Almere is a municipality in the central Netherlands, a polder reclaimed from IJsselmeer .

The municipality of Almere consists of the following city parts: Almere Buiten, Almere Haven, Almere Poort, Almere Stad.

Railway stations, from southwest to northeast:

• Almere Muziekwijk
• Almere Centrum
• Almere Parkwijk
• Almere Buiten
• Almere Oostvaarders (to be opened on 12 December 2004)

Almere has a network of roads dedicated for the use of buses. The system is called Maxx.

Zilverstrand, in the southwest corner of the municipality, is partly an official nudist beach.

Almere Haven

Almere Haven is the oldest part of Almere. Although Almere Haven does not have its own railway station, it is well-connected to Amsterdam and the rest of Almere by a good bus rapid transit system.

Almere Haven has a small harbour with ferry connections to the Dutch mainland, and is surrounded by large groves of poplars containing buzzards, foxes, small deer, and owls. The closest wooded areas are Het Beginbos and Waterlandsebos.

Almere Haven features the most idealistic architecture in Almere, when the goal was to build a model city on the newly reclaimed land of Flevoland. The city was planned before increasing population pressure in Almere and rising property prices caused compromises on the original vision.

All housing developments are built to provide views of greenery and open spaces, and each group of houses is clustered around a little park, usually with easy access to the surrounding forests, so residents of Almere Haven do not have the sense of living in a crowded urban area.

Almere Haven does not have the inconveniences of busy traffic, car pollution, and road noise because all roads are cul-de-sacs connecting to a well-hidden ring road that provides the only car access in and out of Almere Haven. The bus road system also forms a ring and most residents are no more than a few minutes walk from a bus stop.

External links

• Community Portal (http://www.dial.nl)
• Town Office (http://www.almere.nl)

Dutch Socialist Party in Almere (http://www.almere.sp.nl)