Alkmaar is the biggest town in the region and therefore also its centre for going out. There is a range of restaurants of various kinds and 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