Discover Purmerend: Market, Museum and Polder Landscape

Purmerend combines market history, distinctive buildings, a green city park and routes on the water. If you choose a holiday apartment in Purmerend, you can tailor your stay to culture, family activities, cycling and walking options or the polder landscape.

Culture, Market History and Cityscape

In the heart of Purmerend is the Purmerends Museum, housed in a former town hall. It has the largest collection of Purmerend Art Nouveau ceramics from the period between 1895 and 1907. For visitors interested in culture, the museum combines the history of the city with a distinctive craft tradition.

The Koepelkerk is also known as Sint-Nicolaaskerk and was built between 1851 and 1853. Its interior contains three centuries-old organs: the Garrels organ and the Bätz organ from the 18th century, as well as the Witte organ from the 19th century. This gives the building several concrete points of interest for a city walk with a historical focus.

Purmerend's market tradition dates back to 1484: Jan van Egmond granted the city market rights at that time. This enabled Purmerend to develop into a fully fledged city and the region's market town. The weekly market takes place on Tuesdays. The redesigned Koemarkt was opened to the public on 11 October 2009.

The city pumps are also part of this historical context. Several city pumps were installed in Purmerend in the second half of the 19th century after contaminated water was identified as the cause of the infectious disease cholera, which occurred frequently at the time. A faithful replica of the historic water pump was put into operation on Kaasmarkt on 9 May 2025.

Green Routes and Experiences with Children

Leeghwaterpark is Purmerend's city park and serves as a green link between several neighbourhoods. It has a skate park and a playground. As part of the redevelopment of Leeghwaterpark, new walking and shell paths are also being created. The park therefore combines existing leisure facilities with a planned expansion of the paths.

At De Ridder children's farm, visitors can interact with various farm animals. Children may enter several enclosures, and almost all the animals may be touched. This is a specific outing option for families who want to alternate between city history and experiences in nature.

There are various guided and signposted formats for exploring Purmerend. Gilde Purmerend offers guided historical walking tours with city guides that last up to two hours. There is also a three-hour cycling tour through Purmerend, with explanations about the neighbourhoods. The Stadswandeling Purmerend is marked by red arrows on lamp posts and traffic poles or on route posts, and includes several information boards.

Water Landscape and Practical Location Choice

From Purmerend, visitors can travel via the Purmervaart to Beemster. Beemster is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with historic land reclamation and a distinctive polder landscape. When choosing a holiday apartment or holiday house in Purmerend, the desired focus of the holiday can therefore be clearly organised around the city, cycling and walking experiences, or a boat trip into the polder landscape.

Transport connections are also among the practical points of orientation. Tramplein bus station is located in the centre of Purmerend. Direct buses run from there to Amsterdam, De Beemster, De Rijp, Alkmaar, Edam and Volendam. Purmerend railway station is a ten-minute walk from the city centre.

For the overarching travel overview: Purmerend.