Tulips & Windmills

Arrive at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. Be greeted by a cruise representative and transferred to the ship.

Begin in Amsterdam, the Netherlands’ largest city and a major international port and financial center for centuries. In the morning, enjoy a visit to the Fabrique des Lumières at the historic Westergasfabriek, where immersive digital art fills the former factory with large-scale light projections, or choose a unique Refugee Canal Cruise, a 90-minute boat ride guided by a former refugee who shares stories about Amsterdam’s multicultural history and immigrant contributions. Later, see the city from the water on a canal boat, and in the evening, enjoy a special Captain’s Welcome Reception and Dinner.

Sitting just north of Amsterdam is the quieter town of Zaandam, beloved for its traditional green cottages, windmills, craft shops, and quirky modern touches.

Featured Excursion:
Keukenhof Gardens
Rivers of blue hyacinths curve through the trees, and great drifts of brilliantly hued tulips and daffodils carpet Keukenhof’s 70-plus acres (32 hectares). It’s probably the most spectacular flower garden in the world, and it’s only open for a few weeks each spring. Gardeners plant some seven million bulbs on these grounds, making it a showcase for the Netherlands’ legendary flower industry. There’s more to see than just flowers, of course: There are intriguing exhibits in pavilions scattered throughout the estate, as well as concerts and activities for kids.

Note: If you’re thinking about buying bulbs from Keukenhof or perhaps having items shipped home, make sure the vendor provides the documentation necessary for the import of bulbs or plants into your home country. Rules for importing flower bulbs and plants vary from country to country.

Choose between:
The Tulip Experience
Today encapsulates everything there is to love about our springtime Tulips & Windmills itinerary. On this tour, you’ll take a scenic trip out to a local tulip farm to learn about the country’s most colorful export. On the way, pass by some charming windmills, enter one for a private tour, and hop aboard a small boat for a cruise (a popular Dutch weekend activity). At the farm, you’ll walk with the farmer to their flower fields and get a lesson on how they grow and maintain such perfect blooms. Take the opportunity to snap some beautiful pictures amongst the flowers while you’re there!

OR
Zaandam Modern Architecture Walk
Zaandam is instantly recognizable for its iconic green houses. These charming wooden houses originally got their characteristic color from a verdigris coating used as a protection against weather and insects. Today, real green paint is used, but the historic style remains an important part of the city’s cultural heritage. On a guided tour with a local guide, you’ll see how modern architects have paid homage to this history in playful ways—as is the case with the famous Inntel Hotel, whose facade gives the impression of a dozen or so colorful houses stacked on top of each other.

Discover the town of Hoorn’s seafaring past, where the swashbuckling derring-do of Dutch explorers will come to life on a guided walking tour of this historic locale.

Featured Excursion:
Hoorn Walking Tour
Did you ever wonder why the tip of South America is called Cape Horn? It's a misspelling of Hoorn, the home port of Dutch explorer Willem Schouten, who named it after his hometown when he arrived there in 1616. In the 17th century, Hoorn was a booming center of international trade, rivaling Amsterdam, and an important home base for the Dutch East India Company. Uncover Hoorn's rich seafaring history on a guided walking tour. Nowadays, charming shops and houses line the lanes, and pleasure boats bob in the harbor. The town's lovely 17th-century gabled houses bear witness to the wealth brought by trade. The ornate façade of the 17th-century Statencollege, now the Westfries Museum, is a colorful reminder of past glories: It shows the coats of arms of seven cities that were administered here. Though the harbor silted up and access to the North Sea was lost in 1932, Hoorn continues to thrive as a market town for farms and dairies in West Friesland.

