The unusual European city that looks like it’s made entirely out of Lego – and tourists can stay in the strange houses
THERE’S a lesser-known city In Europe that looks like it’s been made entirely out of Lego.
Located just mere minutes from Amsterdam, Zaandam has been dubbed a real-life Lego village by holidaymakers in recent years.
Surrounded by the Zaan River, the Dutch city is known for its industrial history, windmills and Lego-like buildings.
Founded in 1811, Zaandam was known for its milling centre, with windmills powering saws that produced wood and paper.
Other claims to fame include having Europe‘s first McDonald’s, being the birthplace of chocolate manufacturer Verkade, and it’s colourful green buildings.
Called Zaan houses, the buildings are painted in four different shades of green and have been attracting holidaymakers in recent years.
The colourful Dutch houses feature a wooden facade and white window frames.
The houses look like they’ve been stacked on top of one another, giving them a Lego-like appearance.
While travel Blogger Peaked wrote: “After leaving Zaandam station, I was kinda shocked to see the outside world. It felt like I ended up in a colorful dream world.
“Well, you can compare this city with Legoland or toy world, the only difference is it was not a fantasy world, it was a real world where people actually live.”
One of the city’s most well-known real-life Lego houses is the Inntel Hotel, which is located in the heart of the city.
Travel blogger My Next Pin wrote: “Inntel Hotels is the most famous building in Zaandam.
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“Its architectural design is impressive and looks like a building of lego bricks (a stack of almost 70 individual Zaan houses in four colours of the traditional Zaan green).”
The hotel has a 4.5/5 star rating from more than 2,200 reviews online, with one person saying: “It looks stunning from the outside and the staff were fantastic.”
Another person added: “A fantastic looking hotel on the outside, It was fresh, clean and modern on the inside.”
While a third person wrote: “The hotel is absolutely stunning both inside and out.”
Stadshart Zaandam is another district that is made from Zaan Houses.
The area features plenty of shops, which are often packed into the traditional wooden buildings.
Other attractions in Zaandam include a visit to Zaanse Schans – a residential area featuring traditional Dutch windmills.
Some of the wooden windmills were relocated to Zaanse Schans to help keep them well preserved.
In the tiny countryside town, visitors will be able to explore museums as well as bars, shops and restaurants.
Even though Zaandam isn’t home to Europe’s first McDonald’s anymore, there are plenty of other attractions, including the Catharina Hoeve Cheese Farm and the Zaans Museum.
Zaandam is a 6-minute train journey away from Amsterdam.
Direct flight routes operate from Liverpool, Manchester, London Edinburgh, Glasgow, Bristol, Edinburgh and Birmingham.
There are plenty of other overlooked towns and cities to finish in the Netherlands, including Amersfoort.
Other quirky European towns
Last year, Amersfoort was named European City of the Year at the Academy of Urbanist’s annual Urbanism Awards 2023, because of its forward-thinking ideas and quality of life for residents.
There’s also Bourtange – a bizarre star-shaped village with just 430 locals.
Set in the Netherlands, the village was built during the Eighty Year’s War.
It was used as a fort, with its star shape allowing villagers to see enemies coming from every direction.
After falling into disrepair, the village was rebuilt and transformed into an Open Air Museum.
Six quirky attractions to visit in the UK
From checking out lawnmowers of the rich and famous, to sizing up the UK's smallest house, there are plenty of quirky places to visit without the crush of the crowds.
- Teapot Island in Yalding, Kent, contains a collection of more than 8,400 teapots.
- The Chair Collection at Wycombe Museum, Bucks, boasts a chair and furniture collection — a homage to High Wycombe’s 200 years of furniture manufacture.
- The National Gas museum is set in the former gatehouse of a Leicester gasworks. It claims to have the “world’s biggest collection of gas-related artefacts”.
- Located in Conwy, North Wales, the Smallest House in Britain was created in the 16th century.
- Northampton Museum houses one of world’s largest footwear collections and has been designated by Arts Council England as of international significance.
- The British Lawnmower Museum had displays of lawnmowers from the rich and famous, including those owned by Princess Diana, Brian May, and Paul O’Grady.
Also in the Netherlands is an island loved by locals that Brits won’t have heard of.
Texel has white sandy beaches and amazing beer, as well as being home to one of the most expensive sheep in the world.
