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Recommended Reviews - Kinderdijk

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Frank F.

Kinderdijk is one of those "must see" places in The Netherlands; you're in Holland and these are the spectacular windmills! The 19 windmills built in the 18th century dating back to around 1740 are a glimpse of how the Dutch managed water and were able to drain water from the lower polder regions. The windmills are in excellent shape and continue to function as a testament to Dutch engineering. Amazing some are still occupied by Miller families of many generations and they continue the work of maintaining and operating them. Kinderdijk is a living museum, an engineering marvel displaying Dutch ingenuity and harmony with nature. It is a beautiful spot to enjoy the natural flowers and take pictures of the windmills.

Robert C.

Small village located near Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Kinderdijk hosts 19 windmills, 17 occupied by private residents, and 2 open to the public. Stopover on our Viking Rhine river cruise after Cologne and before Amsterdam. Guided tour with local guides arranged by Viking cruises. Bring your comfortable waterproof walking shoes, and windbreaker as windy with long walking distances, and it rains a lot, even in late May. Got to go into two of the windmills, up and down steep stairways to see how the Dutch people lived in these structures. Would not want to walk too far in those wooden cogs that the locals use -or is it all tourist talk? Outside museums with exhibits on how the Dutch managed the waterways throughout the centuries. Almost all the windmills were still, despite the wind. Picturesque countryside with more cows than people in sight. Tourist shops where we bought lots of Dutch chocolate. No cash accepted , only credit cards. Still working it off four months later- the chocolate, not the credit cards.

David F.

We had a guided tour of the Kinderdijk windmills as part of our Rhine river cruise. These windmills are one of the most popular tourist attractions in the Netherlands and have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was a cloudy, cold November day with a biting wind but that didn't diminish the beauty of the windmills. I of course had known of windmills all my life, but actually seeing them - what a thrill! They are much bigger than I had suspected, and you would *not* want to be under those swooshing blades! The optional, guided tour was excellent and worth taking if there is an opportunity. The tour, done by a local guide, went into the history of the windmills, their use for pumping water and keeping the below-sea level land as land (!) and more. If you choose you can go inside a windmill and climb to the top to see it working and where the windmill keeper's family lived. The stairs are narrow and very steep, a claustrophobia nightmare - I opted out but my wife went up. Even she felt a little claustrophobic on those stairs! But she enjoyed seeing the windmill in operation and marveled at the tiny living space that a family raised 12 children in! Well worthwhile for Netherlands visitors.

Kendall R.

This place is so freaking cool! No one was particularly excited when my Godmother planned this for us, but we quickly changed our minds upon arrival! We went on a very windy day so we got to see the windmills in action. Before we got started, we stopped at some of the vendors near the entrance and we purchased incredible fresh cheese & stroopwaffles. We spent so long here, walking around, listening to the tour via our phones, and just marveling at the beauty. I really felt like I was walking around in a painting. We also got to tour the inside of a working windmill which was just fascinating! Do not miss this spot!

Ed L.

The windmills sence at Kinderdijk was amazing! A little haze over the water as the sun rising up is mesmerizing! With windmills reflection in the water, they are picture perfect! The visit to Blokker windmill, the oldest working windmill, felt like being transported back in time when the miller was living there tending the mill. It felt like a living museum. The keeper there showed us how the miller would turn the mill into the wind, release the brake, and put on the sail. I enjoyed every minute of the presentation. Highly recommended!

Georgie M.

We first saw the Windmills of Kinderdijk from a distance at sunrise, from our Viking Rhein River Cruise boat. The Kinderdijk name comes from a 1421 legend (see photo), where a wave was said to have washed ashore a cradle, that contained a sleeping baby. This is well before the Harry Chapin's 1974 song "Cats in the Cradle" btw. LOL But the view of these ancient windmills, were stunning to see up close. We were even able to go inside one and see how it is operated by the family living there. These Kinderdijk windmills (photos) are an UNESCO world heritage sites. They are fully functioning and working windmills. The family we met, takes a lot of national pride living here and operating them. These windmills are gorgeous and wonderful to see both from afar and up close.

Flory W.

From our cruise ship, we walked down to Kinderdijk. Because there were many of us, from our ship, our group went straight to the Gift Shop, after that, we went to another building where we saw a extensive presentation about how windmills work. Then we walked out (in the very windy cold day), to a windmill, we met a man who live there, we were able to see the windmill including climbing up the steps. We saw the living areas and outside the windmill, we saw how it was pumping water. We learned that the windmills are there to preserve the heritage. They are no longer necessary to operate. Kinderdijk has the largest concentration of windmills. All millers wear wooden shoes. The willows around there were cut into wooden shoes (see photo). Everything was great, except for the windy weather, which almost blow us into the water.

