Holiday apartment in Aalsmeer: Water, sailing and culture

Aalsmeer stands for water, boats and a remarkable combination of horticulture, art and history. On the Westeinderplassen, activities range from sailing and canoeing to water skiing, while museums, historic buildings and paths along the water await on land. This means you will encounter very different facets of the town in quick succession.

Water

Zeilschool Aalsmeer rents out sailing boats, motorboats, sloops, canoes and SUPs, and also offers sailing courses as well as windsurfing and wingfoil courses. On the Westeinderplassen, Waterskivereniging Aalsmeer (WSVA) adds water skiing, wakeboarding and barefoot water skiing to the range of activities. Surfeiland Aalsmeer is also a water-related destination: it has a sandy beach that slopes gently into the water. Surfeiland can be reached both by water and by land. Nearby, at the Watertoren Aalsmeer, Windsurfclub Aalsmeer offers windsurfing courses.

Those exploring the Westeinderplassen by SUP or canoe can follow the Bovenlanden route through narrow ditches along the islands. Boats can moor at four public islands in the Westeinderplassen. Designated swimming is available at Zwemsteiger Kudelstaart. There, the bathing area includes a shallow section and another section with a depth of two metres. Zwemsteiger can be reached by bicycle and has a small parking area for cars.

Paths and landscape

Together, the Grote Poel and Kleine Poel have a circumference of around 19 kilometres. A walking path runs along the water from the centre of Aalsmeer towards Leimuiden. Another way to experience the surrounding area on footpaths is the Aalsmeer windmill route: the approximately 18-kilometre walking or cycling tour passes three windmills. Waterways, narrow ditches and islands each define a different section of the landscape.

Culture

More than 1,200 plant species and varieties grow in the Historische Tuin Aalsmeer. At the same time, the site serves as a gene bank for modern ornamental horticulture. From April to October, the Historische Tuin holds a public auction on the last Saturday of every month, which anyone can attend.

The Flower Art Museum focuses on flowers and plants in art. It is located in a former clean-water reservoir opposite the distinctive Watertoren Aalsmeer. The Watertoren is a water tower in the Art Deco style, completed around 1928. The 50-metre-high tower is open to the public on the second and fourth Sunday of each month.

The Oude Raadhuis in Aalsmeer now houses an exhibition space that combines a gallery with a sculpture garden. The building was constructed in 1780. Another historic site is the Kerkhof van Calslagen, which preserves a low wall on the foundations of the former church. At Kramer Seringen, the SeringenXperience includes a guided tour about growing lilacs.

History

Kudelstaart also has notable reminders of the past. The R.K. St.-Johannes de Doperkerk is a three-aisled neoclassical church built in 1822. Fort bij Kudelstaart is a fort surrounded by a moat and forms part of the Stelling van Amsterdam.

The De Propeller monument in Kudelstaart commemorates a Stirling bomber that crashed into the Westeinder in 1942. Every year on 4 May, a memorial ceremony for those who fell in the Second World War takes place at this monument. Thus, ecclesiastical architecture, military building history and remembrance culture stand side by side at different locations in Kudelstaart.

For travel to Royal FloraHolland, the route by car via the A4, the Aalsmeer/Hoofddorp exit, and the N201 and N231 is described; free parking is available for visitors.

For further options when choosing a location, you can also visit the pages on Aalsmeer and Kudelstaart.

To the higher-level travel overview: North Holland.

More destinations

More places within the same destination:

Heiloo, Wormerland, Weesp, Diemen, Wieringen, Alkmaar.