Hidden Treasures of the IJsselmeer

Travel to Amsterdam and embark Amadeus Elegant.

Depart Amsterdam, 0800.
Arrive Hoorn, 1200. Depart 2200.

The harbour town of Hoorn, once home to the founders of the Dutch East India Company, boasts many historic buildings, such as the State Council building, as a result of its early seafaring wealth.

Arrive Enkhuizen, 0800. Depart 1400.
Arrive Den Helder, 1900.

Once known as Herring Town, Enkhuizen was one of the Dutch East India Company's main operational ports in the 17th century and rivalled Amsterdam in status.

The Zuiderzee Museum exhibits over 140 historic buildings from villages around the former Zuiderzee, and there is also a quirky bottle ship museum – home to the world's largest collection of ships in bottles!

Depart Den Helder, 1400.
Arrive Oudeschild, 1600.

Den Helder sits on the northernmost point of the North Holland peninsula and is home to the Dutch naval base, Royal Naval College and Admiralty Palace. Originally a small fishing village, Den Helder was strongly fortified by Napoleon in 1811.

Depart Oudeschild, 1400.
Arrive Harlingen, 1900.

Oudeschild is located on the south-east coast of the island of Texel. The village is a popular holiday resort, with fine sandy beaches nearby.

The largest and most southerly of the Wadden Islands, Texel is part of the province of North Holland and is just 15 miles long and six miles wide. Many rare and unusual birds have been spotted here.

Enjoy an included island tour – with its fields, pine forests, sand dunes and windmills.

Depart Harlingen, 1400.
Arrive Sneek, 2200.

This harbour town, the most northerly on the mainland, prospered thanks to fishing and trade with Scandinavia. Merchants’ houses sit alongside the canals, where the gable stones indicate the resident’s trade, before house numbers were thought of.

Depart Sneek, 1400.
Arrive Kampen, 2100.

The picturesque village of Sneek, pronounced ‘snake’, was already an important shipbuilding centre by the fifteenth century, and by the seventeenth-century had been protected by walls and moats. The 17th-century water gate at the end of Koemarkt, is all that remains now, and has become a symbol of the city.

Depart Kampen, 1400.
Arrive Deventer, 1900.

The maritime city of Kampen is located at the lower reaches of the IJssel River and was a member of the former Hanseatic League.

There are over 500 monuments in and around the city, including the Church of St Nicholas, a replica of the Medieval merchant ship De Kamper Hanze Kogge and the town gates.

This afternoon Amadeus Elegant will sail along the rarely cruised IJssel river.

Deventer, another former Hanseatic town, is set in the south of the Overijssel province. Local legend tells that an English missionary, St Lebuin, founded it in 768AD. The town was destroyed by the Vikings in 882AD and later rebuilt.

There are many quaint old buildings in the historic centre including the Weigh House, the Town Hall, the Churches of St Lebuin and St Nicholas, and a Renaissance merchant’s house known as the ‘House of the Three Herrings’ owing to a carving on its stone facade. Look forward to an included visit to 17th-century Het Loo Palace.

Depart Deventer, 0600.
Arrive Arnhem, 1300. Depart 2000.

Arnhem, located on the banks of the Nederrijn and St Jansbeek rivers, is best known for its connection to one of the famous battles of World War Two and the subject of the epic war film 'A Bridge too Far'.

Arrive 0800.

This morning you can join an included cruise along Amsterdam’s iconic canals to the city centre with its historic bridges and gabled houses. See the famous Skinny Bridge, the Montelbaanstoren tower and the Jewish Quarter.

Disembark Amadeus Elegant after breakfast and begin your return journey to the UK.