Alkmaar is the biggest town in the region of North Holland and therefore also its centre for going out. There is a range of restaurants of various kinds, coffee houses, as well as theatres and museums.

It is known that the city of Alkmaar had a weighing house for cheese as early as 1365. The oldest "ordinance on the cheese bearers" dates from June 17th 1593. Until the First World War, the cheese market was a vital centre for the trade. In 1916, an average of three hundred tons of cheese was sold on every market day. At that time, the market went on until one o'clock at night. Since 1939, Alkmaar has been the only place in the Netherlands to maintain the.

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