Zaanstad is a town in the neighborhood of Amsterdam, known primarily for its living open-air museum in the Zaanse Schans district. There is a collection of traditional buildings here, with still operational windmills and craft workshops.
The city is now actually a suburb of Amsterdam. Thanks to the high-speed train, you can get to the center of the capital in less than half an hour. The center is not particularly interesting, but you can spend time in one of the many restaurants and cafes.
An interesting monument of Zaanstad is the House of Tsar Peter the Great, where the future monarch lived during his stay in the area. He got a job at a local shipyard to see what the work in it looks like and how to build ships. Today, in the house from the beginning of the 17th century, there are mementoes related to the Tsar.
The Zaanse Schans district is what attracts the most tourists to Zaanstad. Traditional Dutch wooden buildings with windmills standing over the canal have been preserved there. It is now part of the Zaans Museum, which shows the life of the Dutch countryside more than 100 years ago.
The museum houses several operational windmills, De Kat Windmill, Zoeker Windmill, Huisman Windmill, Gekroonde Poelenburg Windmill, Het Jonge Schaap Windmill, Bonte Hen Mill, Klaverblad Mill and Hercules Mill. There are chocolate factories, mustard mills, a sawmill and other plants operating there. There is also a working dairy, the "de Zaanse Schans" wooden shoe workshop - the Museum of wooden shoes and the Zaanse Tijd Museum. At the bridge leading to the museum, you can visit the 19th century Albert Heijn Museum Store.
In Zaanstad there are also fortifications belonging to the fortifications of Amsterdam. You can visit Fort Zuidwijkermeer and the Hembrug Museum in the former artillery and ammunition factory.
