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Offered languages
- English
- Dutch
This isn't a bus tour past the lock gates. It's a self-guided walk through the village where Dutch water management began — the Kolksluis, still called the oldest working lock in Europe, the church where Frans Hals signed the register, and the 1641 Gemeenlandshuis where Rijnland's dike overseers worked. The StepQuests app guides you by GPS in English or Dutch, with real stories and quizzes at every stop, go at your own pace, ending with a drink at Cafe Spaarndam overlooking the lock.
What's Included
Meeting and pickup
Meet at the Kolksluis lock in Spaarndam. Open the StepQuests app and start the self-guided tour on your phone — there is no live guide, the app leads you between stops with GPS.
The self-guided tour ends at Cafe Spaarndam, overlooking the lock — a nice spot for a drink after the walk.
Itinerary
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1Kolksluis Spaarndam
Start at the Kolksluis, still called the oldest working lock in Europe. Learn its story on the StepQuests app before setting off along the dike.
5 minutes • Admission ticket free -
2Standbeeld Hans Brinker IJdijk Spaarndam
See the bronze statue of the boy with his finger in the dike — a tourist-board invention from 1950, not an old Dutch legend. The app tells the real story behind it.
5 minutes • Admission ticket free -
3Gemeenlandshuis Spaarndam (1641)
Pass the 1641 dike overseer's house, a national monument on the polder line. The app tells you why Rijnland built it here and what the Gemeenlandshuis still does today.
10 minutes • Admission ticket free -
4Rijksmonument Oude Kerk
Pause at the Oude Kerk on Kerkplein, a brick hall church built in 1627 and listed as a national monument. The churchyard is freely accessible; the nave itself is only open during services, concerts or weddings.
10 minutes • Admission ticket free -
5Spaarndam
Walk to the Grote Sluis, the working lock and lifting bridge connecting the Spaarne to Zijkanaal C and the North Sea Canal. Watch pleasure boats and barges pass through the chamber, rebuilt between 2009 and 2011.
10 minutes • Admission ticket free -
6Spaarndam-West
Stop at Holland Paling, a family smokehouse on the Spaarndammerdijk that has smoked eel the traditional way since 1832. Buy smoked eel or other smoked fish at the retail counter to taste a local specialty.
10 minutes • Admission ticket free -
7Spaarndam
Look across to De Slokop, an 1877 octagonal polder windmill on Lagedijk. It is a private home viewed from the public dike, one of the mills that once drained the fields behind the east bank of the Spaarne.
5 minutes • Admission ticket free -
8Spaarndam-West
Pass the Boezemgemaal, a T-shaped brick pumping station built in 1844 that still lifts surplus water from the Spaarne onto the North Sea Canal. View it from the public path; the exterior is what you see, as it is working infrastructure.
10 minutes • Admission ticket free -
9Spaarndam
Pass Restaurant De Kolk on Oostkolk, overlooking the same lock basin as the Kolksluis. A former grocery and ship-store since 1919, now a waterside restaurant with a terrace, open Wednesday to Sunday for optional lunch or dinner.
5 minutes • Admission ticket free -
10Kolksluis Spaarndam
Finish at Cafe Spaarndam, Westkolk 10, on the other door of the same lock where skippers once drank between lockages. Eel is still on the menu; sit on the terrace overlooking the Kolksluis to end the walk.
10 minutes • Admission ticket free
Additional info
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Tags
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Cancellation Policy
- For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
- If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
- Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
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