Alkmaar cheese market has always been on my Dutch Bucket list. As the market takes place only on Friday morning between 10:00 and 12:30 from April to September I took a long weekend and headed to a Dutch cheese tasting trip to Alkmaar cheese market.
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Travel over the weekend to discover the Netherlands
I know that the weekend is the time to clean up the house, to do the groceries, to do the washing machine and so on and so on….But try to travel more on the weekends and visit new places as much as you can. Especially if you have a car….Me and my husband, we moved to the Netherlands four years ago and since then we did a bunch of day trips to different cities in Germany, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, and others. We travelled a lot in the Netherlands as well, especially in the beginning.
Dutch cheese tasting in Alkmaar
In order to inspire you, I am going to share with you my impressions from one of my last trips – a day trip to Alkmaar, a city in the province of North Holland, in a half an hour by train from Amsterdam Central Station. Alkmaar is well-known for its numerous medieval buildings that are still intact, most notably Grote of Sint-Laurenskerk tower. The other main attraction, especially in the summer period, is Alkmaar’s cheese market at the Waagplein, one of Holland’s most popular tourist attractions. The cheese market takes place every Friday morning between 10:00 and 12:30 from April to September. For more information, please check Kaasmarkt Alkmaar. After the old-fashioned way of the hand clap, traders and carriers will weigh the cheeses. It is one of the five still existent traditional Dutch cheese markets. The demonstration takes place in front of the medieval weighing house which is surrounded by stands where you can buy local cheese. The Tourist information office is located at the same place, in case you want to check what to visit next.
Museums in Alkmaar
If you are passionate about museums and culture, I highly recommend you to visit the Beatles Museum dedicated to the legend band, Holland Cheese Museum, and the National Beer Museum “De Boom”.
Pictures from the Dutch cheese market in Alkmaar
It is quite a challenge to make nice pictures as the cheese market is packeted with tourists and visitors. I am going to do my best to select the best of them. I spent an hour on the cheese market and then decided to do a city boat trip – I’ve done that in almost every Dutch city….but decided to go for it…just for fun….I could admire the beauty of the city on board and make some photos that I am sharing below. Alkmaar is not a big city and you can visit it in a half-day only….
So where are you going on the weekend? Get inspired and share your experience with me….
Thanks for reading!