Tour of Amsterdam North, Het Twiske and Zaanse Shans

The starting point of this bike tour is the 4-star Leonardo Hotel Amsterdam Rembrandtpark. From here you cycle to the Zaanse Schans, an impressive historic industrial landscape. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, this was the industrial area in Europe. In and around the Zaanse Schans, the original streetscape has largely been preserved, it is a world-famous landmark. In the nineteenth century, the mills were replaced by large factories, warehouses and offices. You can still visit the old buildings of typical Dutch companies such as Albert Heijn, Verkade and Bruijnzeel. Het Twiske already appears on thirteenth-century maps. Originally the area consisted of peat meadows along the river Het Twiske. In Amsterdam Noord you can see beautiful ancient dike houses with bell gables on the leafy Buiksloterdijk.