Alkmaar Cheese Market in The Netherlands 2024

No country is as famous with its cheese as the Netherlands is! Don't miss your chance to try out all the different cheeses available regionally in one place now

Best time: March 29–September 27, 2024 (on every Friday and additional on Tuesday in July and August)

From late March to late September, you have a wonderful opportunity to see the cheese as it was created centuries ago. The different guilds and professions, now long forgotten, are coming to life with the beautiful and tasty spectacle.

About 2,200 cheeses weighing around 30,000 kilograms are presented at Waagplein Square in Alkmaar the way they used to be presented back in 1365! The square is famous since it was the only place where you could find weights and thus was central to the city's life. Stroll around the stall on your own, or book a tour, in any case this is experience shouldn't be missed!

Alkmaar Cheese Market Opening Time

The market runs every Friday from late March to late September from 10 am to 1 pm. Also, locals and city guests can visit the cheese market on Tuesday evenings from 7 pm to 9 pm in July and August.

Alkmaar Cheese Market Entertainment

During the market day, attendees can watch cheese carriers carry the cheeses on barrows, cheese weighing at the Waaggebouw, and how 'throwers' throw the cheese on wagons so they can be transported. Also, traders and farmers will negotiate the prices of the cheese.

Location and Parking

The Cheese Market takes place in the center of Alkmaar, on the Waagplein, 15 minutes by foot from the train station. Also, market attendees can park in one of Alkmaar's parking garages: The Karperton garage (1 Dijk) and The Schelphoek garage (4 Korte Vondelstraat),

History

The Guild of Cheesemakers of Alkmaar was established in 1593, and since then, for more than 400 years, cheese carriers from four different "vemen" (groups) have worked. Alkmaar has become the cheese capital, and over the years, the cheese market has become more popular. There was a temporary halt to the cheese market during WWII. However, today the Alkmaar Cheese Market has regained its popularity and attracts many cheese lovers not only from the Netherlands but from all over the world.