Bergen aan Zee: parking, dogs and the beach

Where can you park?

There are eight parking locations by the beach. Boulevard Zuid lies about 60 metres from the beach access, Boulevard Noord at 80, Kennedyboulevard and Van der Wijckplein at 150, Parkweg at 225, Van Hasseltweg at 250, the Zeeweg at 400 and the Watertorenweg at 850 metres.

The village falls in parking zone B: €2,45 per hour, with a maximum of €14,70 per day. From March to October inclusive you pay every day from 10.00 to 19.00, public holidays included. From November to February inclusive only on Saturday and Sunday, in the same hours. On weekdays in winter you therefore park for free, at the weekend you do not.

A free alternative: the fietstransferium (bike transfer car park) on the Groeneweg in Bergen. From there it is less than five kilometres to the sea, through the woods.

Can the dog run off the lead on the beach?

Between 1 May and 1 October your dog may run off the lead on the beach before 10.00 and after 19.00. In between he may come along on a lead on the activity beaches, recognisable by the orange posts. On the sunbathing beach (yellow posts) and the naturist beach (pink posts) he is not allowed between 10.00 and 19.00, not even on a lead. From 1 October to 1 May more is allowed than in summer.

Checked on 3 September 2026 with the gemeente Bergen (Bergen municipality). It reports that new beach rules come into force on 1 January 2027.

What do you do here when it rains?

The Zee Aquarium on the Van der Wijckplein is open all year: April to September inclusive from 10.00 to 18.00, October to March inclusive from 11.00 to 17.00. Admission is €16,95 for adults and €11,95 for children aged 3 to 12 inclusive, free up to and including 2 years. Since 1998 a sperm whale skeleton has hung there.

Why does the village look so new?

Bergen aan Zee came off the drawing board in 1906, on the initiative of mayor Jacob van Reenen. Leonard Springer designed the villa park in 1907, Berlage drew the centre in 1908. For the construction of the Atlantikwall almost half of the houses disappeared during the Second World War. Of the 330 buildings with an address, exactly one dates from before 1900; the largest group, 107 buildings, comes from 1950 to 1970. The Vredeskerkje (the little peace church) on the Kerkstraat, consecrated in 1918, did survive the demolition.

Practical note: if the car park on the Uilenvangerweg is full, the municipality sends you on to Egmond aan Zee, Hargen aan Zee or Camperduin. On busy days traffic marshals are posted on the roads towards the coast. If you want to get ahead of that, leave the car at the fietstransferium and do the last kilometres by bike.