The waterfront at Hindeloopen, where the old harbour opens onto the IJsselmeer, is the most atmospheric part of the town. Small boats are moored in the inner harbour, the old lighthouse stands at the end of the breakwater, and the wide expanse of the IJsselmeer — technically a freshwater lake since the Afsluitdijk closed it off from the sea in 1932 — stretches south and west.
In summer, windsurfers and kiteboarders use the shallow waters off the breakwater, and the beach area south of the harbour is popular with local families. The walk along the sea wall toward the lighthouse gives good views back over the town's red-tiled rooftops and the flat Frisian farmland behind it. In winter, when cold easterly winds sweep across the water, the town takes on a properly austere North Sea character.