Holiday apartment in Paesens – Wadden Sea coast, fishing villages and trails

A holiday apartment in Paesens is ideal for a stay surrounded by the Wadden Sea coast, a well-preserved fishing-village character and an impressive regional history. Paesens and neighbouring Moddergat are known as twin villages and are among the few well-preserved fishing villages. Their villagescape is protected. For your planning, this means you can combine nature experiences, walks, cultural discoveries and historical topics into different daily itineraries.

Mudflats, dike and trails through the landscape

Peazemerlannen, a nature area with salt marshes and a summer polder, lies on the edge of Paesens and Moddergat. It came into being after a severe storm tore a breach in the dike, allowing the Wadden Sea to flow into the polder. A 2.5-kilometre walking route runs through this area and across the Strekdam and is accessible year-round. The red route, by contrast, is accessible only from 15 July to 15 March. Different trail options make it easy to focus on either a shorter walk or a longer outing, depending on your plans for the day.

The Schone schoenentocht runs along the Wadden Sea coast and through the village. A pier near Paesens extends far out over the mudflats and offers views of Schiermonnikoog and Engelsmanplaat; on a clear day, Ameland can also be seen. Those who wish to combine the landscape with regional history can follow the Waddentour by bicycle, car or on foot, using information panels and/or GPS. From Paesens-Moddergat, several cycling routes can also be followed via the regional cycle-node network.

Fishing history and living traditions

The history of the villages is encountered not only in their streets and buildings. The large De Hond grain and shelling mill in Paesens was built in 1861 and served as a grain and shelling mill. Klaske’s Húske was the home of Klaske van der Lei (1900–1986), the last female fish auctioneer in the Netherlands. The cottage was incorporated into the museum in 1995 and restored to its original condition.

In the Paesens-Moddergat area, the more than 100-year-old L.A. Buma has been rowed again since 2015 and is used in rowing-boat competitions. Also in Paesens-Moddergat, Stichting Oan ’e dyk has organised mudflat walking tours since 2008. A monument on the sea dike of Paesens-Moddergat commemorates the storm disaster of 5–6 March 1883, in which 83 fishermen lost their lives. This allows you to combine the landscape, remembrance and the region’s maritime past during a walk.

Practical orientation for your stay

In 2026, Museum ’t Fiskershúske is open from 14 February to 31 October, Mondays to Saturdays from 10:00 to 17:00. On public holidays, as well as on Sundays in June, July and August, it is open from 12:00 to 17:00, subject to change. Garnalenfabriek is scheduled to be open to the public free of charge on Sundays from 13:00 to 17:00; due to occasional group rentals, this does not take place every Sunday. When choosing your accommodation, you can therefore consider whether you would like to focus on the museum and village history, walks in the mudflat area, or cycling and coastal routes.

Discover more places

If you would like to explore other places in the same region in addition to Paesens: Engwierum, Hantum, Oostmahorn, Metslawier, Ee, Niawier, Nes Gem Dongeradeel and Anjum.

For the overarching travel overview: Dongeradeel.