Enkhuizen

44km (27 miles) NE of Amsterdam; 15km (9 miles) NE of Hoorn

A 400-boat herring fleet once sailed out of Enkhuizen. Then in 1932 came the Enclosing Dike, closing off the North Sea. Today the town looks to pleasure boating, tourism, and bulb-growing for its livelihood, and boasts one of the country's most fascinating open-air museums.

Getting There

Trains depart at least every hour from Amsterdam Centraal Station, going via Hoorn; trip time is 1 hour 15 minutes. Buses depart every half-hour or so from outside Hoorn railway station. By car from Amsterdam, drive to Hoorn, then, take N302 northeast.

Visitor Information

VVV Enkhuizen, Tussen Twee Havens 1, 1601 EM Enkhuizen (tel. 0228/313-164; fax 0228/315-531; www.vvvenkhuizen.nl), at the harbor. The office is open January to March and November to December, Tuesday to Friday from 9am to 12:30pm and 1 to 3pm; April to October, daily from 9am to 5pm.

What to See & Do

From a dock in Veerhaven beside Enkhuizen railway station, or from another beside the dike road from Enkhuizen to Lelystad, you take a boat over to one of Holland's finest museums, the Zuiderzeemuseum, Wierdijk 12-22 (tel. 0228/351-111; www.zuiderzeemuseum.nl), dedicated to recreating the historic way of life on the shores of the old Zuiderzee. Its two sections, Indoor and Outdoor, feature many exhibits, of which the most dramatic are 130 complete old buildings. Farmhouses, public buildings, stores, and a church have been moved there from lakeside villages, and from elsewhere in Holland, brought together to form a cobblestone-street village. There are, too, examples of the fishing boats that provided the incomes on which villagers depended. The Outdoor section of the museum is open mid-April to October, daily from 10am to 5pm. The Indoor section is open daily from 10am to 5pm; closed January 1 and December 25. Admission mid-April to October is 9.50€ ($12) for adults, 7.50€ ($9.40) for children ages 4 to 12, and free for children under 4; November to March 5€ ($6.25) for adults, and 4.50€ ($5.65) for children ages 4 to 12, and free for children under 4.