Gouda Cheese Market: Dates, Times and What Happens on the Markt

Where the market happens

Everything takes place on the Markt, the wide square in the middle of Gouda, clustered around the Waag and the town hall. Farmers bring cheeses onto the square by horse and cart, and the weighing happens at the Waag, the 1668 weigh house designed by Pieter Post. The town hall in the middle of the square dates from 1450 and is the oldest free-standing town hall in the Netherlands, which makes the square itself worth a slow lap even outside market hours.

The market has run in some form since the medieval period, when Gouda won the official cheese trading title for the region. Cheese here is a trading demonstration rather than a sale: the ceremony re-enacts the old bargaining, and you buy your wedges at the town's cheese shops instead.

2026 dates and times

In 2026 the market runs every Thursday from 2 April up to and including 27 August, from 10:00 to 12:30. Admission is free because it takes place on the public square, so there is no ticket to book and no gate to queue at. Arrive around 09:30 if you want a spot by the Waag before the carts come in.

Two Thursdays are skipped: 14 May, which is Ascension Day, and 25 June. Both fall inside the season, so check the calendar before booking around either date. The organisers publish the current schedule at welkomingouda.nl, and extreme weather can cancel an individual edition.

What happens on the square

The morning follows a fixed ritual. Farmers deliver their cheeses, traders inspect them and negotiate by hand-clapping, where each clap is a bid and the final clap seals the deal. The cheeses then go to the Waag to be weighed on the original scales, which is the moment to watch if you only catch one part of the ceremony.

Around the trading, stalls sell regional produce and crafts, and there are guided tours run by the Goudse Gidsen Gilde, the local guides' guild. In the summer months a children's cheese market lets younger visitors try the trading themselves. Look up at the relief above the Waag entrance while you are there: cheese has been weighed in this building for more than three centuries.

How to plan the morning

A workable timetable: coffee and a Gouda pastry on the Markt at around 09:30 while the square fills up, then the delivery and hand-clapping from 10:00. Stand on the Waag side for the best view of the weighing, browse the stalls at about 11:00, and you are free by 12:30.

Because the market wraps up at lunchtime, the rest of the day is yours. St John's Church, home to the famous stained-glass Gouda Windows, is a five-minute walk from the Markt, and a canal cruise or a stroopwafel-baking workshop fills an afternoon neatly. If you have seen Alkmaar's version and want the contrast, the Alkmaar cheese market is the larger counterpart with its own Dutch Cheese Museum and Cheese Carriers' Guild.

Getting there

Gouda is an easy train stop between Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht, and the Markt is a five-minute walk from the station. Coming by car, park on the ring road around the centre or use the P+R at the station, since the Nieuwe Markt car park fills quickly on Thursday mornings. On market days the train is the lower-stress option.

Where to taste and buy Gouda cheese

The Gouda Cheese Experience is an interactive attraction in the town centre where you virtually milk cows, turn cheese wheels and sample young, mature and aged Gouda. It suits families and anyone who wants the background story before buying. Book tickets through the attraction's own site rather than assuming you can walk in.

For the actual purchase, head to one of the town's cheese shops: Gouds Kaashuis, 't Kaaswinkeltje Gouda and Say Cheese Gouda all sell Gouda in a range of ages, some with mustard seeds, cumin or herbs. Farm tours such as Kaasboerderij De Twee Hoeven, a short bike ride from town, include a self-guided app tour of the farm and its century-old cheese making. Where a shop or attraction charges admission, check the price on its own site before you go.

Young, mature and aged: what to buy

Gouda is graded by age. Young cheese is around a month old and is the everyday sandwich cheese; mature Gouda is aged four to six months, firmer and good for cooking or a cheeseboard; aged Gouda matures at least 10 to 12 months and is sharp, crumbly and best eaten on its own. Ask the shop to let you taste before committing to a whole wedge.

If the dates work, the market is only one of several in the region. The Edam cheese market and the Woerden cheese market offer smaller, quieter alternatives, while the Hoorn cheese market up on the Grote Markt makes a longer day out. All are seasonal, so check each town's schedule before you plan around one.

Should you build a day around the Gouda cheese market?

Yes, if you are in the region on a Thursday between April and August and want an easy, free, two-hour morning in a genuinely pretty Dutch town. Skip it if you are after a big commercial market with stalls selling cheese by the kilo, or if you are travelling outside the season when the square is just a square. Build the rest of the day around St John's Church and a cheese shop, and Gouda rewards a full day rather than a rushed stop.