Excellent hiking on the endless sandy beach, in the dunes, woodland and polder. Beautiful historic village boasting amazing architecture from around 1900. It was very much frequented by painters such as Charley Toorop and Leo Gestel around the 1920s, who chose to make it their home, founding the Bergen school of painting. Nowadays one can visit the Kranenburgh art museum, offering a fine permanent collection of art by the Bergen school painters, as well as changing exhibitions of contemporary art. Historic Alkmaar, apart from it's world famous cheese market, is a quiet little gem and an excellent example of Hollands many historic towns. it is only a few minutes away by car. One also finds a railway station in Alkmaar (easy parking) with excellent connections to the heart of Amsterdam. Ofcourse one can also choose to travel to Amsterdam by car, but parking there is not always easy as well as very costly.