Volendam

Volendam is a half-day visit: the fishing harbor with traditional wooden houses and herring vendors on one end, a boat crossing to the neighboring island of Marken, with its green houses on stilts, on the other. April-September is best. It's affordable as a day trip from Amsterdam, 30 minutes away by car. It keeps the tradition of traditional Dutch dress (lace bonnet and wooden clogs) more alive than any other village in the country, largely thanks to tourism, which keeps a fading craft profitable elsewhere in the Netherlands.