7 winter days in the Netherlands

This was my first time in the Netherlands, and I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss the highlights. Therefore, this itinerary is great for first-timers who want to see the classics (windmills, canals, and cheese, mostly) and get a good idea of what the country is like outside of Amsterdam too. Below I detail what we did each day, along with tips, impressions, and favorite spots. Check out this 7 winter days in the Netherlands itinerary guide to get ideas on your first trip!

We visited in February, and I will say it: this is probably the coldest I’ve felt in a long time. The air is very humid and it’s windy. This makes the temperature feeling freezing! So pack up well and plan to be inside for most of the time.

Itinerary

Days 1 to 4 – Amsterdam

If it’s your first time in the Netherlands, you’ll likely will need a few days in Amsterdam. We stayed four days, which I found to be a good amount to see the city and enjoy a couple of museums without rushing too much. If you’re planning to visit the museums (and I would say that’s a must if you visit Amsterdam), then you should consider booking in advance, especially the most famous ones (Rijksmuseum, Anne Frank House, and Van Gogh Museum).

Van Gogh Museum

If you think of someone famous from the Netherlands, Van Gogh probably comes to mind first. Whether you like his style or not, he made history, and for that alone, the museum is worth a visit. There, not only you’ll enjoy some of his artwork, but will also learn about his life and how his art became popular.

Anne Frank House

The lines for this museum are long, but it’s really worth going inside. It’s obviously not a happy museum, so buy the tickets for the moment of the day when you think you’ll have the emotional bandwidth for it. Photography is not allowed in the museum.

Rijksmuseum

Classical art museum with many Dutch art pieces. Dutch art is beautiful and was at its spendor in the 16th century, with realistic paintings of different genres such as portrain or life stills. Here, you can see some of the famous paintings, such as the Milkmaid by Vermeer or The Night Watch Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq by Rembrandt.

Diamond museum

I like sparkly nice things and diamonds fall into this category. Thus, this museum was a must-see for me. They have really cool diamonds and an exhibition of crowns. The museum is closed until 2026 for renovations.

Museum of Bags and Purses

As the name indicates, it’s a museum of bags. If you’re into fashion and history, this is your place. What struck me the most was how similar bags nowadays are with old bags. Except for the signs of wear, you could totally wear some of the oldest bags and they’d be still relatively in fashion.

The Dutch Costume Museum

I really enjoy seeing how people used to live in different place once upon a time. Fashion is a significant part of how everyday life was so this museum immediately picked my interest. You can see costumes from different times and locations. Dutch ropes were really characteristic! If you want to see yourself in these clothes, you can also dress up in a selection of the costumes for a photosession. It’s really fun!

Boat tour

I’m not a boat-person, but when it’s cold, one needs to innovate, so we also did a canal boat tour. It’s a warm way of seeing the city from the canals instead of freezing by walking.

Explore different neighborhoods

The best way to get to know Amsterdam is of course by walking. There are tons of cute cafés and boutiques. It’s really interesting to see how traditional houses next to the canals and how they incorporated into a modern city culture. Especially in the most touristy area (near the central station), there’s a lot of cannabis stores. Not too far there’s also the Red Light District, which is the prostitution area of the city.

Day 5 – Zaanse Chans

After seeing Amsterdam, we did a day trip to Zaanse Schans, a village about 30 minutes from the city. Zaanse Chans is filled with windmills and traditional Dutch houses. You can enter several windmills, although I find the exterior of the building more interesting. The village gives the vibes you’d stereotypically expect from a Dutch village. We also watched a clog-making demonstration and tasted cheese at one of the shops. It’s a very photogenic place and worth the visit.

Day 6 – Kinderdijk and Rotterdam

Kinderdijk

Since we couldn’t get enough of windmills, Kinderdijk is the next obvious stop. Kinderdijk is located only 19 km from Rotterdam. It’s a UNESCO site and has 19 windmills built around 1740 lined up along the canals. The walking path is flat and easy, and ideal for a bike if the weather allows. The scenery is classic Dutch countryside. Oh, and was windy and cold.

Rotterdam

In the afternoon, we took the bus to Rotterdam. It’s a completely different vibe than Amsterdam – modern, creative, and full of interesting architecture. Obviously, we headed towards the Cube Houses, designed by Piet Blom. While it may feel counterintuitive, these houses were designed to be more space-efficient. One of the apartments is opened as a museum, with standard furniture decorating the space. I found the insides of the house to give me a weird feeling – it was very conventional but somehow you could see that the whole building was not. Anyhow, they are worth a visit.

The other must-see place in Rotterdam is the Markthal. It’s enormous! While the market itself is similar to what you would expect, with stalls selling prepared food and also ingredients, the whole building was pretty impressive.

Day 7 – Edam, Volendam, and Marken

For our final full day, we wanted to see some of the small traditional villages in the North of Amsterdam. We did all three in one day, which worked surprisingly well with public transport. Marken is the furthest village from the three, as it’s located in an island connected by road to mainland.

Edam

Edam was quiet and lovely. It’s famous for its cheese, which shares the village name, and there’s several stores that sell it. There are cute canals and bridges everywhere and the houses are also very sweet.

Volendam

Volendam is really close to Edam, you could ieven casually walk from one village to the next. It also looked like the most touristy of the three, but since we visited in February that was not a problem – the streets were empty anyway. The harbor area has many souvenir shops, and there were several restaurants to choose from.

Marken

Marken is a tiny village with green wooden houses and a small harbor – really picturesque. My most vivid memory from Marken is the sharp cold that was getting into you. The canals we saw were frozen, and a cute cat came to say hello to us before heading back to its home.

Need more inspiration?

• If you need more ideas of what to see in the Netherlands, check out this guide on what to do in the Netherlands in you’ve already seen Amsterdam.
• If you feel like going to a warm Netherlands, check out this article on Curaçao, part of the Dutch antilles. You can enjoy waffles there!