Zaandam Cruises, Netherlands

Zaandam is like a little LEGO-brick Dutch town, set along the pretty Zaan River, where life rolls at pedal’s pace. The city centre is a playful patchwork of gabled houses in every shade of green, with a toy-like charm provided by landmarks like the City Hall and Inntel Hotel – 11 storeys of green and blue façades are stacked together like a giant puzzle. Wandering through the streets, tree-lined canals, quaint bridges, and bright flowerpots add to Zaandam’s colour palette, captured on canvas by Monet in 1871. At the Monet Atelier, a cosy teahouse gallery, you can see his riverside scenes – and just a short stroll away you’ll find the Netherlands’ largest wooden house, once home to Russian Tsar Peter the Great.