Archeon Museum Park - Gouda - Kinderdijk - Rotterdam

Route: Amsterdam - Archeon Museum Park - Gouda - Kinderdijk - Rotterdam - Amsterdam
Duration: 10 h
Our first stop will be in Archeon Museum Park which is a large museum park where you can find different edifices from Prehistory, Roman and Medieval time. They have brought them there from all over the Netherlands, so people could learn about those parts of history. There you will can walk around, explore different houses and learn about them this way. But, Archeon isn’t just a place where you can learn about history. It’s a place where you can become a part of it. From baking your own bread on the open fire, crossing the river on a pontoon bridge, trying the knight’s armour and many more. There are many guides – interpretors around, dressed in historical clothes, that will interestingly tell you their stories. Next we will make stop at Gouda, the city of cheese in the Netherlands. However Gouda has much more to offer than cheese alone. There are plenty of things to do and discover in this beautiful historic city full of trendy hotspots and passionate people. From The Markt, the central square with its iconic town hall to the beautiful stained-glass windows of the Sint-Jans church and from street food to the first Fairtrade street in the Netherlands, old and new meet and merge in Gouda. Next we will visit to the Kinderdijk where for nearly a thousand years, the Dutch have been clever in dealing with the water that surrounds them. The sustainable blend of nature and technology used to keep Kinderdijk dry is so uniquely valuable that the area and its windmills were granted UNESCO World Heritage status. You won’t find a windmill complex like Kinderdijk anywhere else in the world. The ingenious system of windmills and pumping stations has been keeping the soil dry here for centuries now, in a constant struggle between human brains and the power of the water. The site illustrates all the typical features associated with this technology – dykes, reservoirs, pumping stations, administrative buildings and a series of 19 pristinely preserved windmills. The windmills were erected in the 1600s to drain the Alblasserwaard polders, which had suffered floods since the 13th century. One such flood, the Saint Elizabeth Flood of 1421, is both the source of the name Kinderdijk and of the associated fairy tale, "The Cat and the Cradle": after the storm, a wooden cradle was spotted on the flood waters, in which a cat jumped to and fro to keep the cradle afloat. When the cradle approached the dry land of the dyke, the locals discovered a baby inside -- hence the name Kinderdijk, Dutch for "children's dyke. " Last stop will be at the port city of Rotterdam where you enjoy the wonderful. The city was appeared  at 1270, when a dam was constructed in the Rotte river and now there is home to Europe’s largest port.  You will make yourself familiar with the heart of Rotterdam. On this city tour you will see the most important sights in the centre of the city and you will get to know a district in more detail. Our guide will tell you about the history of the city, how it developed from an insignificant fishing village to a world port of world importance. You will see how in Rotterdam old and modern stands harmoniously next to each other or just hard contrasts. Of course you will see the latest architectural works of art, but also what has been preserved through centuries. You will hear funny and interesting stories and because we also get to see less known places, you will be enriched with a different, surprising, new view of Rotterdam and the Rotterdammers. Also you will see some highlights, like the Coolsingel (town hall, post office), Laurenskirche, Kubuswohnungen and Alte Hafen, Schouwburgplein (Theaterplatz), Schielandhaus, central station and market hall. In addition also shipping district, Holland-Amerikakai. After free time we will return to Amsterdam.
Price: Per person