The hofjes of Alkmaar are small enclosed courtyards built as almshouses for widows and the poor from the 16th century onwards. Like the better-known examples in Amsterdam and Haarlem, they sit behind narrow gateways on otherwise ordinary streets; push through and you find a quiet inner court ringed by low brick cottages with a fountain or pump in the middle.
The Hofje van Splinter, the Hofje Paling, and the Provenhuis Van Wessanen are among those open to respectful visitors. They are still inhabited, so keep noise down and do not enter the cottages. Tourist office maps mark a walking route between them — half an hour at a slow pace, longer if you stop to look. They are one of the quieter pleasures of the city, easily missed by visitors here just for the cheese.