Gouda is a country town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. Gouda, is famous for its Gouda cheese, smoking pipes and its 15th century city hall. Gouda's fabulous array of historic churches and other buildings makes it a very popular day trip destination.
Gouda has over 300 historic buildings, with a beautiful Gothic Town hall that elegantly stands in the centre of the market place. It dates from 1450 and is one of the oldest town halls in The Netherlands. Especially beautiful is the St.John's Church from the 16th century with its splendid stained glass windows.
For many hundreds of years Gouda has served as a market town, today, Gouda still has weekly cheese markets around the Market square from June to September on Thursday mornings.
Things to see and do
* Old City Hall at the market
* Cheese Market
* Grote of St. Jans Kerk (Great or Saint John Church)
* Waaiersluis (Waaier Locks)
* Museumhaven Gouda (Harbour Museum Gouda)
Cruise Season – Oct - April
Currency – Euro (€) (EUR)
Language – Dutch
Land Area – 18.10 sq km’s
Population – 71,893
Electricity – 2 round pins European style
Time – GMT plus two hours
International Country Telephone Code – +31
Port Location – The port is located in Rotterdam from where there are rail and coach connections available to Gouda.
Transport Links – Gouda’s nearest international airport is located 25km northeast in Rotterdam. Gouda's train and bus stations are north of the city centre.