Monnickendam's trademark building is the 15th-century Speeltoren, an elegant, Italianate clock tower and former town hall. The tower's 17th-century glockenspiel (carillon) – Europe's oldest – performs at 11am and noon on Saturday, when its four mechanical knights prance in the open wooden window twice before retiring. Inside the clock tower, the Museum De Speeltoren covers Waterland's past and present, and allows you to see the amazing old mechanism that powers the clock.
Speeltoren
North Holland
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
9.59 MILES
This wonderful museum traces Van Gogh's life and artistic development via the world's largest collection of his work. More than 200 canvases are on…
9.38 MILES
Attracting over 12 million visitors per year, Amsterdam’s favorite playground is the green expanse of Vondelpark, with its 116 acres (47 hectares) of…
8.67 MILES
Visiting the Anne Frank Huis is one of Amsterdam's most profound experiences. Tragically, of the 107,000 Jewish adults and children deported from the…
9.39 MILES
The Netherlands’ top treasure house, the Rijksmuseum (pronounced ‘rikes’), is among the world's finest art museums. With over 1.5km of galleries, it packs…
8.42 MILES
Housed in Rembrandt's former home on lively Jodenbreestraat, this evocative museum provides an unparalleled insight into one of the Netherlands’ greatest…
20.16 MILES
This captivating museum consists of two sections, 300m apart: open-air Buitenmuseum, with more than 130 rebuilt and relocated dwellings and workshops, and…
8.61 MILES
Formerly a branch of St Petersburg’s State Hermitage Museum, H'Art Museum cut ties with Russia and now operates as an independent museum.
8.19 MILES
The museum of the Dutch Resistance brings the horror of German occupation in WWII vividly alive, using personal stories, letters, artefacts, films and…
Nearby North Holland attractions
0.02 MILES
On the town's central canal, the Waag (weigh house) was the focal point of local economic life. In 1905 it was given grand Tuscan columns, a common trick…
0.05 MILES
In de Bonte Os is the only house that's left in its original 17th-century state. In the days before proper glass, the curious vertical shutters at street…
0.24 MILES
The Gothic Grote Kerk, on the southern outskirts of town, is renowned for its triple nave, tower galleries and a dazzling oak choir screen dating from the…
2.87 MILES
Local culture is covered at Volendam's history museum with traditional costumes, prints, paintings of harbour scenes and even a cramped ship’s sleeping…
2.98 MILES
Completed in 1904, Marken's Grote Kerk has a barrel-vaulted ceiling strung with ship models designed to attract grace to local seamen.
2.99 MILES
A row of eel-smoking houses in the Kerkbuurt area have been converted into the Marker Museum, which delves into Marken's history and includes the re…
3.69 MILES
Leaning over Kleine Kerkstraat about 100m south of Grote Kerk, the Speeltoren is all that remains of the 15th-century Kleine Kerk.
3.72 MILES
Furnishings, porcelain and silverware spread over three cramped floors of Edam's oldest building, dating from 1540. Its floating cellar is a remarkable…