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La Cheese Valley is a recently created itinerary to allow everyone to enjoy and learn everything about the Dutch dairy industry.
It starts from Gouda in an imaginary quadrilateral dedicated to cheese, but there are many places to visit. Because the Cheese Valley is not just gastronomy and delights: it is also a mix of history and fascinating stories. For example, the Gouda cheese it is not only very tasty, but also has a rich history to learn about.
For centuries these cheeses have been traded in the city from which they take their name: Gouda. But the actual production process took place in the surrounding polders that form the so-called Cheese Valley. An oasis of calm and space, right between the four largest cities in the Netherlands. And even today this Dutch landscape of grazing cows, ditches and willows is where cheese is made. The flavor varies from farm to farm and even from season to season. Gouda, Woerden, Krimpenerwaard and Bodengraven-Reeuwijk are the vertices of the quadrilateral that forms, halfway between Rotterdam and Utrecht, the Cheese Valley.
In this area, 20 million kilos of cheese are produced per year, over 60 percent of national production. Excellence of the Valley they are twelve cheeses, classified as boerenkaas, i.e. produced on the farm from raw milk from livestock on the same farm.
So we start from Gouda to discover this splendid itinerary made up of historic villages and markets to visit in a long weekend. The historic center with the Market, the main square remains one of the most beautiful places to visit and in winter it becomes a large skating rink (in the same period, the Gouda Kaarslicht is lit only by candles). In addition to the cheese, the Stroopwafels, waffles filled with caramel syrup, are worth trying.
The second town is Woerden, known for its ancient cheese producers' market which - at the end of the 1775th century - was a point of reference for sales. The Kerkplein, the square in front of St. Peter's Church, is still invaded today by farmers in costume with old horse-drawn cheese carts, while in the Regional Market you can find fruit, vegetables, cheeses and artisanal cured meats. Worth visiting are the fifteenth-century fortress, the ancient mill dating back to XNUMX, the gardens with its modern sculptures or take a river trip on the Old Rhine.
The third stage is Krimpenerwaard, rural area where the heart of the Cheese Valley beats. Here it is possible to admire pastures, mills, canals and villages.
Also not to be missed is a visit to the town of Schoonhoven. Famous for its silver processing, it has made the Zilver Museum a real point of reference for learning all the secrets of the precious metal.
Finally, the Cheese Valley itinerary includes an obligatory stop at Leiden , Rembrandt's hometown, which in 2020 will celebrate its 350th anniversary and will inaugurate "The Young Rembrandt Studio", a museum in the house where the artist learned to paint. With a simple boat tour it is possible to admire the park, the historic headquarters of the University, the oldest in Holland and the Hortus Botanicus, the oldest garden in the country, founded in the mid-1500s.