Choose between:
Dutch Maritime Traditions of the Zuiderzee
Characteristic buildings—houses, cottages, warehouses and churches—were collected from all over the region to re-create an authentic 19th-century Dutch village: the Zuiderzee Outdoor Museum. It truly feels as though you have left the 21st century behind and entered an extraordinarily charming past as you walk through this village. Women in period costume (complete with traditional pointed caps and wooden shoes) do needlework, children play with hoops, and men make rope or barrels. Stop by the smoke-house to see racks of herring being preserved, or visit the cheesemaker. Given Enkhuizen's long history as a seaport (it was once a base for the East India Company) and fishing hub, it’s only natural that you can spot tall wooden sailing ships docked next to meadows where sheep graze.

OR
Dutch Cheese Trail
The Netherlands is a major world producer of cheese, making nearly a billion kilograms yearly. Nowadays, most of this cheese is made industrially in factories, which not only produces significantly more waste, but also eschews the more traditional processes that make Dutch cheeses unique.

Embark on a trip through the scenic countryside outside Hoorn on a visit to one of the country’s remaining authentic dairy farms, where Dutch cheese making traditions are being kept alive. The farmer here will tell you all about their sustainable cheese making practices and life on their farm.

This MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience supports Global Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production; and Global Goal 15: Life on Land.

For your choice of excursions today, visit the Dutch Freedom Museum, which is dedicated to Holland's struggle for liberation against the Nazis. Alternatively, opt for a walking tour of Nijmegen.

Choose between:
Nijmegen Walking Tour
As you join a local guide on a walk through the streets of Nijmegen, you might be surprised by the youthful energy you find in the Netherlands’ oldest city. Discover a history that stretches back to the Romans and learn how this town recovered from World War II devastation to become the lively center it is today. End your visit in Nijmegen’s best shopping district, where you can branch out on your own to browse the small boutiques, popular chains and local restaurants available there.

OR
Freedom Museum
Travel from Nijmegen, the first city to fall when the Germans invaded the Netherlands, through history on an outing to the Dutch Freedom Museum in Groesbeek. Pass the rolling green landscapes of the surrounding town to arrive at the museum, where you'll find an experience that is both educational and inspiring.

Inside, you'll learn about Germany's oppressive occupation of Holland and its hard-won freedom. Operations Market Garden and Veritable were central to the country's successful overthrow of the invading Nazi government, and you'll learn about both of these fascinating missions today.

Take note of the unique, parachute-inspired design of the Memorial Building. It was crafted to honor the soldiers who dropped down from the sky to move back the German offensive line during Operation Market Garden, the largest airborne operation in history at its time.

As you walk around the museum, you'll encounter guides at a multitude of informational stations, many interactive, that will give you a lively and immersive explanation about what it was like to live through the period preceding the war, the Nazi occupation, the liberation, and the rebuilding of the Netherlands and Europe after the war. At the end of the tour, we'll stop for coffee and a slice of liberation cake.

Rotterdam is thoroughly modern—you’ll soon understand why it’s sometimes called “Manhattan on the Meuse.” The Maas Tower, the Montevideo, the Millennium Tower, and the spectacular Erasmus Bridge make for a dazzling skyline. Explore this modern city on a tour that highlights its eco-friendly innovations, or use it as a jumping point for a visit to Mauritshuis museum in The Hague or the colorful windmills of Kinderdijk.

Featured Excursion:
Nights Out: Rotterdam Pub Crawl

Choose among: 
The Hague with Mauritshuis Visit
Though Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands, The Hague is the seat of the country’s government and a fantastic place to visit in its own right. A favorite local highlight of ours, and your destination on this tour, is the Mauritshuis. This museum houses a significant collection of Dutch Golden Age masterpieces—an array of stunning still lifes and portraits, including Vermeer’s famous Girl with a Pearl Earring. Besides its remarkable collection, what makes this museum so special is its setting. The Mauritshuis itself was once a city palace, allowing the works of art inside to be presented in the manner they were originally intended, hanging on the walls of stately houses.

OR
Rotterdam, City of the Future
With water levels rising in a country where much of the land is below sea level already, the Netherlands has a particularly vested interest in combating climate change. Learn how the country’s most modern city is also amongst its greenest as you get around town via electric city tram and sustainably-powered water taxis. Along the way, you’ll visit a floating farm, the circular beer brewery that helps feed its cows, and more.

This MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience supports Global Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy; and Global Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production.

OR
Kinderdijk Windmills
At one time 10,000 windmills operated in the Netherlands, pumping water away from low-lying lands (much of the country is below sea level) and creating what are known as polders—arable land reclaimed from the water. Though the mighty windmill has been replaced by newer technology, you can see how effective the system was in Kinderdijk, where a group of 19 windmills erected in the 18th century still function. Most are ground-sail windmills (meaning their sails nearly touch the ground as they whirl) and each one was carefully situated to make sure one did not block another’s wind. Each windmill moves the water a little farther, pumping it from field to canal, from canal to river. Climb the steep stairs of a mill and look out over the quiet fields that would be underwater were it not for the ingenuity of the Dutch. (Of course, you can simply admire it from the outside. But if you do that, you won’t see how the mill keeper’s family lived.) These mills are kept in working order partly as a backup in case modern technology fails, and they were used as recently as WWII, when there was no fuel to keep newer pumping stations working.

Note: If docking in Kinderdijk is not possible, the excursion will be arranged by motorcoach from Rotterdam.

OR
Let’s Go: Biking the Dams and Windmills
Set out from Rotterdam to the town of Alblasserdam, where you'll begin an invigorating bike ride through quintessential Dutch scenery. Pedal through the countryside to pass the windmills of Groot-Ammers and Streefkerk.

Your ship docks today in Dordrecht, the oldest city in Holland. With around 1,000 historic monuments seamlessly integrated into the city center, some now home to boutique shops and charming restaurants, the city's past and present mingle to create a rich and distinctive atmosphere.

Choose between:
Dordrecht Walk with House of van Gijn & Gin Tasting
Rewind through the centuries on a guided visit to the medieval city of Dordrecht. As a highlight of your tour today, you’ll stop at the House of van Gijn, the opulent estate of a wealthy 19th century collector. Now a museum, the House of van Gijn is filled with beautifully preserved interiors, art, and artifacts. After, you’ll be treated to a tasting at Rutte Distillery, a family-run producer of premium Dutch gin and other spirits since 1872, to learn about the ingredients and techniques that go into making Holland’s finest gins.

OR
Biesbosch Boat Tour
Embark on a tranquil nature outing at Biesbosch National Park, the largest freshwater tidal zone in Europe. Board a boat to glide through a network of rivers and small streams set into a peaceful willow forest. Keep an eye out for local wildlife as you go—Biesbosch is a haven for beavers, herons, egrets, deer, and much more. It’s the perfect day out for nature lovers.

Your first day in Belgium offers you the chance to visit one of two national gems: beautiful Bruges, the capital of West Flanders and one of the best-preserved medieval cities in Europe, or fascinating Ghent, the capital city of East Flanders, whose long history does not weigh on its vibrant present. Belgium’s second-largest city, Ghent, abounds in medieval architecture, but there is nothing museum-like about the city. It’s lively and brims with cutting-edge boutiques and galleries.

Choose between:
Bruges Walking Tour with Canal Cruise
See why Bruges gives Amsterdam a run for its money as the “Venice of the North” as you cruise through the UNESCO-designated city center. The town grew up around a fort built by the first Count of Flanders as a defense against Viking invaders. By the 14th century, Bruges had become the center of the international cloth trade. Merchants and traders from around the world came to Bruges for Flemish cloth, and the town’s bounty of beautiful churches and mansions testify to its prosperity. The city also became a center of financial services, offering banking, money-changing and maritime insurance. Your local guide will take you past the Begijnhof and the Church of Our Lady to the canal cruise terminal, where you’ll board boats for a cruise through Bruges’s picturesque canals. Swans share the quiet back waters of some canals; others are lined with tall brick townhouses and open up to splendid views of historic churches. After taking a close-up look at the city, see it from above: the Belfry Tower, looming over Market Square, offers an incredible view of the city.

A canal cruise is the perfect way to experience Bruges; however, please be aware that the canal boats are neither covered nor heated.

