~ This post was written by Luca F, founder and editor at AmsterdamTips.com<\/a>, who since 2007 has published insider info guides about the city of Amsterdam and the Netherlands.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
Zaanse Schans is a picturesque Dutch village park on the river Zaan about 15km north of Amsterdam. It is renowned for its beautiful windmills and traditional houses. Set up in 1963 as an open-air reserve, the Zaanse Schans is freely accessible to wander around. The site includes a number of windmill museums and traditional workshops \u2013 each charging a small fee for entry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For further insight, you should also try and visit the main Zaans Museum<\/strong> (on-site) which gives a broad overview of the region’s history. You will see many of the buildings are painted in a distinctive dark green colour \u2013 this copper pigmented paint was thought to have good weather-proofing properties against the harsh Dutch elements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n