The 3 cutest villages near Amsterdam | Volendam, Marken, & Broek in Waterland

Sometimes you want a break from the business of the city and this easy day trip to 3 picturesque villages less than an hour from Amsterdam is the perfect budget friendly escape. In this video we’ll share three villages you can easily visit on a day trip from Amsterdam. There’s tons of history, culture, and food to be found on this trip and we’ll highlight how to get there on bus for only 22 euros.

Video Chapters
00:00:00 Introduction
00:00:29 Volendam
00:02:23 Marken
00:04:11 Broek in Waterland
00:05:15 Conclusion

#netherlands #travelguide #hiddengems

Sometimes you want a quiet escape from the  busyness of the city and this day trip to   the north of Amsterdam gives you all of the  picturesque village views you could ever want.   For just €22 you can visit three of the prettiest  villages near Amsterdam all within a 40-minute bus ride.

Volendam is the largest of the three villages we’ll visit today and one   of the most famous fishing villages in Holland.  From the Amsterdam Centraal Station take bus 52   to the Noord station and from the Noord station  take bus 316 or 110 to Volendam Centrum. It  

Should only cost around €5 and if you have a chip  enabled card you can just tap on, but don’t forget   to tap off or you’ll be charged a lot more. With  over 20,000 residents there were plenty of locals  

Running errands and biking through the center of  the village, but it’s easy to find a quiet alley to   wander. The best area for a scenic stroll is Doolhof.  Doolhof is the oldest part of town and is Dutch for  

Maze. The narrow streets are a bit like a maze but  it’s a small area so you won’t get lost. The wooden   houses are painted green and have traditional  Dutch shutters. My favorite views were along   the water and if you go earlier in the day it’s so  peaceful and the reflections are beautiful.  

After while wandering the picturesque streets head  to the main tourist street along the lake. There’s   plenty of restaurants and souvenir shops. You  can take your picture in traditional Dutch   outfits and visit the Volendam Cheese Factory.  You can see what a traditional cheese factory  

Looked like, watch a brief demonstration of how the  cheese is made, and sample tons of amazing cheeses   all for free. But after sampling all the delicious  flavors it’s pretty hard not to buy some to take home We had a quick lunch at Fish and  Chips Volendam to sample some of the  

Local fish. It was pretty good and cheaper  than the overpriced surrounding restaurants.   One of the traditional delicacies in the  Netherlands is Gerookte Paling or smoked eel, so if   you’re feeling adventurous you can find  a restaurant to sample some in Volendam.

Taking the ferry to Marken is a fun way to get a  unique view of both villages from the water. While   Marken was an island until 1957 it’s now connected  to land by a bridge on the other side so you can  

Buy a one-way ferry ticket for €10 and then walk  through the village to the bus stop. Roundtrip   tickets are €17 if you prefer to return to  Volendam. The ferry has been running for a 100 years   connecting the two villages in about 30 minutes.  Even though they’re only a few kilometers apart the two  

Towns are different. They even practice different  religions Volendam is Catholic and Marken is Protestant. Markin is smaller than Voledam with  less than 2,000 residents. The picturesque harbor   is lined with wooden houses and beautiful boats.  Marken feels more lived in and authentic. There’s  

So many beautiful corners to explore. You can  also visit the Marker Museum for €3 but it wasn’t   open when we visited in November. The wooden shoe  factory is a stop for many of the tours that come  

Through this area, so we stopped by to check it  out. But it’s €7 for a 15 minute demonstration which   felt a little expensive so we passed and spent  more time exploring the village. My favorite view   was on Westerstraat with a canal, wooden houses,  and the church in the background.

The bus stop is near the wooden shoe factory and  across the street from the Albert Heijn Supermarket.   From here take bus 111 to the last village on  our list Broek in Waterland a small village   with a residential feel. When you get off the bus  don’t cross the street but head into the village  

On the same side of the street you got off the bus  on. Maybe because the sun was setting and we were   visiting in November but it was completely empty.  Of course there’s old wooden houses mostly painted   with gray primer. They have traditional details  like ceremonial doors for weddings and funerals.  

The village is surrounded by water and used to  be a port for the Dutch East India Company and   was 20 meters deep at some points. Eventually the  harbor was cut off from the sea and Broek in   Waterland became a popular holiday village for  rich people to escape to during the summer. It  

Also became known as one of the richest villages  in Holland. Since we were visiting later in the   day the church had already closed but it is a  popular destination to visit as well and has a  

Cafe if you’re looking for a bite to eat. During  the spring and summer you can rent a boat to   explore the canals but unfortunately in the winter  there weren’t any boat rentals open so we enjoyed   a quick stroll around the village before heading  back to Amsterdam. From Broek in Waterland you can  

Take the bus back to Amsterdam Central stopping  in Noord station again for €3 bringing our total   to €22. You’ll get a lot of steps in and see three  beautiful but each unique villages and a taste  

Of the Dutch countryside on this easy day trip  from Amsterdam. What do you think? Will you be visiting?