Zaandam, Netherlands Hotels, Vacations, Tourism

From the train it's not an especially enticing prospect, but unassuming ZAANDAM is an amiable, largely modern town that merits a brief stop. It was a popular tourist hangout in the nineteenth century, when it was known as "La Chine d'Hollande" for the faintly oriental appearance of its windmills, canals, masts, and row upon row of brightly painted houses. Claude Monet spent some time here in the 1870s, and, despite being suspected of spying and under constant police surveillance, immortalized the place in a series of paintings. To see something of Monet's Zaandam, follow the main … more »