A visit to a cheese market is a must. Alkmaar, located an hour north of Amsterdam by train where the specialty is Gouda. The market is held on Friday mornings in the summer beginning literally at the crack of dawnits all over by noon. Its fun to watch: Hand clapping is an instrumental part of the selling process and large purchases are sometimes carried off by porters on ornamental carriers.

Some guidebooks will suggest you combine Alkmaar with a visit to the Zaanse Schans. If you came to the Netherlands for Windmills you sure could do worse than that, but if you hate tourist traps, give it a miss.

Aalsmeer
Alkmaar
Almelo
Ameland
Amersfoort
Amsterdam
Apeldoorn
Arnhem
Beek
Bloemendaal
Bolsward
Breda
Brunsumm
De efteling
De hoge veluwe
De zaanse schans
Delft
Den Bosch
Den Helder
Deventer
Dokkum
Domburg
Dordrecht
Edam
Eindhoven
Enkhuizen
Enschede
Ermelo
Franeker
Giethoorn
Gouda
Groningen
Haarlem
Harlingen
Heerde
Heerenveen
Heerlen
Hellevoetsluis
Hengelo
Hilversum
Hindeloopen
Holwerd
IJlst
IJmuiden
Keukenhof
Laren
Leeuwarden
Leiden
Lemmer
Lochem
Maastricht
Marken
Meppel
Middelburg
Midsland
Naarden
Nieuw statenzijl
Nieuwolda
Nijmegen
Noordwijk
Onstwedde
Oss
Ossendrecht
Purmerend
Rotterdam
Ruinen
Sloten
Sneek
Stavoren
The Hague
Tilburg
Tjuchum
Utrecht
Valkenburg
Vlissingen
Volendam
Wageningen
West-Terschelling
Woerden
Woldendorp
Workum
Woudsend
Zandvoort
Zoetermeer