Zaanstad
Zaanstad is a Dutch municipality in the province of North Holland, situated northwest of Amsterdam.
Its main settlement is Zaandam. It is part of the conurbation and metropolitan area of Amsterdam. It had a population of 156,901 in 2021.
Getting to Zaanstad
Direct trains to Zaandam run twice every hour from Schiphol Airport (these trains have the destination Hoorn). In all other cases you can take any train with the destination Amsterdam Centraal that stops at Amsterdam Sloterdijk and change there for Zaandam. Zaandam is just two stops from Amsterdam Central Station. You pass through station Amsterdam Sloterdijk.
Worth seeing
Tsar Peter House, Krimp 23 (at walk distance from railway station Zaandam),. Tue-Sun 10:00-17:00. A small house where Tsar Peter lodged in the 17th century. It is one of the oldest wooden houses of the Netherlands. It was built in 1632 as a working class house from old timber. The Russian Tsar Peter lived here in 1697, when he wanted to learn how to become a shipwright.
Things to do
The whole area around the river Zaan, to be explored biking, walking, driving around or boating over the Zaan River. You will see a great mix of old style industry unusual for the Netherlands, old wooden houses and windmills, together with open green pastures (grass land) in the span of just a few miles. It will be like different epochs clash.
Where to eat
- 01De Pizzabakkers Zaandam
Italian pizza baked in the wood oven, prepared with fresh ingredients.
Getting around Zaanstad the local way
- Get inSeveral tour companies also offer half-day trips to Zaanse Schans, with transportation to/from Amsterdam included.
From Wikivoyage: Zaanse Schans, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.
Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see Commons), Wikimedia Commons.