Alkmaar travel guide
Friday cheese porters, a moated old town and dunes nearby
A canal town in North Holland, 35 to 40 minutes from Amsterdam, with a Friday cheese market and a compact moated centre. Come between April and September, when the market and canal boats run. A day is enough, more if you add the coast at Bergen or Egmond. Costs are very high, and the Netherlands applies Schengen rules.
North of Amsterdam, 35 to 40 minutes away by Intercity, Alkmaar grew up on a sand ridge between the old marshes and the dunes. People come for the Friday cheese market, but the oval old town inside its surviving moat deserves the rest of the day. Its stand against a Spanish siege in 1573 was an early turning point in the Dutch revolt.
Porters in white uniforms and straw hats carry the cheeses on wooden barrows to the weigh house, a ritual played out on Friday mornings from spring until September. Get to the Waagplein well before the 10:00 start, because the crowd at the rope soon stands several deep. Inside the Waag, the Cheese Museum explains the trade.
Walk in from the station along Stationsweg and Scharlo to cross the old moat at the Bergerbrug in under ten minutes. Just past the bridge, the Hofje van Paling en van Foreest is a 16th-century almshouse built around an enclosed garden. Open boats leave from the Mient, opposite the Waag, from late March to October; the bridges are low, so mind your head.
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A cheese market, almshouses and canals, with the North Sea dunes a bus ride away.
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Best time to visit Alkmaar
Month by month, so you can pick the weather and the crowds you want.
Cheese market on Friday mornings, canal boats running and beach weather at Bergen and Egmond.
No cheese market and the boats stop after October; a quiet time to walk the moat and the almshouses.
On market Fridays, take a train that arrives by about 9:30 and walk straight to the Waagplein before the crowds build up.
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Getting there
Intercity from Amsterdam
On weekdays four Intercity trains an hour run from Amsterdam Centraal to Alkmaar, taking 35 to 40 minutes, with two an hour in the evening and on Sundays. From Schiphol, change at Amsterdam Sloterdijk. Connexxion buses leave from beside the station, and the Qliner 350 crosses the Afsluitdijk to Leeuwarden.
- Intercity
- Amsterdam to Alkmaar in 35 to 40 minutes, up to four an hour
- From Schiphol
- Change trains at Amsterdam Sloterdijk
- The Hague via Haarlem
- Change in Haarlem onto the Sprinter
- Bus 350
- Qliner over the Afsluitdijk to Leeuwarden
- Some regional buses also stop at Kanaalkade on the north side of the old town or at Metiusgracht by the Molen van Piet, both closer to the centre than the station.
Where to stay
Station area or the coast
Alkmaar has few hotels, and much of the region's accommodation is in the dune villages of Bergen and Egmond. Sleep in town for the cheese market without an early bus: there is one small hotel facing the station, a larger one in the centre, two chain hotels and a scattering of bed and breakfasts.
- Station area
- Hotel Stad en Land is right opposite the station, handy for late trains, a few minutes from the moat
- Old town
- B&Bs and a larger hotel close to the Waagplein; avoid rooms above the bars on the Mient if you sleep lightly
- Bergen and Egmond aan Zee
- Seaside beds for a beach holiday, a short bus ride from Alkmaar station
Getting around
Inside the moat, plus open boats from the Mient
Alkmaar's old city is an oval about 1 km across, south-east of the station, so everything is a walk. Open canal boats leave from the Mient, opposite the Waag, daily from May to September on the hour from 11:00, more often in July and August. Buses to the beaches leave from beside the railway station.
- Walking
- Station to the Bergerbrug in 5 to 10 minutes
- Canal boat
- From the Mient, late March to October
- Regional buses
- To Egmond aan Zee and Bergen aan Zee
- Local buses
- To Heerhugowaard and Broek op Langedijk
- The canal boats are low and roofless and pass under very low bridges; stay seated and keep your head down when told.
Know before you go
What makes Alkmaar worth the trip, and what catches visitors out.
Why travelers love it
- The porters' trot across the Waagplein on a Friday morning, barrows of cheese swinging between them.
- Hofje van Paling en van Foreest, a 16th-century almshouse around a quiet garden just inside the moat.
- An open canal boat under the low bridges, leaving from the jetty on the Mient.
Good to know
- The cheese market is Friday only, from spring to September; on other days the Waagplein is an ordinary square of cafes.
- Bars run late around the Waagplein and the Mient into the early hours, so light sleepers should not book above them.
Trip fit
BookingMentor editorial ratings out of 5, based on a first-time visitor's experience.
Weather in Alkmaar, month by month
Month-by-month climate figures for Alkmaar are being researched.
A Friday in Alkmaar for the cheese market
Come to Alkmaar on a Friday for the cheese market on the Waagplein. Take an Intercity from Amsterdam that arrives by about 9:30, walk over the Bergerbrug past the Hofje van Paling en van Foreest, and watch the porters. Afterwards visit the Cheese Museum in the Waag, then walk the moat to the Molen van Piet windmill.
The market starts at 10:00: traders test the cheeses, a deal is struck with a handclap, and the porters jog the loaded barrows to the weigh house.
