Sails of Amsterdam. Participation in the closing parade.

The Sails of Amsterdam festival has been held since 1975. It was held in honor of the 700th anniversary of the founding of the city. Since then it has been carried out every 5 years. But in 2020, the 10th anniversary festival never took place due to the pandemic. Therefore, the anniversary festival will take place in 2025, making Amsterdam’s 750th anniversary in one year. The purpose of the festival is to revive the spirit of the times of the East India Company. When the main communication between countries was navigation. Ensuring trade between countries and continents. More than 800 vintage sailing ships from all over the world gather for the festival. More than 1,000 small vessels take part in the opening and closing parade of the festival. They say that at one festival there were more than 2,000 ships and 2,500,000 visitors. This is a great event that allows you to visit medieval Holland, when it was a powerful maritime power, without a time machine.

Volendam was once a very busy port. And how could it be otherwise, next door is the town of Edam, famous all over the world for its cheese factories and it did not have its own port for a very long time. Therefore, Edam cheeses were sent all over the world through Volendam. There was also a fishing fleet here that was engaged in herring fishing until a dam was built and the port was located on the inland lake Merkermeer. The fleet has been preserved, but its function has changed; now regattas are held on these classic ships. The Cheese Museum will give you the opportunity to study the technology of making Dutch cheeses. The colorful embankment on which there is a stall with very tasty herring will not leave anyone indifferent.

Hoorn is an old Dutch town. With an ancient maritime history. The city has many monuments and architecture. There is also a maritime museum. The Chamber of Weights and Measures, in which trade in overseas goods brought by ships of the East India Company was carried out. The famous Cape Horn was named by William Schouten in honor of his hometown.

Classic Dutch town. Town Hall of the 17th century. Three large marinas, which are not inferior in area to the city itself. Cozy canals and drawbridges create the unique atmosphere of a Dutch medieval city. The famous open-air museum Zeerdezee will immerse you in the atmosphere of life and everyday life of medieval Holland. Almost all crafts of that time are represented here.

A small village with an ethnographic museum. Previously, there was a fishing artel here until a dam was built, which prevented the entry of water from the Wadden Sea, thereby protecting the village from floods. The oldest gateway has been preserved here. Next to which there is a bench of liars, on which retired captains talk about their campaigns. There is a skating museum, as this is where the famous 16-kilometer canal skating race starts.

A small classic Dutch village cut by canals, along the banks of which there are shipyards where classic Dutch Lemster ships are repaired and built.