Zaandam is a city situated right above Amsterdam, in the province of North Holland. A day-trip to Zaandam is easy to organise and it’s a cool escape from the city.

In the Dutch Golden Age, Zaandam served as a large milling centre. Today, it’s well known for its Zaanse Schans neighbourhood, the place where you can see various types of windmills and make acquaintance with a typical Dutch village. Apart from this neighbourhood, Zaandam is not a tourist attraction. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t have its own charm: it has the charm of a small residential city, with streets not conquered by crowds, a few cosy shops and elements of cool architecture here and there. The city is crossed by the Zaan river, like a huge canal passing through, and you can still see cute green houses typical for this area even in the city centre. 

I spent a lovely day wandering around the city, imagining how would it be to live there, because I am considering moving outside Amsterdam and I’m checking a few places. This  one got a thumbs up, but we will see what the future brings 🙂