Things to Do in Netherlands in November

November weather makes the Netherlands' heated food halls essential destinations. The Markthal in Rotterdam becomes a warm cathedral of food stalls where the smell of fresh stroopwafels competes with aged Gouda samples. Amsterdam's Foodhallen drips with condensation from hundreds of warm bodies, and the herring stands still draw locals despite the cold - they'll show you how to eat it properly (tilt head back, grip the tail).

November's crisp air makes the 20 km (12.4 mile) Zaanse Schans cycle path from Amsterdam pleasant - no summer crowds, and the working windmills have their sails turning full speed in North Sea winds. The chocolate smell from the cocoa mill overpowers the damp earth scent, and local cyclists nod approval when you stop at the wooden clog workshop that's been making them since 1869.

The original Heineken brewery in Amsterdam becomes a refuge from November weather - the copper kettles steam with warmth, and the two included beers taste better when you've escaped cold rain. The interactive horse stable (where the original delivery horses lived) smells of hay and beer mash, a combination that somehow works.

Alkmaar's Friday cheese market continues through November with traditional cheese carriers in white uniforms tossing 30kg (66 lb) Gouda wheels onto wooden barrows. The market square rings with the sound of cheese inspectors knocking wheels for quality checks, and the air smells of dairy and wet cobblestones.

November's shorter days make evening canal cruises feel intimate - the bridges glow amber from 17th-century streetlights, and warm gluhwein replaces summer white wines. The boat's engine vibration mixes with the sound of rain pattering on the glass roof, while the cheese plate features aged Leyden studded with cumin seeds.