There are so many things to love about the beautiful city of Alkmaar.

It's like a little Amsterdam: a fairytale city full of history (with nice shops, cozy cafes and countless restaurants).

 

Located only 2.4 km from the mill, it is easily accessible. The city has two train stations: Alkmaar station and Alkmaar Noord station. Amsterdam is also easily accessible. It takes only forty minutes by train to our capital. By car to the famous dunes and the North Sea takes about fifteen minutes.

 

Alkmaar has a historic center with many national monuments. There are many canals with houses from the 16th to the 19th century.

There are also many courtyards (hofjes), including the 16th-century Hof van Sonoy and the Wildemanshofje.

 

The city is known as 'the cheese city'. From the beginning of April to the end of September, a traditional cheese market is held weekly on Fridays.

The cheese market in Alkmaar has been a tradition for more than four centuries and attracts about 100,000 visitors every year.

It takes place on the Waagplein, in front of the monumental Waaggebouw. Since 1939, Alkmaar has been the only city that still trades cheese in this traditional way. A resident of Alkmaar is called an Alkmaarder, but in the popular way he is called a 'cheesehead'.

 

The construction of the Grote or Sint-Laurenskerk on the Koorstraat began in 1470 and was completed in 1520. The church is still the largest medieval church building in the city center of Alkmaar.

At the end of the Langestraat, at the level of St. Lawrence Church, the sidewalk indicates the highest natural point of the old sand ridge on which the church was built in the form of a small crescent of gray children's heads.