Free Walking Tour Alkmaar: Church, Cheese and City Gate

Your Alkmaar Walking Tour, from Church to Cheese and Back

1. 1

   Great Church of Saint Lawrence

   

   You start in front of a big brick cross-shaped basilica faced with natural stone, its choir closing in a seven-sided end and four slender turrets rising at the corners. Building began in 1470 and the church was finished in 1518, so what you see is late Gothic built in one long push rather than patched together over centuries.

   Inside stands the oldest church organ in the Netherlands that can still be played, reason enough to go in if music or old craftsmanship means anything to you. The church was Catholic until 1573, when it became Protestant, and since 1996 it no longer serves as a place of worship; instead a museum inside tells the story of the building itself.

   Going in is worth it for almost everyone when the church opens in summer, and entry is free. Allow about an hour if you want to take in the organ and the building museum properly.

   Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar is directly opposite, 100 m and a minute's walk across the square.

   Local name

   Grote of Sint-Laurenskerk

   Hours

   Summer opening (early Jun to mid Sep): Tue–Sun 10:00–17:00, Mon closed; outside summer season: guided tours only by advance appointment or special events

   Price

   Free (except events, concerts and performances)

   Location

   Great Church of Saint Lawrence on Google Maps ↗

2. 2

   Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar

   

   Across from the church, on the Canadaplein that locals call the cultural square, sits the town museum. It opened in 1875, which makes it one of the oldest museums in the country, and the driving force behind it was Cornelis Bruinvis. Its job has always been to keep and show the art history and cultural heritage of Alkmaar.

   The museum has moved twice to get here. The first Alkmaar museum building went up on the Breedstraat in 1873; from 1968 until 2000 the collection lived in De Nieuwe Doelen, the old civic guard house on the Doelenstraat. The current building was completely modernised in the 2010s.

   Go in if you want to see the town's story through its art. Young visitors get in free, which makes it an easy choice for families with teenagers. If you are only here for a quick look at the streets, the outside and the square are enough.

   From here it is 510 m, about 7 minutes, to the Waag and the Dutch Cheese Museum.

   Hours

   Tue–Sun 11:00–17:00, Mon closed

   Price

   17.00 EUR adult, 8.50 EUR CJP / Student / AlkmaarPas, free for youth up to 18 years, Museumkaart, VriendenLoterij VIP-KAART, ICOM

   Website

   stedelijkmuseumalkmaar.nl ↗

   Location

   Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar on Google Maps ↗

3. 3

   Dutch Cheese Museum

   

   The Dutch Cheese Museum fills the Waag, the town's weigh house, on the Waagplein where the cheese market is held. It opened on 21 April 1983 and now draws around 35,000 visitors a year.

   Inside, the story runs from cow to cheese in an interactive way: how dairy products were made on the farm and later in the factory, how the cheese was traded, and what life in the countryside looked like. It is a compact visit of about 45 minutes and works especially well with children, who get in cheaply and enjoy the hands-on parts.

   Opening hours change with the season, so a morning or early afternoon visit is safest.

   The next leg is the longest stretch so far: 760 m and 12 minutes out to the Schermerhek, passing the Remonstrantse Kerk on the way.

   Local name

   Hollands Kaasmuseum

   Hours

   Open daily during season, typical hours Mon–Sat 10:00–16:00 (Fri 09:00–16:00 during cheese market days, Sun 12:00–16:00); calendar shows detailed daily seasonal schedule

   Price

   7.00 EUR adult (online), 3.00 EUR children 4-12, free for children under 4, Museumkaart, and AlkmaarPas

   Website

   kaasmuseum.nl ↗

   Location

   Dutch Cheese Museum on Google Maps ↗

4. 4

   Schermerhek

   

   Two natural stone pillars with sandstone decorations: that is all that remains of the Schermerpoort, and yet they matter more than their size suggests. Alkmaar once had seven city gates, and these pillars are the only remnants of any of them.