Midday. When the porters finish, go into the Cheese Museum in the Waag, then board one of the open canal boats from the Mient opposite. The low boats squeeze under bridges that would stop any normal tour boat, and the trip shows how much of the moat survives.
Afternoon. Walk the moat round to the Molen van Piet windmill on the southern edge of the old town, or catch a bus to Bergen aan Zee for a walk in the dunes and a look at the North Sea.
Evening. Most kitchens open at about 17:00. Eat near the mill or around Luttik Oudorp, then join the bar crowd on the Verdronkenoord.
Tasting Gouda by age around the Waagplein, then grills and late bars
Start with cheese in Alkmaar: the specialist shops around the Waagplein sell Gouda- and Edam-type cheeses by age, from mild jong to crumbly oude kaas, and let you taste before buying. Almost every bar in town serves food, kitchens open around 17:00, and after dinner the bars cluster around the Waagplein and the Mient.
The Cheese Museum in the Waag explains how the trade worked.
Almost every bar in town serves food, and restaurants run from Dutch and French through Indonesian, Thai, Greek and Spanish. A few reliable addresses: De Koperen Pot on Luttik Oudorp, one of the prettiest canals, is a bistro for Dutch and French dishes and grills. Abby's on the Ritsevoort sits at the foot of the Molen van Piet and serves lunch and dinner. For a quick lunch, Broodje Ben on the Magdalenenstraat fills fresh rolls with cold meats, fish or vegetables, and Grand Café 't Gulden Vlies on the Koorstraat is the classic grand café.
After dinner, the bars cluster around the Waagplein and the Mient, with the canal-side cafés on the Verdronkenoord, such as Café de Lindeboom and De Tramps, the liveliest. They stay open into the early hours, later still at weekends.
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How we research our Alkmaar travel guide
Alkmaar's cheese market season, canal-boat times and train links are checked with NS Dutch Railways, the city's official website, Holland.com and Wikipedia's Alkmaar entry before each update.
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Checked against trusted sources:
Official website of AlkmaarHolland.comNS Dutch Railways
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Quick answers to the questions travelers ask most before visiting Alkmaar.
General
At 10:00 on Friday mornings, from spring to September. Check the season's exact dates for the current year before you travel.
About 5 to 10 minutes on foot. Turn right along Stationsweg, then follow Scharlo and cross the moat at the Bergerbrug.
Only if you want the coast. The market, the canals and the almshouses fit into one day; a second gives time for the dunes and beaches at Bergen or Egmond aan Zee.
De Koperen Pot on Luttik Oudorp does Dutch and French grills, and Abby's on the Ritsevoort sits by the Molen van Piet. For a quick lunch instead, Broodje Ben on Magdalenenstraat fills rolls to order.
An almshouse built around an enclosed courtyard, funded by a wealthy citizen's legacy. The Hofje van Paling en van Foreest, from around 1540, is just inside the moat by the Bergerbrug.
Alkmaar's old city is an oval about 1 km across, south-east of the station, so everything is a walk. Open canal boats leave from the Mient, opposite the Waag, daily from May to September on the hour from 11:00, more often in July and August. Buses to the beaches leave from beside the railway station.
Alkmaar is best known for:
- The porters' trot across the Waagplein on a Friday morning, barrows of cheese swinging between them
- Hofje van Paling en van Foreest, a 16th-century almshouse around a quiet garden just inside the moat
- An open canal boat under the low bridges, leaving from the jetty on the Mient
Getting there
Intercity trains leave Amsterdam Centraal up to four times an hour on weekdays and take 35 to 40 minutes. From Schiphol, change at Amsterdam Sloterdijk.
Yes. Regional buses run to Bergen aan Zee and Egmond aan Zee from the bus station beside the railway station; check 9292 for the current line numbers.
Yes. The Qliner bus 350 crosses the Afsluitdijk to Leeuwarden, faster than the train via Amsterdam and Zwolle. The old summer bus to Harlingen no longer runs.
Timing & weather
Daily from May to September, hourly from 11:00 and every half hour on summer weekdays, plus afternoon trips Monday to Saturday in April and October; on cheese-market Fridays they go every 20 minutes. They leave from the Mient opposite the Waag.
The best time to visit Alkmaar is Apr to Sep. The Friday cheese market runs and the canal boats and North Sea beaches are in season.
- Best overall: April - September (Cheese market on Friday mornings, canal boats running and beach weather at Bergen and Egmond)
- Off season: October - March (No cheese market and the boats stop after October; a quiet time to walk the moat and the almshouses)
Stay & facilities
Yes, it faces the station and is a few minutes from the moat. For a beach stay, the dune villages of Bergen and Egmond hold most of the region's beds.
Visa & documents
Schengen rules govern entry to the Netherlands. Citizens of the EU and of many other countries, including the US, UK, Canada and Australia, can visit visa-free for up to 90 days in any 180-day period; other nationalities need a Schengen visa. The EU's Entry/Exit System (EES) records non-EU travelers' fingerprints and a photo at the border.
Health & safety
Crime in the Netherlands is low. Bike theft and pickpocketing in busy areas are the main issues; watch out for cyclists.
