Enkhuizen Dromedaris tower

On the picture you get a nice view on the famous Dromedaris tower. It is in the small town Enkhuizen. Enkhuizen is in the North-East of North-Holland at the Ijsselmeer coast. It has a very nice open air museum, called Zuiderzeemuseum.

Where is it?

Below on the map you see where North-Holland is.

Map showing North-Holland

Landscape

North-Holland extends the landscape of South-Holland in northern direction. In the west you will find sand beaches, while dunes protect the land from the North Sea. More to the East and South you find the northern part of the Green Heart, the central polder area of the western part of the Netherlands. In the Southern part you also will find the national airport "Schiphol". Schiphol is quite near Amsterdam. Amsterdam is connected to the North Sea by the North Sea canal.

As soon as you pass the urban area around the North Sea canal, you see the landscape change again in a rural area, with small towns, polders, dikes, cows and sheep. You can see North Holland has one island. It is called Texel, which belongs to the island group "Waddeneilanden" You can go there easily by boat, from the navy town Den Helder.

I should mention here that the very south-east corner of the province has a completely different landscape. Around the town Hilversum (center for radio and television broadcast companies) you will find moors and woods.

The eastern border is formed by the IJsselmeer.It is the former Zuiderzee, which was tamed in the 20th century.Two interesting landmarks are the Wieringermeerpolder in the very North East and the huge 32 km long dike, that transformed the rather rough Zuiderzee in a still rough Ijsselmeer. Cycling over this dike, called Afsluitdijk is a special experience for many cycling enthusiasts.

Towns and villages

If you like visiting a lot of smaller towns showing the rich Dutch golden age history, North-Holland is perfect. My recommendations:

  • Enkhuizen: small, but a really perfect open air museum. It will take you a whole day to visit. Ferry to Stavoren (Friesland)
  • Hoorn: a bit similar to Enkhuizen. Home town of the historic tramway from the beginning of the 20th century. Worth visiting.
  • Edam, a small cheese town with a friendly atmosphere.
  • Volendam, fisherman's town, very crowded with tourists.
  • Twisk, nice, nothing to do there one long street with beautiful houses and farms
  • De Rijp, small but beautiful. Lot of pubs.
  • Medemblik, mainly interesting because of the steam train.
  • Alkmaar: famous for its weekly cheese market.
  • Haarlem: a bit large to my taste. Has a very nice railway station and 17th century town center.

Ijsselmeer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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