   They did not even belong to the gate building itself; they stood in front of the actual gate, marking the approach to the town. On 16 December 1969 they were entered in the national register as a rijksmonument. There is nothing to enter and nothing to pay; a few minutes are enough to picture the walls and gate that once stood behind them.

   From the gate you walk 840 m, about 13 minutes, back into the old town to the Kapelkerk.

   Local name

   Schermerpoort

   Hours

   24/7

   Price

   Free

   Location

   Schermerhek on Google Maps ↗

5. 5

   Kapelkerk

   

   The Kapelkerk is a medieval church on the Laat, in the heart of the old town. Before it, the Catholic Sint-Janskapel stood on this spot, and the chapel lives on in the name.

   Today the Nederlandse Gereformeerde Kerken hold their weekly services here. In February 2016 the congregation bought the building from the Protestant Church in the Netherlands, securing its future as a church, and in January 2019 it was placed in the Stichting Kapelkerk.

   For regular sightseeing the doors stay closed, so you will usually see it from outside. There are two ways in: the Sunday service, or one of the organ concerts held in summer. If you are in town on a concert day, start your loop here and go on to the Great Church afterwards.

   The last leg brings you back to the Great Church of Saint Lawrence, 600 m and about 8 minutes, closing the loop where it began.

   Hours

   Sun service 10:00; organ concerts May–Sep Fri 11:00 (doors open 10:30); otherwise closed for regular tourism / open for specific church activities and rental events

   Price

   Free

   Website

   kapelkerk.nl ↗

   Location

   Kapelkerk on Google Maps ↗

Three Ways to Walk Alkmaar

The full loop suits a free morning, but the stops split neatly depending on whether you want art, cheese or just the streets.

Outdoor loop, no tickets

Stops: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

For anyone who wants the shape of the old town without museum time. You walk the whole 2.8 km in 41 minutes and see every stop from outside, which comes to about an hour and a quarter. Nothing costs money, and in summer you can still step into the Great Church for free.

Museum morning

Stops: 1, 2, 3

For art and history lovers. The church, the Stedelijk and the cheese museum sit close together: only 8 minutes of walking in total. With time inside all three, a 10:00 start brings you out of the Waag at about 13:20. Admission applies at the Stedelijk and the cheese museum.

Cheese, gate and chapel

Stops: 3, 4, 5, 1

For families and anyone short on time. Start at the Dutch Cheese Museum, walk out to the Schermerhek, on to the Kapelkerk and finish at the Great Church: 33 minutes of walking, about an hour and three quarters with the cheese museum visit, which is the only ticket on this version.

How Long This Alkmaar Tour Takes, With and Without the Museums

The order follows the town's own geography: the church and the Stedelijk face each other, the Waag is a short walk away, and the longer legs out to the Schermerhek and back via the Kapelkerk come once the indoor visits are done. That puts the museums in the morning, when you are fresh, and the open air walking afterwards.

A realistic day with all three interiors, starting at 10:00 in summer: Great Church 10:00 to 11:00, Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar from 11:01 to 12:30, Dutch Cheese Museum from 12:37 to 13:22, Schermerhek at 13:34, Kapelkerk at 13:57, and back at the Great Church at 14:15. That is 41 minutes on foot and about four and a quarter hours in all. The outdoor loop takes about an hour and a quarter, the museum morning about three hours and twenty minutes, the cheese, gate and chapel version about an hour and three quarters.

Before You Set Off in Alkmaar

• Start and finish: The recommended start is the Great Church of Saint Lawrence at Koorstraat 2, and the loop ends there too. You can join at any stop and pick up the order from there.
• Best day and time: A morning start around 10:00 works best, ideally in summer when the Great Church opens its doors.
• Costs: The walk itself is free, and so is the Great Church in its summer season. Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar and the Dutch Cheese Museum charge admission, with reductions for students and children, and the youngest visitors get in free. You can book the cheese museum online.

Common Questions About Walking Alkmaar