Kinderdijk is the largest concentration of historic windmills in the Netherlands: nineteen of them, built around 1740 to drain the Alblasserwaard polder, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997. It is not a village or a museum park but a working water-management landscape you walk through, along a flat dike between two rows of mills. Two are open as museums, still furnished as the miller families left them.
A working mill of 1738 that you climb through, past the millers' family objects, historic photographs and the enormous wooden gearing that drives the scoop wheel. Entry is covered by the standard ticket.
Wear flat shoes. The internal stairs are closer to ladders, and a backpack makes them harder.
Official siteThe older of the two open mills, built in 1630 and furnished to show miller family life in the 1950s, when people still lived and worked in these buildings. There is a scavenger hunt through the yard aimed at children.
The better of the two for families. Do it before Nederwaard, while children still have energy for stairs.
Official siteThe 1868 steam-era pumping station is the site's orientation point, and explains why nineteen mills were needed here at all - and why they were eventually not enough. Included in the ticket, along with the audio tour.
Start here rather than at the mills, so the dike walk makes sense when you do it.
Official siteA boat trip along the two rows of mills is part of the entrance ticket rather than an add-on, giving the classic waterline view of the Nederwaard and Overwaard rows that you cannot get from the dike.
Sailings can pause in high wind, so take the boat when you arrive rather than saving it for last.
Official siteFor a few evenings each September all nineteen mills are lit after dark, and the reflections double them in the water. Boat operators run evening cruises from Rotterdam for it.
The evening cruises sell out well ahead. Book as soon as the dates are published.
Official siteWalk it at your own pace, on your phone. Works offline.
For cruise guests, timed around the ship.
Official sources, so you can check today's hours and prices rather than trusting ours. All open in a new tab.
Coaches use the Stop & Go zone at the World Heritage site entrance, then park at the Bus & Camper parking on the Lekdijk in Nieuw-Lekkerland, about a kilometre away. It costs €22.50 per coach and must always be reserved in advance through the site.
Official coach informationKinderdijk has no lockers or bag storage, and no railway station. The nearest NS lockers are at Rotterdam Centraal, the usual transfer point for the waterbus.
Locker sizes and pricesYes, it's one of the closest and most iconic windmill sites in the Netherlands, easily reached from Rotterdam by bus, bike, or waterbus.
Yes, though modern pumping stations now handle most of the drainage, the windmills remain operational as a backup system and are occasionally set in motion, especially on windy days.
Not currently. We offer a self-guided VoiceMap audio tour covering the windmill row and its history.
