Amsterdam will always be a lovely city but have you ever been to the Dutch countryside? Here’s a chance to visit the small Dutch town of Volendam. A trip to Volendam is one you’d certainly never forget.
Volendam is a town in North Holland, 20 kilometers north of Amsterdam. Sometimes known as “the pearl of the south sea”, this place is a highly popular tourist destination. This is where a lot of Dutch clichés can be found, including the traditional costumes and popular Dutch wooden shoes. Most of these clichés, however, have a lot of history to them.
Volendam is a Dutch town known for its colourful wooden houses and the old fishing boats in its harbor, which is lined with seafood vendors. The local Volendam Museum houses paintings, sculptures and pottery from 1800 to the present, a gallery containing traditional costumes and mosaics made from cigar bands. Volendam has always been a fishermen’s village, and even after the closing of the “Zuiderzee”, and the fishing industry not being what it used to be, the harbor with its many boats is still a major attraction amongst tourists. This is where most of the iconic windmills and idyllic scenery in the country can be found.
Volendam’s traditional costume is one of the most popular examples of ancient Dutch clothing (klederdracht). Some of the locals still wear them and ever since they realized how much of a tourists attraction it is, many more of them try to wear them more often. In the Netherlands, Volendam is famous for its singers and musicians. There is a vibrant Dutch music scene based in Volendam, producing a style of music that is colloquially known as palingsound, and some of the most popular Dutch singers hail from this town.
