Zaandam’s most eye-catching building is, without a doubt, the Inntel Hotel. Unlike the sleek, tall hotels usually seen in city centres, this hotel looks more like a quirky hodgepodge of traditional Zaandam houses built one on top of the other, creating a messy, slightly haphazard but nonetheless cosy façade. It incorporates a huge range of the city’s houses, from a notary’s residence to a simple worker’s cottage, all painted various shades of green and bordered with white.

Although the hotel does stand out from the rest of Zaandam’s modern, elegant buildings, it is certainly a welcome addition, celebrating the unique spirit of the city’s architecture – almost like the creative, off-beat and loveable cousin of its surrounding structures.