Rows of cheese
On the square.
Donarreiskoffer — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Donarreiskoffer — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Donarreiskoffer — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Dguendel — CC BY 4.0 · Donarreiskoffer — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Raimond Spekking — CC BY-SA 4.0
The Alkmaar Cheese Market is a traditional market held on the Waagplein square in the centre of Alkmaar, in North Holland, about 31 km in a straight line north-west of Amsterdam. It is one of the best-known traditional markets in the Netherlands and has been held on this square for centuries. On market days large yellow wheels of Gouda and Edam cheese are laid out in long rows on the square, then traders inspect them and agree prices with the old custom of clapping hands. Members of the cheese carriers' guild, dressed in white with coloured hats, carry the cheeses on wooden barrows slung from their shoulders, jogging them to the old weigh house to be weighed. The square is overlooked by the Waag, a historic weigh house with a small tower that now holds a cheese museum. Stalls around the square sell cheese, local produce and souvenirs, and the canals and traditional houses of the old town spread through the surrounding streets. The market is usually held every Friday morning from late March or April to September, and watching is free. Arrive early to find a spot close by, as the square fills with visitors; trains from Amsterdam take about half an hour.
On the square.
Cheese museum.
In the old town.
Waagplein, Alkmaar, Netherlands
Usually Friday mornings from late March or April to September.
By train from Amsterdam in about half an hour.