52.01° N · 4.71° E
The Thursday cheese market from April to August, the Waag, the Kamphuisen stroopwafel factory and the 72 stained-glass windows of the Sint-Jan, by train from Amsterdam.
What to do
Each plan says how long it takes, who it's for and whether you can book.
Market · 2 h 30 · Horse-drawn carts, heavy cheeses at the 1668 Waag and hand-clap bargaining in front of the town hall, every Thursday from 10:00 to 12:30. Free.
Visit · 1 h · The longest church in the Netherlands, with 72 famous stained-glass windows and a free 40-minute audio guide. Monday to Saturday.
Visit · 45 min · How Gouda syrup waffles are made, in the factory that has baked them since 1810, with a freshly made one at the end. €11.50; family €42.
Itineraries
Days and weekends already planned out, with how to get between each stop and who to book with.
Plan the trip
Each choice narrows the next: the season shapes how best to travel, and how you travel decides where you stay and where you eat.
When to go
A Thursday from April to August, for the cheese market from 10:00 to 12:30. The Waag, the stroopwafel factory and the museums are open all year; the Sint-Janskerk, Monday to Saturday.
How you travel
Choose how you're travelling and we'll tell you where to stay, how to get around, where to eat and which services you'll need. We only show the ways of travelling that make sense here.
Gouda is in the middle of the Randstad, between Rotterdam, Utrecht and The Hague. The usual route is to fly to Amsterdam Schiphol, with direct flights from Madrid, Barcelona and nearly all the major Spanish cities, and continue by train, with a change or two. Gouda can be done as a day trip from Amsterdam or from any of those three cities.
Gouda is a textbook train excursion: ten minutes' walk from the station to the Markt and the whole centre flat and close. The budget per person per day includes sleeping in the centre, food and entry fees.
Who you're with
A trip with a toddler is not the same as one with a teenager. Pick yours to see what works and what to bear in mind.
Gouda can be enjoyed at any age: cheeses arriving by horse-drawn cart, a factory of warm waffles and a church with coloured stained glass. Everything is a few minutes' walk away.
With young children, the perfect day in Gouda is a Thursday: horse-drawn carts and cheeses in the morning, and a freshly made stroopwafel afterwards. The streets of the centre are flat and pushchair-friendly.
Where to stay
We show you what suits the way you travel.Change how you travel
Why we like it: Hotel on the Hoge Gouwe, ten minutes on foot from the station and the Markt, with a lounge, local-produce breakfast and a Q-Park car park below.
Why we like it: Hotel in Gouda's former orphanage, beside the Sint-Jan, with luxury, classic and small rooms, breakfast, a lunch bar and a starred restaurant.
Why we like it: Hotel with self-service entry in a historic building on the Geuzenstraat, with an inner courtyard for coffee and lunch and a door that opens with your phone.
Services for this trip
Where to eat
From set lunch menus to Michelin stars. We mark the price level and what to order at each place.
What to order: a lunch on the terrace on a market Thursday, with the Waag in front of you.
What to order: a midday lunch before the Sint-Jan, which is two minutes away.
What to order: the three-course introductory menu, €75, on Thursday at midday or on Wednesday and Thursday evenings.
Map
The places to stay and services on the map are the ones for the way you travel. Turn on the layers you want and tap a point to see its details.
Nearby
The closest places, whichever country they are in.
Tips
The cheese market is on Thursdays from April to August, from 10:00 to 12:30.
Both run on time slots; at the Waag, online is a euro cheaper.
The Sint-Janskerk is only open to visitors from Monday to Saturday; on Sunday, go to the Museum Gouda.
The Kamphuisen shop sells them in packs and gift boxes.
Gouda is the city that gives its name to one of the most famous cheeses in the world, but you discover it as a perfectly sized Dutch canal city: an enormous square with the old town hall in the middle, a cheese weigh house of 1668, the longest church in the country with 72 famous stained-glass windows and a centre you can cross on foot in twenty minutes. This is also where the stroopwafel was born, the syrup waffle you will find all over the country, and the Kamphuisen family has been making them since 1810 in a factory you can visit.
By train: Gouda is in the middle of the Randstad, between Utrecht, Rotterdam and The Hague, and from Amsterdam Centraal you arrive in a little under an hour, direct or with one change depending on the time. The Intercity station is north of the centre, about ten minutes on foot from the Markt. Pay by tapping a contactless card on the reader.
By car, park in a Q-Park in the centre, such as the Bolwerk, under the City Hotel, and walk: the centre is small.
Every Thursday from April to August, from 10:00 to 12:30, the Markt relives 17th-century trade. Horse-drawn carts loaded with cheeses arrive, stop in front of the Waag, the cheese boys unload them on their shoulders and cheesemakers and merchants close the deal with a clap of hands. The cheeses are weighed on the original scales in the Waag. Around the square there are stalls selling cheese, local produce and crafts. In 2026 it ran from 2 April to 27 August, with no market on Ascension Thursday. It is free; arrive before ten.
On the same square, the Goudse Waag museum tells the story of the city's trade in the weigh house designed by Pieter Post in 1668, with a tasting of four cheeses if you book it. A few steps away, the Kamphuisen stroopwafel factory shows you in 45 minutes how the waffles are made and gives you a hot one at the end, for €11.50.
Behind the square rises the Sint-Janskerk, the longest church in the Netherlands, with 72 stained-glass windows and a free 40-minute audio guide; it is open Monday to Saturday. Right behind it, the Museum Gouda, in a medieval building, holds altarpieces, a model of the city from 1562 and Gouda ceramics, and is also open on Sunday. Finish with the canal walk around the centre.
De Zalm, on the Markt opposite the Waag, is open every day from ten. COCO serves lunch from Wednesday to Sunday in the former orphanage, and in the same building LIZZ* has a Michelin star, with a €75 introductory menu. To sleep, the City Hotel Gouda is between the station and the square, with parking underneath; the WSHS is in the former orphanage beside the Sint-Jan, and the Guesthouse has self check-in by phone and an inner courtyard.
Half a day is enough for the square, the church and one museum; a full day if you do the market, the stroopwafel factory and the Waag. Given its location, Gouda combines well with Utrecht, Delft or Rotterdam, all by train.
On a Thursday from April to August, for the market. The rest of the year, Gouda still has the Waag, the waffle factory, the church and the museum, with far fewer visitors. Watch the days: the Sint-Janskerk is not open to visitors on Sunday and the Museum Gouda is closed on Mondays.
Questions
On Thursdays from April to August, from 10:00 to 12:30. In 2026, from 2 April to 27 August.
By train, in a little under an hour, direct or with one change. The station is ten minutes on foot from the Markt.
Yes, at the Kamphuisen factory, with a 45-minute visit for €11.50.
On Monday the Museum Gouda is closed, and on Sunday the Sint-Janskerk is not open to visitors.
Yes, for the Sint-Jan, the Waag, the stroopwafel factory and the museum.
De Zalm, opposite the Waag, is open every day.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/the-netherlands/gouda
