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Latest Alkmaar hotel reviews
Pro
busy and touristed streets with charming buildings and canals, cheese auction photo opportunity with colourful costumes!
Con
Alkmaar Ring Road!
In a nutshell
Well worth the half hour train trip from Amsterdam.
17 Reviews Originally a chapel for the Holy Ghost, this 14th century building was converted to a weigh house in 1582. Today it houses the Kaasmuseum (Cheese Museum) and is the backdrop for the cheese market on Fridays (10am – noon), April through August.
5 Reviews This prominent and attractive church in the middle of the town as you head up to the main canal and cheese market past the Town Hall is a 15 th century church which contains the tomb of Count Floris V (ruled 1256-1296) and - the oldest church organ in the Netherlands!
Pijlmans Says: If you stand on the stone bridge at the Mient street and have a look at the houses, you will see the Leeuwen-burg (roughly translated "Lion-castle").The Leeuwenburg was re-built in 1707 by Mr Leeuwenburg, the two lions in the gable refer to his name. Mr Leeuwenburg had some...
Weighing House, Cheese Museum, Tourist Information
Pijlmans Says: The Weighing House (Waag-gebouw) at the Waagplein/square dates back to 1390 and also houses the Cheese Museum AND the Tourist Information Office (called VVV).At the VVV you can get booklets with information about Alkmaar. We got a booklet (2.50 euros) with a nice walking...
Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar / Municipal Museum
Pijlmans Says: Most of the museum is about the Golden Age of Alkmaar (16th and 17th century), but the museum has some modern art and temporary exhibitions as well.You can start with an informative introductory movie of 10 minutes about the history of Alkmaar.There's also a small cafe and...
Wildemanshofje / Wildemans Courtyard
Pijlmans Says: A "hofje" is a courtyard with almshouses around it.This one was built in 1713 thanks to the last will of Mr Wildeman (1627-1702). Obviously, the statue refers to his last name, translated "Wild Man". The statues next to it (not on the picture) depict Old Age and Poverty.It...
Gunpowder storage / Ice Storage
Pijlmans Says: In the park on the west side of the old city, you can find an old storage cellar for gunpowder, built in the 18th century. In Dutch it is called "Kruithuisje".After 1850, the cellar was used to store ice. The ice was cut out of the canal during the winter, stored, and used...
Pijlmans Says: The Korenschoof is a typical old warehouse from the 18th century.These warehouses were supplied with boats, using the canals.Note the crane on the roof, used to hoist the merchandise to the doors at the different levels of the warehouse.The warehouse now houses architects.
pieter_jan_v Says: This restaurant is located in one of the many small streets in the old Alkmaar city center. The street is called FNIDSEN, what is derived from the word VENICE (Alkmaar has canals too!). Around one corner is the famous wooden house with the canon ball; around the other corner...
Chada Thai: Delicious Thai food
pacyfka Says: The restaurant has been recommended to us by a guy from Grand Hotel Alkmaar. We were a bit skeptic at first, as experienced told us that it is quite difficult to find good Thai restaurant outside Thailand (at least to satisfy our taste buds), but the guy was right. Food was...
toonsarah Says: This is a little bar in the main square, the Waagplein, right by the cheese museum (one of four or five in a row). Go inside and it will be immediately obvious how it got its name! Nothing fancy or pretentious here – just decent draught Heineken and friendly service.
ATLC Says: There's a large theatre in Alkmaar, just across from the Laurens church. You can also rent meeting rooms and catering there.Check the website for events and programme. Dutch people are fairly relaxed with dress code when going to the theatre. Smart casual is how I'd...
2 Reviews The easiest way to get to Alkmaar is by train. You can get there from Amsterdam Central Station in about 30 minutes, or do as we did and travel straight from Schiphol. For the latter you’ll need to change either at Sloterdijk, and it will take about 50 minutes. The trains are clean, frequent and...
1 Review If you're planning to go to Alkmaar, there are several options. Going by car is possible but be sure not to park in the city center during afternoons, Saturdays or vacations. Park you're car in 'Overstad', an industrial/ shopping terrain, 5 minutes away from the city center and such happenings as...
street stalls around the cheese centre: dutch shoes for sale
angiebabe Says: there were several shops or stalls that had Dutch clogs for sale - wooden ones and for the first time id seen them, slipper ones ie soft ones done in the shape of wooden clogs! (which i fell for as theyre light and easier to carry esp home to NZ and Oz with my already over...
Schitterend Sieraden: Very nice jewelry
bibi876 Says: Schitterend Sieraden has a collection of women, men and child jewelry. The jewelry is special due to the design or the materials (gold, silver, genuine gemstones, freshwaterpearls) used. The jewelry is modern and classic. The jewelry can be worn for special occasions (to a...
toonsarah Says: You can’t escape from the fact that Alkmaar is a town built on cheese – it’s everywhere you look! As well as the Weigh House with its cheese museum and the cheese market itself there are numerous shops selling cheese and even a statue to cheese! Don’t get me wrong, I love...
crazygal59 Says: Always wear comfy shoes. Make sure they are shoes you have broken in before or you will suffer for sure. The cobbles on the streets make it next to impossible to walk with shoes with a heel. Also make sure your shoes have a good cushion in the sole, otherwise your feet...
toonsarah Says: The old town has been protected from the invasion of too many modern buildings, possibly in part because it is surrounded by an attractive moat. The main shopping street, Lange Straat, does have some of the usual names you find everywhere these days (e.g. H & M) but has kept...
toonsarah Says: In the centre of Alkmaar are a number of small canals lined with little shops, bars and restaurants. This makes a good spot for photos – look for interesting reflections or capture the gentle pace of life here from one of the bridges. As in other Dutch towns and cities you...
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Plan a Alkmaar vacation with reviews, tips and photos posted by real travelers and Alkmaar locals
Our first up close look at a windmill. This one was in walking distance from the centre of town. Actually it was the first thing we saw from where we parked. It...
38 members live in Alkmaar
Q: HI guys! I'm coming to Alkmaar in September with a friend, we'll be in Alkmaar for one night (two nights actually, but on the...
A: Have a look at http://www.vvvweb.nl/welcome.asp?lang=0 You can alsways go to Amsterdam. Last train from Amsterdam Centraal to Alkmaar departs at 1AM in the weekends...
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1
The most famous feature of Alkmaar is its traditional cheesemarket, which takes place every Friday morning during summer season.
2
another pretty Dutch town - with lots of cheese!
Another interesting and colourful event! made it to this one at Almaar after managing to get to the also very colourful flower auctions at Aaslmeer earlier in the day. Best to arrive earlier in the......
3
De Waag, or the old weighing house, is located at the Kaasmarkt square (Cheese Market). It also houses the cheese museum and tourist information office, where you can get booklets with information......
4
As with so many of our short trips to Europe, we came to Alkmaar because of football. The match didn’t go according to plan (Newcastle lost 2-0 and went out of the UEFA Cup for another season) but I...
5
Alkmaar is north-west of Amsterdam and so is not on a main train route. However, the town is worth a stop if you would like to get pictures of the Dutch in some traditional clothing. Timing is...
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