Almere sits on land that did not exist before 1968 — it was built on the reclaimed seabed of the former Zuiderzee, in the province of Flevoland. The city was founded in 1975 and has grown to over 200,000 inhabitants, making it one of the Netherlands' larger cities despite having no history at all.
That absence of history is itself interesting. Almere has become a laboratory for Dutch architecture and urban planning. Walking through the various districts you will see bold, sometimes eccentric buildings by well-known architects. The Kunstlinie museum of modern art, near the station in Almere-Stad, is worth a visit.
The city is divided into several districts connected by bus: Almere-Stad (the main centre with shopping), Almere-Haven (a harbourside area with a beach and a ferry to Huizen across the Gooimeer), and Almere-Buiten. Trains to Amsterdam run every ten minutes and take about half an hour.