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Volendam & Marken
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Volendam & Marken

A Fishing Harbour, Old Dutch Costumes and the Island Village of Marken

Plan this trip
1 dayIdeal stay₹10,650From / night₹3,200Food / dayFreeEntry

A former fishing town on the IJsselmeer dyke, about 35 minutes from Amsterdam Centraal by bus 316: a harbour front of fish stalls and cafés, the Volendam Museum and studios where you are photographed in traditional Dutch costume, a favourite stop for Indian tour groups. The Marken Express boat crosses to Marken in about 25 minutes (mainly March to October, ESTIMATE), a former island of green wooden houses on mounds, now joined to the mainland by a dyke road; Edam, the cheese town, is a short bus ride the other way. Volendam is crowded by noon in summer; Marken and Edam are quiet in the evening. There is no railway. Fish fills the stalls, but every café has cheese sandwiches, pancakes and fries.

Highlights

  • Volendam's harbour front
  • A photo in old Dutch costume
  • Marken Express across the Gouwzee
  • Marken's wooden houses and lighthouse
  • Edam's canals and cheese weigh house
  • Cycling through the Waterland meadows

Things to do

  • Volendam harbour front and the Volendam MuseumMorning · 2h
  • Photo in traditional Dutch costumeMorning · 1h
  • Marken Express to Marken and a walk to the lighthouseMar–OctAfternoon · 3h
  • Edam town and its cheese weigh houseAfternoon · 2h
  • Cycle through Waterland from Amsterdam-Noord to VolendamMorning · 4h

Tours & tickets

Tours & tickets in Volendam & Markenvia GetYourGuideTours & tickets in Volendam & Markenvia Klook

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When to go

Best time: April – September

Heads up

Tour-Coach Crowds by Late Morning

From spring to early autumn the coach tours from Amsterdam arrive from about 10:00 and fill the paths, shops and boat jetties until mid-afternoon. Come at opening time or after 16:00, or stay the night nearby to see it quiet.

Heads up

Winter: Marken Express Reduced

The Marken Express boat between Volendam and Marken runs mainly from March to October; in winter it runs less often or not at all (check before you go). Buses reach Marken over the dyke road all year.

  • King's Day (Koningsdag) — The national holiday for the King's birthday: the whole country dresses in orange, every street becomes a flea market (the vrijmarkt, from the evening before), and Amsterdam's canals fill with party boats and its centre with up to a million people. Trains into Amsterdam are packed and hotels cost their most; book months ahead, or watch it in a calmer city such as Utrecht, Haarlem or Delft. Museums open, many shops close.
  • Sinterklaas — St Nicholas "arrives by steamboat from Spain" in mid-November (Amsterdam's parade by boat and horse through the centre is the big one) and families exchange presents and poems on 5 December. Expect crowds on the arrival day; the bakeries fill with pepernoten and chocolate letters.