The cheese market dictates the calendar. It runs every Friday morning from late March to late September, with an additional Tuesday-evening market in July and August. If you have come to Alkmaar to see the market, time your visit accordingly — the town is otherwise a calm provincial centre and you will wonder what the fuss is about.
Spring and early autumn are pleasant for the canals and the walking — long days, manageable temperatures, lighter crowds outside Friday mornings. Summer can get busy, especially with day-trip groups bussed in for the market. Winter is quiet, with shorter museum hours but the same beautiful gabled streets, often nicely lit in the run-up to Christmas. The Alkmaar Ontzet on 8 October — the celebration of the lifting of the 1573 Spanish siege — fills the streets with reenactors and parades and is worth catching if you happen to be in the country then.