Beemster

By car

The Beemster polder can best be accessed by using the A7 when travelling from Amsterdam or Heerenveen. Use exit 6 (Purmerend Noord), after which you drive away from Purmerend, heading for Middenbeemster. As long as the suffix -beemster is in a town's name, you will know that you are in the polder. The prefixes in the town's name are the place where they are located within the polder. Noordbeemster, for example, translates to North Beemster, Middenbeemster to Central Beemster and Zuidoostbeemster to Southeast Beemster.

Since 1999, De Beemster is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The UNESCO describes it as “a masterpiece of creative planning, in which the ideals of antiquity and the Renaissance were applied to the design of a reclaimed landscape.” Between the two lake-floor polders are remnants of the older marsh landscape. Polder Mijzen (just north of Schermerhorn) is a remnant of the peat bogs which once covered the region, traditionally used as grassland. It is designated as a provincial geological monument.

• Beemster Polderland reclamation of the 17th century and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The annual "Beemsterfeest week", a week in which all sorts of activities will be held.
This can be the "Beemstercross", which is a combination of rally and demolition derby on a slippery muddy parcour. If you sit front row you're guaranteed to go home covered in mud.
Another activity that will be held is the fair, where locals come to every night of the week to drink some beers and talk.

The Beemster is home to several B&Bs and some hotels, you can choose to sleep in the countryside or in the city. Many choose to sleep in the countryside because it offers a spectacular view waking up and it's a great place to start your tour through the Beemster.