Holiday apartment in Alkmaar: culture, cheese market and canals

Alkmaar between culture, market and water

Alkmaar combines art, history, cheese-making tradition and canals. The range of discoveries extends from the collection on the Bergen School at Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar to canal cruises. The market, churches, museums and landscape offer different reasons to plan your days – sometimes with a cultural focus, sometimes with activities by or on the water.

Art, architectural history and museums

At Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar, the collection on the Bergen School comprises more than 280 works by artists who lived and worked in and around Bergen (NH). The Grote Kerk is the largest church in Noord-Holland north of the North Sea Canal. A permanent exhibition is dedicated to its rich history, monumental interior and existing works of art. Huis met de Kogel is one of the last two wooden houses in Alkmaar.

In the historic building of the former De Boom brewery, the De Boom Beer Museum explains the brewing process using tools, equipment and machines with which the “golden liquid” was brewed over the past 200 years. The Beatles Museum Alkmaar displays unique items belonging to the Fab Four from Liverpool in an exhibition space covering 1,200 m². The cultural offerings therefore range from visual art and ecclesiastical architecture to brewing, timber construction and musical artefacts.

Kaasmarkt at Waagplein

The Kaasmarkt takes place at Waagplein in Alkmaar. Cheese has been traded there in the same way for hundreds of years; cheese bearers, cheese girls, cheese boys, market masters and traders all take part. Waagplein is about a 15-minute walk from Alkmaar railway station, and the route there is signposted. The square thus combines market tradition with a specific walking route from the railway station.

Canals and nature in the surrounding region

Visitors can explore Alkmaar’s canals on a cruise or rent a boat for this purpose. In the region around Alkmaar lies Eilandspolder in the Land van Leeghwater, a nature area rich in birds. There, visitors can go hiking, cycling or travel by whisper boat or canoe. Clarissenbolwerk is a former defensive installation and is now a green park for walking as well as a meeting place.

Choose a holiday apartment in Alkmaar based on your travel interests

The way you wish to spend your days can be the deciding factor when choosing your holiday apartment in Alkmaar. A stay involving the market, museum and church offers different highlights from days spent on the water or in green surroundings. The documented options combine cultural discoveries with walks, bike rides, cruises and boat trips of your own. This allows you to adapt your accommodation to the focus of your holiday without limiting yourself to just one way of travelling.

More places in the surrounding area

For further orientation, also discover Driehuizen, Schermerhorn, Koedijk, Stompetoren and Oudorp.

For the higher-level travel overview: Alkmaar.