6 Best Things to do on One Day Trip Close to Amsterdam

If you want to visit locations close to Amsterdam, you should know that they can be very accessible due to the means of transport. You can spend some time exploring the beautiful countryside and its history. This selection of the things to do close to Amsterdam is one that can please everyone because it covers a vast array of things you can see.

• Haarlem

Just 19 kilometers away from the Dutch capital, Haarlem is one of the best day trips from Amsterdam you can take. The city founded in 1245 is filled with Gothic influences and is great for walks that feel like you are going through time.

Haarlem’s main attractions, besides its beautiful architecture, are Haarlem’s Grote Markt (which hosts a beautiful market on Saturdays), the St. Bavo church, where Mozart played, and many canals around the central square where you can walk near them, or even rent a boat.

How to get to Haarlem:
-by train 15 minutes;

-by bus 20 minutes.

• Zaanse Schans open-air museum

Zaanse Schans is a beautiful day trip from Amsterdam that you can take, where you can experience classic dutch things like windmills and wooden clogs.

Zaanse Schans Open Air Museum is a village that wants to show what life was like in the years 1700-1800, so if you visit it, be respectful to locals and don't walk on private properties. 

Tourist attractions worth visiting are a functioning wooden windmill, a cheese factory, a clog maker's workshop, and a clock museum. Guided tours are available, as is a beautiful boat trip on the Zaan that offers a great view of the old houses and windmills from the water. 

How to get to Zaanse Schans:

 -15 minutes with a train from Amsterdam’s Central Station, and then a 20-minute walk to the village

• Delft

Delft is best known around the world for its blue and white pottery (Delftware) that was made here around the 1600s. Probably one of the most typical old-Holland style towns, Delft managed to keep its unique characteristics of the old days.

Besides the old houses and the canals, Delft has some beautiful gothic churches, The Old Church and The New Church (which has a tower with a marvelous view over the city). The only remaining manufacturer of the popular Delftware is Koninklijke Porceleyne Fles(Royal Delft).

How to get to Delft:

- 60 minutes train ride from Amsterdam Central Station and then a short walk to the city center.

• Hoorn

Hoorn, in the last few years, is becoming a more common tourist destination among people visiting the Netherlands after being left out in the past for more popular places. Hoorn is the place where Dutch residents go to experience the magic of a harborside city.

The main attractions of Hoorn include the two yacht harbors surrounded by beautiful 17th-century gabled houses, museums, galleries, and the historic Town Hall(Stadhuis), built-in 1402, originally being home of the Monastery of St. Cecilia. Hoorn is a great choice for a day trip from Amsterdam if you want to experience a very beautiful Dutch town that isn't yet full of tourists.

How to get to Hoorn:

- 30 minutes by train from Amsterdam Central Station.

• Keukenhof, the town of Lisse

The Netherlands is well known around the world for its magnificent fields of flowers, especially tulips. Around 40 kilometers south you have the most beautiful day trip from Amsterdam, and that is Keukenhof, known as the Garden of Europe, on the periphery of Lisse.

One of the Netherlands' most iconic landscapes, the grand Keukenhof tulip gardens, cover around 32 hectares of colorful flowers, and 15 km of footpaths. The best time to visit the gardens is from mid-April, until late June when the flowers are in bloom. Overall, the entire experience is a little pricey, but it's worth it in the end.

How to get there:
-if you don't have a car, the best option would be to take a tour.

• Enkhuizen and the Zuiderzee Museum

Enkhuizen is one of the prettiest towns in the Netherlands. It is located on the Ijsselmeer, a shallow lake that was once part of the old Zuiderzee. The Zuiderzee Museum is interested in history.

This museum has two parts, the outdoors and the indoors. When we are talking about the outdoors, we should know that Enkhuizen has several historical attractions, like two churches and its town walls and gates, a windmill, basketry, blacksmith, and a cheese warehouse. The museum village was set up to mimic the architecture and 'atmosphere' of villages around the former Zuiderzee.

The Indoor Museum is the treasure house of the Zuiderzee; here the various collections, like Zuiderzee's cultural past, including paintings, furniture, and locally-worn costumes ('klederdracht'). 

Most notably is the 'Schepenhal' (ship's hall), which allows visitors a close-up view of some of the more common historical types of boats from the Zuiderzee's rich fishing industry.

How to get there: 50-60 minutes by train from the Amsterdam Central Station.

These are six of the most popular day trips from Amsterdam you can take, along with a few uncut gems that will certainly not disappoint. Feel free to do the research yourself, and who knows, maybe you will find the next best day trip from Amsterdam, let us know.