Just 20 kilometers north of Amsterdam, located directly on the IJsselmeer, the former Zuiderzee.

A city born in the 12th century that will surprise visitors in a positive way! With no fewer than 177 national monuments, a host of attractions, exceptional specialty stores and hospitable restaurants.

The cheese town has a rich history of shipbuilding & merchant spirit. A city with characteristic facades, the Speeltoren with Carillon, the post office and special churches. But also the city with 27 bridges including the most photographed bridge in the Netherlands “the Kwakelbrug”.

In addition, Edam is a town with traditions and active inhabitants. These include the summer cheese markets (July & August), the Water Day with the largest free market in North Holland, the Music Day, the Piano Route, the Walk About Music, the Matthew Passion and many other activities.

Experiencing Edam is best done on foot. Stroll leisurely past the stately homes on Voorhaven and Nieuwe Haven or along the canals lined with former labor houses and city farms.

Visit the Grote Kerk, the largest hall church in Western Europe, with its stained glass windows, the cheese weighing house and museums.

Low Holland is a unique piece of real Holland above the North Sea Canal. Here, in many places, you still have the idea that time has stood still. The picturesque image many foreigners have of the Netherlands really exists. In Low Holland. Here are those rustic villages of yesteryear. In vast fields or hidden behind the dikes of the IJsselmeer. With their picturesque streets surrounded by endless greenery, windmills and plenty of water.

National Landscape

Low, lower, lowest. Man and nature have worked together in Laag Holland to create something very beautiful below sea level. This is reflected in the openness, the beautiful straight lines, and the protected town and village sites. That’s why Laag Holland is a national landscape. This guarantees that we will be able to enjoy it for a long time to come. So no large-scale new construction, but old mills, reclaimed land, wide views and space for peace and nature.

World Heritage Site

Two of the seven Dutch entries on UN cultural organization Unesco’s World Heritage List are in Low Holland. This underscores the great historical significance of the area: ancient, beautiful and unique in the world. The Defense Line of Amsterdam received a World Heritage listing in 1996, followed by the Beemster in 1999.

Come and enjoy

Of course, all that beauty is something you want to see with your own eyes. In short, visit Edam, Marken, Volendam, Monnickendam, de Rijp, Broek in Waterland, the Beemster or Purmerend.

Do bring your camera, because you can be sure to take pictures worthy of being turned into postcards.