4/28/2022
Linda T.

The Kinderdijk windmills is an UNESCO world heritage site and another landmark of the Netherlands. There are other windmills spots in the Netherlands, but Kinderdijk is the most well-known. We walked around the premise for about an hour and took photos of the windmills. You would have to pay admission if want to enter the museum mills, so check their website for more info. We also went to the café at the visitor's center prior to visiting the windmills since we wanted a snack and beverages.

Josh N.

We really enjoyed our guided tour to learn about the history of the area and the windmills. It was neat to get inside one and scope it out. They have a nice gift shop and I got to enjoy my first stroll waffle. The areas is really pretty with plenty of walking paths to stroll about.

View from the bike path
Vicky B.

A stop on our Viking River Cruise, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The grounds are extensive and in addition to the windmills, also contain 2 pump houses, an educational building, and a gift shop. I recommend doing a tour since the history is very interesting. In a nutshell, the windmills were used for water management, but pump houses now have replaced them. FYI- The windmills are no longer operational. I'm not sure how many are open, but we got to go inside one windmill, which was neat. Only the first floor of the windmill is handicap friendly, if you want to climb up there are steep stairs to do so. Great spot for photos! Highly recommend checking out if you're in the area.

Kinderdijk
Anton K.

Kinderdijk has been a World Heritage Site since 1997. It is about 15 miles east of Rotterdam. Parking will cost you 5 Euros. The Molenkade bus has a stop nearby as an alternative. One thousand years ago Kinderdijk was a peat bog trapped between Lek and Noord rivers and the fury of the sea. Then in the 13th century the Dutch began managing the lowlands by establishing a Waterboard Administrative Council under Flores V. These waterboards were administrative agencies to manage flooding. If nature were to run it's course 26 percent of the Netherlands would be flooded with an additional 60 percent under threat from flooding. Since the 13th century there has been a steady stream of innovation in water management. Dykes, sluices, reservoirs, windmills, steam pumping stations beginning in 1868, diesel-powered pumping stations in 1924 and today computer-operated pumping stations. Kinderdijk has the highest concentration of windmills in the Netherlands. Of the 19 windmills built in 1740, 13 original windmills exist today. The basic entrance fee is 11 Euros at the gate or 9 Euros online. There is additional costs for a boat tour or a professional tour guide. Go online and download the free app. on your smartphone. The app will help you arrange your ticket purchase, book a boat tour and download your audio-guide. I highly recommend the app.. Bring your own headphones and a fully charged battery. There are several audio-tours to choose from, shorter or extended, kids or adult. The audio-tours cover the history of the area, wildlife, regional history, life of the millers and the windmills. There is a digital map of Kinderdijk and the surrounding area, as well. Kinderdijk is situated in the Albasserwaard polder at the confluence of the Lek and Noord rivers. There is a visitor center, gift shop and small cafe. There are only two windmills that allow entrance. It is an extra 8 Euros. Stairs that climb to the top are steep and narrow with living quarters at the top. Once you climb to the top and see the living quarters you will be amazed that the Hoek family with their 13 children all lived in that tiny living space. The Hoeks have been millers for 10 generations. Millers today must have a miller's certificate. This is a part time job for millers today. By day they are schoolteachers, plumbers, lawyers and various other professions.

This one did not spin
Ken J.

This is for the windmills only. Toured them via a Viking cruise tour, and the guide was a local who gave a great informative tour of the working windmill and immediate area. We were told the sad story of the child walking out of the wrong door while the blades were spinning, the mother raced out and saved the child, but perished herself when hit by the whirling blades. Gruesome end. Never knew the windmills were for pumping water! I thought they were for grinding corn or similar...very impressive to see these things, so glad they saved a few before demolishing most of them...

Biking is very fun!
Rebecca T.

If you have half a day to spare in the Netherlands, get out of Amsterdam and come here! You just need to hop on the train to Rotterdam (make sure you buy the supplement for your train ticket), take the tram to Erasmusburg to board the ferry that takes you to the entrance of the kinderdijk windmills. You don't need to buy tickets if you don't plan to visit the museum which is essentially the inside of two of the windmills. What I suggest is renting a bike to go around all the windmills, relax, take photos and have fun. Biking in NL is very pleasant as the country is as flat as a pancake, which is also why it will be flooded one day. If you want to go to the last windmill, walking is probably not a good idea when you can bike on nice paved bike lanes, but watch out for some serious big pile of dung. The museum is worth seeing especially for €9 only. It's nice to climb to the top and see the gears. When I went, none of the windmills was running so it's too bad not to be able to see the actually mechanism in place. The other museum which is further away won't let you climb up. It looks like a miller is actually living there. But don't miss out on the 2 goats, rabbits and pretty plants in the yard! We had so much fun. Definitely worth a trip here!

