | 0 M |