Alkmaar Cheese Market: dates, times and how to get there from Amsterdam

Updated on October 2, 2026

In Alkmaar, 35 minutes by train north of Amsterdam, the cheese market is held every Friday morning from April to September on the Waagplein, at the foot of the old weigh house. Around 2,400 wheels are laid out on the square, tasted, haggled over with hand-claps, weighed and then carried off by the guild's cheese porters in white suits and coloured hats. Since 1939, Alkmaar has been the only town still trading cheese in this traditional way. The market is free and runs from 10am to 1pm; the 2026 season ended on 25 September, and the 2027 season opens on Friday 26 March. Inside the weigh house, the Hollands Kaasmuseum explains how cheese is made.

Highlights

The cheese porters

The kaasdragers, members of a guild founded in 1593, carry the wheels on wooden stretchers called berries: eight cheeses of about 13 kilos each per stretcher. They are divided into four companies, the veemen, told apart by the colour of their hats. To keep the load steady, they move with a quick, rhythmic step known as the "kaasdragersdribbel".

The Waag and the Hollands Kaasmuseum

A 14th-century chapel turned into a weigh house in 1583, the Waag has a tall tower built from 1597 to 1603, with a carillon; on the hour, mechanical horsemen re-enact a joust beneath a wooden trumpeter. Inside, the Hollands Kaasmuseum (Waagplein 2) covers the history and making of cheese, with touchscreens, games and a trail for children. Online ticket €7, €3 for ages 4 to 12, free with the Museumkaart.

How a market morning unfolds

From 7am, the "zetters" lay out some 30,000 kilos of cheese on the square. At 10am sharp, a well-known guest rings the market bell. Inspectors take a small sample with a cheese iron to judge taste and holes, then buyers and sellers seal the deal with "handjeklap", a series of hand-slaps. The sold wheels are weighed in the Waag and loaded onto lorries in the Marktstraat at around 12:30pm.

Evening markets and the children's market

In July and August, an extra market takes place on Tuesday evenings from 7pm to 9pm. On summer Fridays, a cheese market run by children is also held on the square.

Infos pratiques

Tips

Prices checked in October 2026. The front rows along the barriers fill up well before 10am: arrive around 9:30am to see the porters enter the Waag and the bell ring. The train from Amsterdam Centraal to Alkmaar costs €10 one way in 2nd class (NS e-ticket); Amsterdam's station is covered in our page on Centraal Station. To taste and buy cheese without leaving the city, see our guide to Dutch cheese in Amsterdam.

How to get there

Direct train from Amsterdam Centraal, four departures an hour, about 35 minutes; then a 15-minute walk from Alkmaar station to the Waagplein. By car, use the signposted car parks around the centre, which is very busy on Friday mornings. Market: Waagplein, Alkmaar. Hollands Kaasmuseum: Waagplein 2, 1811 JP Alkmaar.