Marken is one of the very pretty old harbour towns along the IJsselmeer coast. It used to be a fishery village, when it had an open connection with the sea, but after the Afsluitdijk closed off the Zuiderzee, Marken lost this trade.
Nowadays, tourism is the most important source of income.

The main centre is around the harbour, where you can see many of the typically wooden Marken houses.

Getting there:
Going by bike is an option if you can do a distance of about 25 km. You make a very nice ride along the IJsselmeer lake dike.
Some of the streets in Marken are so narrow you can even hardly cycle there.

A good option is the bus. Regional bus line 315 takes you from Amsterdam Central Station to Marken. The best stop is 'Kerkbuurt', this is the closest stop to the harbour area. From this bus stop you can rather easily walk throug the village.

It is also possible to go there by car. Just outside the old village is a parking lot.