Day Trips from Zandvoort
There really is plenty to do and discover in Zandvoort's surrounding area. For one thing, Zandvoort village is set within 47 square kilometres of dunes: the Zuid-Kennemerland National Park and the Amsterdamse Waterleidingduinen. These areas are terrific either for walking, cycling or even bird watching!
Only 10 km away from Zandvoort is the historic city of Haarlem which not only has superb shops to wander round but is renowned throughout Europe for its cultural heritage, architecture and art galleries most notably the Frans Hals Museum. Haarlem has more than once been named as the 'Best Shopping City of the Year' and has more restaurants per inhabitant than any other town or city in the Netherlands. Above: Grote Markt in Haarlem
Only 30 km away from Zandvoort is Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. This is world-famous for its 165 canals which are easy to explore by boat. Amsterdam also has 50 museums and probably the best known of these are the Van Gogh Museum and the Rijksmuseum in which you can admire Rembrandt’s world-renowned ‘Night Watch’ and many other famous paintings. Here you will find street entertainers (above right) who will entertain you before you go off to eat in one of the 755 restaurants! Above right: Living statue street entertainer, Amsterdam
The Anne Frank House in Amsterdam
Also worthy of a visit is the Anne Frank house. The canal-side house at 263 Prinsengracht,
where the people in hiding lived when they
went underground, is made up of of two sections:
the front part of the house and the back part,
often referred to as the Annex.
The people in hiding lived in
the back part of the house until the arrest
when the "Secret Annex" was emptied of it's
furnishings by order of the German occupier.
The people
were deported and only Otto Frank survived the extermination camps.
Over the years the Annex remained in it's authentic state. In 1998, the front part of the house was restored based on historical photos and blueprints. The hiding place was betrayed on August 4, 1944.
Because of its proximaty to Amsterdam, the Frank family also often went to Zandvoort aan Zee in their holidays or on days off. The photo on the right shows Anne, sister Margot and mother Edith on the beach in Zandvoort in the summer of 1934. The lady in the chair is Otto Franks secretary Mrs Schneider.
Above: Anne Frank and far right: Anne Frank and family on a day trip to Zandvoort aan Zee. Click photos to enlarge.