The name Alkmaar is unfamiliar outside of the Netherlands, but this modest city of less than 100,000 has a lot to attract the international tourist. Alkmaar is the Wisconsin of the Netherlands: known for its cheese, the people of Alkmaar, like the people of Wisconsin, are also called ” cheese heads ” ( kaaskoppen in Dutch). But Alkmaar has more to offer than just cheese: from its monumental Grote Kerk (Great Church) to the only Beatles museum in the Netherlands, a day trip to Alkmaar is more than worth spending when in the north of Holland .
From Amsterdam CS, some hourly trains leave for Alkmaar; The trip lasts approximately 40 minutes. For information on timetables and fares, visit the Netherlands Railways website. From the direction of Amsterdam, motorists can reach Alkmaar via the A9.
Alkmaar cheese market and other things to do
One word: cheese. The Dutch and the world associate Alkmaar primarily with its century-old cheese market. Since at least 1593, uniformed “cheese bearers” have practiced their trade in the market place; While the Alkmaar Cheese Market is now just a recreation of the traditional process, yet 100,000 visitors come every year to see the cheese wheels move on special stretchers. The cheese market is only performed on Fridays from 10 am to 12:30 pm from April to September, but tourists out of season can still visit the Dutch Cheese Museum.
Beatles fans rejoice: Alkmaar is home to one of only three Beatles museums in the world (the other two are in Liverpool and Halle, Germany). Loaded with Fab Four paraphernalia, from rare vinyl albums to rarities like The Beatles hairspray, the museum is enthusiastically curated by an expert who has written nearly 40 books on the Beatles’ career.
Fans of the arts and crafts of beer will appreciate the National Beer Museum, which explores the process of how malt, yeast and hops are combined into one of the most popular beverages in the Netherlands. Beer-related relics – classic advertisements, vintage bottles, and more – complete the collection, naturally housed in an old brewery.
No trip to Alkmaar is complete without a visit to the Grote Kerk, a medieval church that has not one, but two widely celebrated organs: the Van Covelens organ and the Hagerbeer-Schnitger, which visitors can hear in action in the summer of the Grote Kerk. concert series. Check the Alkmaar Organ City website for concert information.
Charcoal stoves were once a vital element in Northern Europe, and their diversity, from the fine porcelain tiles of palace stoves to the humble ones that still remain, mostly unused, in some Dutch residences, never cease to interest me. So if you also have an idiosyncratic love for charcoal stoves, don’t miss the Dutch Stove Museum.