*Note: Lunch is not included with today's excursions.

OR
Ghent Walking Tour
Since cars are completely banned in Ghent’s historic center, it’s a particularly pedestrian-friendly area. Stroll with your guide from the Church of Saint James, with its two Romanesque towers, to the Friday Market square, which, as its name suggests, was the site of a huge market every Friday in the Middle Ages. You’ll pass the magnificent 15th-century Great Butchers’ Hall and the elegant medieval trading houses that line Graslei and Korenlei streets. Your last stop is the Belfort, the great bell tower that rises above the Old Town. You’ll have time to explore and savor lunch on your own following your tour.

*Note: Lunch is not included with today's excursions.

It may be the world's diamond capital, but Antwerp is known for several other sought-after cultural gems, including Golden Age art and Belgian beer, waffles, and fries. Visit Antwerp's striking Cathedral of Our Lady, with its UNESCO-designated belfry and its historic surroundings, or, if you're feeling adventurous, hop on the metro and experience the city like a local.

Choose between:
Antwerp Historic Downtown Highlights
Wisdom and Justice await you in Antwerp’s Market Square—handsome statues of these virtues overlook the triangular plaza, the historic heart of the medieval city. It’s an easy walk from the ship, and you’ll stop at the glorious Cathedral of Our Lady on the way. Considered one of the most beautiful structures in Belgium, the Gothic cathedral houses four masterworks by the golden age artist Peter Paul Rubens, who lived in Antwerp most of his life. Once you reach the Market Square, you’ll spot the lofty Renaissance-era city hall, topped with those statues (at one time a statue of Brabo joined them, but Counter-Reformation priests replaced the putative founder of Antwerp with a statue of Mary). Next to it are ornately adorned guild houses, which testify to the enormous wealth and economic dominance of Antwerp in the 16th and 17th centuries.

At the end of the tour, you may decide Antwerp is so inviting that you want to see more. Enjoy the rest of the day at your leisure. Your local guide can provide some excellent insights: where to buy diamonds, the names of the best Belgian ales and the best places to find Belgian fries and waffles. You might check out the unusual boutiques in the pedestrian-only zone; Antwerp is a hub of avant-garde fashion, so these shops are full of unique clothing. The city was home to an astounding number of artistic geniuses in the 16th and 17th centuries, among them Brueghel, Van Dyck and Rubens. You can explore exquisite museums devoted to their work on your own.

Note: Tours cannot take place at the Cathedral of Our Lady during religious services. If a religious service prevents a tour, you may return later to see this beautiful structure on your own. Be sure to get a ticket from your guide.

OR
Do as the Locals Do: Antwerp Walking Tour
Residents of Antwerp are called Antwerpenaars, and you’ll feel like one during your guided tour of this bustling multicultural city. Hop on the metro for a quick ride to the beautiful Central Station, then stroll down the Meir, the main shopping street, where you’ll discover a wonderful array of architectural styles. Past and present collide at the Chocolate Line, chocolatier Dominique Persoone’s sinfully good sweets shop on the first floor of the 18th-century Royal Palace. In keeping with the regal setting, Persoone’s wife adorned the shop with 33 million Swarovski crystals. Stand amid the sparkle and glamour and watch as master chocolatiers work their magic, then taste the results. Having met your chocolate quota for the day (if such a thing is possible!), head for Farmers’ Tower, a building from the art deco era that many call the first skyscraper in Europe. And no tour of the city would be complete without a stop at a stand devoted solely to french fries, which, despite the name, are a Belgian invention. Sample these double-fried delicacies with all kinds of dressings (the house-made mayonnaise is essential) and you’ll understand why they’re a national obsession. From there you can take a short walk back to the ship or stay in town and keep exploring.

A special Captain's Farewell Reception and Dinner will be prepared for you this evening.

Disembark the ship in Antwerp. If you have arranged a Uniworld departure transfer, you will be transferred to Brussels International Airport for your flight home.