It is a part of the municipality of Zaanstad, and lies about 15 km northeast of Haarlem.

Krommenie developed in the 11th century as a peat excavation settlement.

[4] Krommenie is the first town in the world to have a solar bikepath (SolaRoad), a path made of a transparent surface over solar cells to generate electricity fed back to the grid.

The path, over 70 meters long, was to test engineering feasibility.

From here there are 4 trains an hour to Amsterdam in one direction and Uitgeest – Alkmaar in the other, with a journey time of 25 minutes.