Alkmaar

Alkmaar is perhaps the cheese capital of the world (and certainly of the Netherlands). The city has the traditional cheese market every Friday morning from April to September, where cheese porters in authentic clothing carry the cheeses to the market. Here the cheeses are then auctioned by means of hand clapping. In the city you will also find the Dutch Cheese Museum. This museum shows how the cheeses are made, what life is like in the countryside and how the cheeses are traded. This makes a visit to Alkmaar and the market a very nice day out: you will not find this anywhere else.

But Alkmaar is more than just the cheese market. Alkmaar also has a beautiful historic center with many old buildings and monuments. For example, the Waag on the market and the City Hall are centuries old. In the city you can also visit other museums than the cheese museum. For example, there is the Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar, the National Beer Museum De Boom and the ‘Huis met de Kogel’. Oh yes, as a Beatles fan you are also in the right place in the city. There is a real Beatles Museum. This museum shows you everything about the famous British band.

If you like shopping, you can also go to Alkmaar. The city has a wide range of shops, which makes shopping in the city always a lot of fun. In addition to the cozy shopping center, the city also has various shopping centers where you can go shopping.