The Dutch Cheese Museum is located in the centre of Alkmaar, a small town in North Holland, famous for its cheese market. Alkmaar has a number of well preserved buildings, including guild-houses from the 16th to 18th century. The museum shows how cheese and butter are made, and looks at the trade and life in the countryside, both today, and in the past. The museum has a collection of traditional tools, and uses films and paintings to explain the cheese-making process.