Alkmaar Cheese Market
From the first Friday of April to the first Friday in September, Alkmaar's cheese market is held on Friday mornings between 10 - 12:30. During this time the cheese porters carry their cheeses into the square on barrows and weigh them on the Waag (the official scales).
These scales are housed in the Waaggebouw, Alkmaar's famous cheese museum that tells your everything about dairy farming and how it was established.
The Cheese market in Alkmaar hosts a traditional dutch ritual every friday morning, where, rain or shine, the cheesemen in traditional dress bring out their wares for sale on strange shoulder mounted barrows.
After the 'bringing out' ceremony is over, you can preuse the stalls and enjoy samples of dutch cheese made the traditional way.
While in Alkmaar, there are some great museums to visit, including the National Beer Museum and the Dutch cheese museum, which is based in an old weighhouse.