The 4 best cheese markets in Noord-Holland, ranked

The real ones and the shows

1. Alkmaar — Fridays 10:00-13:00 from the first Friday of April through the last Friday of September. The oldest continuously running market (since 1593), the guild ceremony with the coloured hats is the template every other town copies, and the town itself justifies the day. 2. Edam — Wednesday mornings in July and August only. Smaller and less crowded than Alkmaar, and the setting on Jan van Nieuwenhuizenplein is more intimate.

Both are re-enactments now — the actual wholesale cheese trade left these squares decades ago — but Alkmaar retains the scale and the guild traditions to feel like something more than a costume show. Go for 09:30 and stand at the front.

The lesser two

3. Hoorn — Thursday evenings in July and August, on Roode Steen square. Later start (20:30), so you can combine it with dinner in town. Smaller crowds, but the ceremony is essentially a shortened Alkmaar. 4. Purmerend — Thursday mornings, mid-July to mid-August only. The most modest of the four and the least worth a special trip; go if you happen to be in town.

None of these are the biggest cheese-producing towns in the country anymore — Gouda and Woerden handle most volume — but Alkmaar's market has been running for four centuries longer than most European tourist attractions. Combine it with the Beatles Museum in town or a Grote Kerk climb.