"Dam on the Ye" Top 5 Page for this destination Edam by goodfish

The crowds and construction in Amsterdam got to us after a couple of days and we fled the insanity for something a bit less clamorous. Jumping a bus at Centraal, we strolled into the 16th-century village of Edam a mere 40 minutes later and it took less than half a minute after that for our jangled nerves to settle.

Most Americans will be familiar with the round, wax-coated cheese of the same name? Bingo: it originated in this region. But Edam wasn't all about cheese: in the 14th and 15th centuries this was an important shipping port and ship-building center with its own harbor and bustling trade business until locks were installed to reduce inland flooding. Eventually the harbor silted in, and the business of cheese-making moved on to big factories throughout the Netherlands and other parts of the world. Instead of merchants, shipwrights and sailors, the village now bustles with tourists who come to the old square for costumed re-enactments of the long-ago cheese market on summer Wednesdays.

While time marched on where industry was involved, the soul of this little town remains firmly in place. Centuries-old houses, churches and municipal buildings, wisely protected from the ravages of urban renewal, line picturesque little canals and narrow streets, and charming cafes and coffee shops provide welcome respites for wandering shutterbugs and history buffs.

On that late autumn Thursday, the sun - which had stubbornly refused to shine on Amsterdam - finally decided to smile. And so did we.

(tips under construction)

• Pros:Friendly, pretty, great architecture, easy trip from Amsterdam