Call us cheesy, but momondo has gone crazy for coagulated milk. We've given our writers the mission of uncovering 'le meilleur fromage' in Paris, 'il migliore formaggio' in Rome, the stinkiest cheeses in New York and the hands-down best cheeses in Amsterdam, London, Madrid and Brussels. So grab yourself some bread and wine and join us on this tour of the best cheese shops in Europe.

Amsterdam

Among all the things identified with Holland - windmills, wooden shoes, tulips and Rembrandt - cheese plays minor role. Lacking the refinement of French and Italian cheeses, Dutch cheese often is associated simply with Gouda or Edammer. Being a vegetarian, I have developed a strong liking for cheese. But unlike Meg and Louise, who always seem on the run to discover heavenly novelties, I could easily live on just one cheese: Oude Boeren kaas (old farmer cheese).

In my eyes, this cheese could easily compete with for instance a Comté of 18 months or any classy Parmigiano Reggiano. A simple rule of thumb is this: the nobler the environment, the higher the chance you’ll find good quality cheese, but that you could have probably figured out yourself.  If you are not willing to pay a fortune for a piece of old gold you might take following places into consideration.

Nieuwmarkt

At first glance, Amsterdam doesn’t seem to share many similarities with Paris, but we do have something in common: a frontier in the city. Akin to the Seine, which divides Paris into the right and left banks, the Damrak splits the centre in the Nieuwmarkt and the Grachtengordel (canal belt). And as in Paris everybody sticks to his part of the city claiming it as the best. My first real apartment in Amsterdam was in an old coffee roast directly across the central station. Times have changed, because now the Apple store moved in and I fell in love with the Nieuwmarkt becoming unfaithful to my old part of town but not forgetting its attractions.

Nieuwmarkt

On Saturdays a farmer's market is set up on the Nieuwmarkt - a bit less swanky bio than one on the Noordermarkt. Famous is the goat man who doesn’t himself like cheese at all, but who sells an excellent goat cheese. There’s also the Milkman with a rather delicious Boeren Oude. But when I am really longing for a piece of old cheese, I willingly cross the frontier and head for the Lindenmarkt. This market held on Saturdays runs parallel to the Noordermarkt.

Lindenmarkt

Years ago, I encountered two brothers selling the most mouth-watering cheese. Besides the cheese, I was at that time very much impressed by the big Breitling’s on their wrist because I couldn’t understand that one could actually be making money on selling cheese. The only problem is that you have to wait quite a while because it’s always crowded. You can probably buy better bread at the nearby bio market since normal Dutch bread isn’t something we can really boast about.