We have just returned from the Netherlands. We spent 5 nights in Gouda. We stayed in lovely accommodation overlooking the town square. It was great. On Thursdays throughout spring and summer they have a Cheese Market to observe and lots of other market stalls as well. Gouda is very central in the Netherlands and is a lovely town. The main square is about a 10 minute walk from the train station. The train will take you all over the Netherlands very easily. Most towns are less than 30 minutes by train. We travelled to Rotterdam, Kinderdijk, Delft, Utrecht, etc very easily by train and returned "home" to Gouda each night. Lots of restaurants there as well as supermarkets etc. Gouda never seems to get mentioned much in reviews but we found it very pretty.
Posted by
Chicago
2675 posts
Thanks! I'm staying in Delft later this year but have Gouda on my list for a day trip.
Posted by
Freedonia
15014 posts
Thanks for the info. It reminds me of some of the "Swiss" towns I stayed in especially when I rented a little "cottage." Leaving made me feel a little "blue" but I was consoled by watching reruns of the "Munsters" 1960's TV show.
Some may not like what I wrote but I don't give "edam."
Posted by
Vienna, Austria
5385 posts
Frank II - Do you know that Gouda is pronounced How-da? So "Gouda" heck can you be so "American?"
PS - We stayed 5 nights last year in Gouda as a base for our NL visit. A dream. We stayed in the lovely Relais & Châteaux Weeshuis.
Posted by
Brooklyn, NY
3844 posts
Edam is another ‘cheesy’ town to stay in. They have their cheese market on Wednesdays.
Posted by
Duluth 🛶
6323 posts
Gouda was on my list of places to visit the last time I was in the Netherlands but I never made it. I'll definitely head there on my next trip - thanks!
Posted by
The Netherlands
1308 posts
“Do you know that Gouda is pronounced How-da? ”
It seems you’ve been misinformed. The G in Gouda is pronounced as a proper G, not as an H. It’s a so-called “hard” G with the throat sound. Listen/see this video for the correct pronunciation
https://youtu.be/LQ_8yAl72kc
Posted by
SE US
2354 posts
Someone in the Netherlands last year told me it was pronounced "Hoo-da" Maybe they were messing with me 😄
Posted by
The Netherlands
1308 posts
Maybe they were messing or they were trying to be kind, because they thought that you would find it difficult to pronounce it correctly.
Posted by
Columbus, OH, USA
2026 posts
We visited Gouda for several hours and thought it was a lovely town. We were confused then and I’m still puzzled…We walked into a shop selling cheese and asked for some Gouda cheese ( seemed legit, if not too sophisticated, we thought ). The shopkeeper told us ‘There is no such thing’ and described something like a process of cheese making rather than any specific cheese. Did we totally misunderstand ? We had some nice cheese but no idea what we were eating or trying to learn.
Posted by
The Netherlands
1308 posts
The shopkeeper was correct. The term Gouda cheese refers to a cheese made according to a certain method, not a cheese made in Gouda. Gouda cheeses are made all over the world. Only cheeses that have a label that says “Gouda Holland” are made in the Netherlands. Not necessarily in Gouda, but made in the Netherlands according to the Gouda method.
Posted by
Vienna, Austria
5385 posts
It sounds like a How-da to me, but that's just me being cheesy.
Posted by
Columbus, OH, USA
2026 posts
Thanks Dutch Traveler for the explanation Seems we were close to understanding. Safe travels to all.
Posted by
USA
125 posts
Great place to visit...we loved it. Very quaint.