Gouda Cheese Market

What You'll See

The market starts at 10:00 with the ringing of the cheese bell. Farmers and traders settle prices with handjeklap, slapping hands until they agree, and the cheese is then weighed in the Waag. You can watch the weighing, and you can also have yourself weighed on the cheese scale.

Horse-drawn carts bring the cheese in, and cheese boys toss the wheels onto the carts. Choirs and dance groups perform each week, the barrel organ De Lekkerkerker plays, and a craft market fills the square. There are cheesemaking demonstrations, old crafts and a contest to guess the weight of a cheese. More than 100,000 people visit the market each year.

Gouda also has a ceremonial guild, the Gilde der Ere Waegemeesters, with more than 100 members.

Check Before You Go

The market does not run on Ascension Day, and on 25 June 2026 it was cancelled because of extreme heat. The organisers post changes on goudakaasstad.nl.

More to Do on Market Day

During the May and summer school holidays there is a children's cheese market behind the Waag. Every Thursday at 14:00 the Gouda guides lead a walk through the historic town, starting at the Waag.

Museum De Goudse Waag

The weigh house itself, designed by Pieter Post and built in 1668, is a museum about Gouda cheese and the cheese trade. It opens daily from 10:00 to 17:00 between 1 April and 1 November and from 10:00 to 16:00 the rest of the year, closed on King's Day, Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Entry with an audio tour is €8.50, children aged 6 to 14 pay €3.50 and under-5s go free. The Museumkaart is not accepted. The VVV tourist office is on the ground floor.

Gouda Cheese Experience

A separate attraction at Agnietenstraat 21, open every day of the year. The tour takes 60 to 90 minutes and costs €16 for adults and €14.50 for children aged 4 to 15.

Getting There From Amsterdam

The train from Amsterdam takes about 50 minutes, direct or with one change. Gouda station is a 5-minute walk from the historic centre.