Fodor's Expert Review Broek-in-Waterland
No 18th-century visitor on the Dutch leg of a Grand Tour would miss this picturesque, wealthy Waterland village, where even the local grocer is called Posch. The village is full of pretty 17th- and 18th-century wooden houses built for merchants and farmers (83 of the houses have national historic status). Back in the day, the residents here amassed legendary fortunes. The 16th-century church is the burial place for Dutch East India Company businesswoman Neeltje Pater, who left the enormous sum of 7 million guilders when she died in 1789. Today's inhabitants include media moguls and finance types. (Check out the superchic houseboats, with matching speedboats, on the dike leading into the village.) It's a charming step-back-in-time stroll around the village, where you can admire De Kralentuinen, the fine houses with hedges clipped into baroque patterns and elaborate garden mosaics studded with antique blue glass beads. Hundreds of years ago, Dutch sea merchants used these... READ MORE
No 18th-century visitor on the Dutch leg of a Grand Tour would miss this picturesque, wealthy Waterland village, where even the local grocer is called Posch. The village is full of pretty 17th- and 18th-century wooden houses built for merchants and farmers (83 of the houses have national historic status). Back in the day, the residents here amassed legendary fortunes. The 16th-century church is the burial place for Dutch East India Company businesswoman Neeltje Pater, who left the enormous sum of 7 million guilders when she died in 1789. Today's inhabitants include media moguls and finance types. (Check out the superchic houseboats, with matching speedboats, on the dike leading into the village.) It's a charming step-back-in-time stroll around the village, where you can admire De Kralentuinen, the fine houses with hedges clipped into baroque patterns and elaborate garden mosaics studded with antique blue glass beads. Hundreds of years ago, Dutch sea merchants used these beads to trade with primitive cultures for spices and other goods; the beads that were left over and brought back to Holland were used to decorate such gardens. There's an old-fashioned pancake house and a slightly funkier café for a spot of lunch, or bring a picnic, if you prefer. It's a lovely area to explore by boat, canoe, or kayak, and you can rent all of them here. Potter round the Havenrak, the large lake that is popular with ice-skaters in the winter, or go for a more extensive Waterland tour.
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