One of my favorite places I got to see in The Netherlands! Even met one of the men who lived in one of the windmills!

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Kinderdijk Reviews in Other Languages

Review Highlights - Kinderdijk

We boarded buses dockside in Rotterdam, a major port city which had been bombed into oblivion by the Nazis.

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Sint-Nicolaasbasiliek - St. Nicholas relic

Sint-Nicolaasbasiliek

(9 reviews)

Centrum, De Wallen

Coming from our hotel we had seen this marvelous cathedral, and I knew we had to stop by on our…read morereturn. Fortunately it was open, as we saw some others going in. The cathedral is gorgeous, awe inspiring. The quiet and reverence here offers a complete escape from the outside world. After soaking up the timeless architecture we were lucky stumble on the choir practicing for their Saturday 5 PM performance - amazing, beautiful voices and music. We only wish we had more time and could have stayed for the complete performance.

This is a stunning church, the Basilica of St. Nicholas, sits across from the Centraal train…read morestation in Amsterdam. One of my favorite things to do while traveling especially Europe is, to randomly walk into an intriguing church-- must be part of my Catholic upbringing, ha! Named after the patron saint of Amsterdam, the basilica was designed by architect Adrianus Bleijs (1842-1912). It's stark somber looking on the outside, stark stunning looking inside. I appreciate the church's use of technology. It's the only church I've seen with electronic confessionals. The church also has a very well designed and branded website. There are 5 churches in this conglomerate and St. Nicholas is the most ornate. The dome of the church is visually awesome, intricately constructed. I had to take photos. St Nicholas is a beautiful work of art and I like it more inside than outside. I very well understand the decades sometimes centuries of toil and pain artisans went through to create Art to please the church's exacting standards. The Sistine Chapel is probably the epitome of that dedication. For these historical reasons, I've come to appreciate pre 1900 churches all over the world. Another really supahcalifragilisticoolthing I discovered was the church holds mass in Gregorian Chant. Wowzah! Now that was amaaaazzzzzzing mass to experience after a long night of debauchery and partying in Amsterdam. Geniusly Sick! Website: http://www.nicolaas-parochie.nl/ Visits: 2

Binnenhof

Binnenhof

(4 reviews)

The Binnenhof is the political center of The Hague and the Netherlands at large, housing both the…read moreSenate and the House of Representatives, the office of the Prime Minister, and various other governmental entities. Although not directly tied to international entities such as the UN and the International Court of Justice, places like the Binnenhof confer the same air of solemn, regal authority upon even the most hapless tourist. It *feels* like a seat of power, in a way that many other capitol buildings do not, even back home in the States, because of its antiquity and careful preservation. There history of a nation is saturated in these 800 year old stones, each of which with its own tale to tell. Visitors are allowed to attend sessions of parliament, if they happen to be in session when tourists are wandering through. During our visit, there wasn't much in the way of legislative "action" going on at the time, so the grounds were mostly clear of crowds, political or otherwise, leaving us to wander the grounds freely and take in the gorgeous gothic architecture. Along with the adjacent Rijksmuseum de Gevangenpoort, the Mauritshuis, and several other intriguing sites encircling the Hofvijver, any student of history will find no lack of things to engage their curiosity in the area.

Note: This review applies only to non-Dutch speakers…read more I visited Binnenhof as part of a day-trip to The Hague. I opted for a guided tour via Prodemos, a third-party tour service, as they are (to my knowledge) the sole entity that can lead visitors into the Dutch First and Second Houses. These sorts of tours are rarely, if ever, truly riveting. If you've visited another national legislature, you know access to various spaces is generally limited and tour commentary can be pretty dry. Binnenhof both proves the rule and the exception--I only got to see two spaces within the complex not open to the anyone simply choosing to stroll through the courtyard (the Senate Chamber and the House of Representatives; the Hall of Knights was closed during my visit). Limited access, however, only knocks one star off of the experience. I'm raising this three stars for non-Dutch speakers because of disparity between pre-recorded, non-Dutch audioguides and the commentary offered by the tour guide. I opted for the English audio guide and quickly found myself quite bored. My tour guide, on the other hand, was exciting and engaging--I could tell from watching the people on my tour. If you speak Dutch, this could easily be a good or even top-notch experience. As for everyone else, I don't think a paid visit to the complex is worth the cost or the boredom--just stroll through.

Kinderdijk - landmarks - Updated May 2026

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