North Holland · Netherlands
Where to stay in Alkmaar
Alkmaar is a city in North Holland, Netherlands, home to about 110,000 people. This guide covers 1 hotel in Alkmaar.
- Places to stay in this guide
- 1
- Best months
- June and July
- Nearest airport
- AMS36 km · Amsterdam Airport Schiphol
- Currency
- EUReuro
- Time zone
- Europe/Amsterdam
- Language
- Dutch
About
About Alkmaar
Alkmaar is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland. Alkmaar is well known for its traditional cheese market.
Alkmaar is on the 'peninsula' of Holland, north of Amsterdam and Haarlem. In the Middle Ages, this was a region of lakes and marshes, lying behind the coastal dunes. (The medieval coastline was different: the sea began north of the line Medemblik - Schagen - Petten). In the last 800 years, the region behind the dunes was reclaimed from lakes and the sea - often several times, as land was flooded again and again. The polders around Alkmaar are among the oldest in the Netherlands. The small Achtermeer, south of Alkmaar, was the first recorded drainage of a lake by windmills, in 1532.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Alkmaar
See
The old city of Alkmaar is approximately an oval, south-east of the station. It is about 1 km from east to west, so everything is within walking distance. Shops and public buildings are concentrated in the western part, nearest the station, the east and south are residential. There is one shopping centre just outside the old city, Noorderarcade, accessible by footbridge across the North Holland Canal. The old city contains most of the historic buildings. From the station: turn right as you leave the station, along Stationsweg. Turn right along Scharlo, cross the bridge over the Singelgracht (the old moat), and you are in the old city. The bridge is 5–10 minutes walk from the station.
- Bergerbrug
- Hofje van Paling en van Foreest
- Clarissenbolwerk
- Alkmaar's oldest house
- Sint-Josephkerk
- De Molen van Piet
- Sint Laurenskerk
- Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar
- Het Hooge Huys
- Stadhuis
- Moriaanshoofd
- Huize Egmont
Do
The things to do in Alkmaar are primarily to see the old city, to play a wonderful collection of pinball machines (Friday nights only!), to walk or cycle in the surrounding countryside, or to go to the beach (see 'Go next', below). Although the canals in Alkmaar are sometimes narrow, and the bridges low, there is also a canal boat ride. The boats themselves are low, and have no roof: they depart from a jetty in the canal at Mient, almost opposite the Waag.
- Rondvaart Alkmaar
- Kano
- Fietspoint Stoop
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Places to stay in Alkmaar
1 place to stay from the chains this guide covers, each linked to its own website.
| Place to stay |
|---|
| Hotel-Restaurant De Oude Gevangenis-Alkmaar hotel |
Where to stay
Which part of Alkmaar to stay in
Most accommodation in the region is on the coast, especially in the seaside villages, and in the dunes. In Alkmaar, there is one small hotel opposite the station, a larger hotel in the city center, two larger chain hotels, and several bed and breakfasts.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
When to go
The best time to visit Alkmaar
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Alkmaar are June and July. August is the warmest month, with average highs of 22 °C; October is the wettest, with about 93 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Alkmaar: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS), about 36 km from the city centre in a straight line; Rotterdam The Hague Airport (RTM, 78 km) and Groningen Airport Eelde (GRQ, 135 km) are also within reach.
Getting in
Alkmaar is served by Intercity trains from Amsterdam, 4 trains per hour, journey time 35–40 minutes. These Intercity trains start in Nijmegen or Maastricht, stop at Utrecht and end in Den Helder. At Amsterdam-Sloterdijk station, on the western edge of Amsterdam, they connect with trains to Schiphol Airport, Leiden, The Hague, Rotterdam, Dordrecht and Breda. Alkmaar is also on a train route from The Hague via Haarlem and Alkmaar, to Hoorn, every 30 minutes. At weekends, you must change trains in Haarlem.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
AMS · Amsterdam Airport Schiphol
RTM · Rotterdam The Hague Airport
GRQ · Groningen Airport Eelde
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Alkmaar
Eat
Almost all bars serve food and the town offers a wide range of restaurants, almost all of which in walking distance from the city center. varying from Dutch to Thai, from Chinese to Russian and Eastern European, from Spanish to Indonesian and from Greek to Scotch. Restaurants are typically open from around 17:00 to 23:30.
Drink
Alkmaar has many bars, which are mostly centred around the Waagplein and Platte Stenen Brug (Mient). Bars are open until 02:00 on weekdays and until 02:30 or 03:00 on Fridays and Saturdays.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Questions
Alkmaar: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Alkmaar?
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Alkmaar are June and July. August is the warmest month, with average highs of 22 °C; October is the wettest, with about 93 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Alkmaar?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS), about 36 km from the city centre in a straight line; Rotterdam The Hague Airport (RTM, 78 km) and Groningen Airport Eelde (GRQ, 135 km) are also within reach.
What currency is used in Alkmaar?
euro (EUR).
Nearby
Destinations near Alkmaar
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.