Ijsselmeer

More universally popular is the Ijsselmeer where freeride spots like Makkum, Workum and Hindeloopen count among the Netherlands’ favourites. Aside from carefree conditions and huge standing-depth areas of water, the eastern side of the inland sea’s main draw is unbridled westerly wind. The opposite shore’s historic ports of Hoorn, Enkhuizen and Medemblik offer a great atmosphere. About 350 years ago the freight ships of the Dutch merchant companies departed from here to return laden with riches. These ports were an integral part of the economic miracle of the 17th century, and still retain a sense of that ‘Golden Age’. The building of a 30km long dyke between Noord-Holland and Frysland in the 1930s created the original Dutch inland sea, Zuiderzee.