• Talk
• Eat
• Drink
• Get out

Streets of Maastricht

Maastricht is the southernmost city in the Netherlands, in the province of Limburg, close to Belgium and Germany. It claims to be the oldest city in the Netherlands. A great place to spend some time, it contains plenty of old houses and lovely churches and is known for its fine cuisine.

[edit] Understand

The town is a good mix between students (mostly medical and business, a lot of them from abroad) and locals. This keeps the town alive and fresh.

[edit] Information

The VVV is the local tourist agency, and in fact, the tourist agency throughout the entire country. If ever you're lost in the Netherlands, just look for a VVV. They'll help straighten you out, and sell you a map too!

For information about all (cultural) events in Maastricht, try to find a copy of the 'Week in Week uit'. They are distributed all around the city. Also visit Crossroads, a webzine in English for expatriates in Maastricht.

[edit] Talk

Maybe even more than in other parts of the Netherlands, people know how to speak foreign languages. So don't worry if you don't speak Dutch, many Maastrichtenaars are happy to converse with you in English, German or even French.

[edit] Get in

[edit] By air

There is an airport near Maastricht, the Maastricht Aachen Airport, which you can reach by the local bus system, or by taxi. Flights to Maastricht are more expensive, but more convenient than flying into another city, such as Amsterdam, and travelling to Maastricht by train.

[edit] Airports

• Amsterdam - Schiphol Airport

• Eindhoven - Eindhoven Airport

• Liege Bierset - Liege Airport

• Maastricht - Maastricht Aachen Airport - daily direct services to Amsterdam, Girona (Barcelona), Alicante, Valencia and charter-destinations in the summer

• Rotterdam - Rotterdam Airport

• Brussels - Brussels Airport

• Charleroi - Brussels South Charleroi Airport

[edit] By train

There is an extensive rail system in the Netherlands. From Maastricht, there is an hourly link to Liege (30 min) & Brussels (1:30h), Belgium [1]. In addition there is a direct train to Eindhoven (1 hour), Utrecht, Amsterdam (2½ hours) and Alkmaar, twice an hour.

Local trains will take you to Valkenburg, Heerlen & Kerkrade, four times every hour.

[edit] Train stations

• Maastricht
• Maastricht Randwyck

[edit] Train information

• Belgium Railways

• Die Bahn (Aachen, Germany)

• Nederlandse Spoorwegen

• French Railways

[edit] By car

There a two motorways from and to Maastricht: A2 (Amsterdam, Eindhoven, Sittard, Belgium and France - "Route du Soleil") and A79 (Heerlen, Aachen).

[edit] By bus

• Bus 50 from Aachen serves Maastricht on an half-hourly basis.

• Belgian busses come and go to Hasselt, Tongeren, Lanaken and Liege.

• Eurolines Netherlands has a bus stop at the Central train station in Maastricht. In Liege is the Belgian Eurolines stop, which serves different routes to the Maastricht stop.

[edit] Get around

Streets of Maastricht

[edit] By car

[edit] By bus

The city has a bus system called the Stadsbus ("City Bus") that travels over most of the city and to surrounding areas. Tickets can be bought on the bus, or in advance with a pass called a Strippenkaart "Strip-card".

You can purchase the Strippenkaart at the train station, or any post office or newsagent. There are two denominations, € 6.80 and € 20.10. The lesser of the two has 15 strips on it, and the larger 45. So, each strip costs about € 0.45, and each trip on the bus takes at least 2 strips. So a ride on the bus might cost about € 1. Depending on where you go, the fare increases. This is much cheaper then buying the fare on the bus, as a trip purchased from the driver might cost between € 1.60 and € 2.40.

[edit] See

[edit] Civic Buildings

• City Library Plein 1992

• University Maastricht Library, Grote Looierstraat 17 (centre) & Universiteitssingel 50 (Randwyck)

[edit] Museums

[edit] Tourist Attractions

Saturday Flea Market in Maastricht

• The Caves - a local Marlestone mine, tours given in Dutch

• Coffeeshops (eg. Mississippi on the Wilhelminakade, at the Maas quai)

• 'Regular' shopping centre, known for its exclusivity.

[edit] Do

[edit] Cinemas

• Lumiere Cinema

• Minerva Cinemas

[edit] Coffeeshops

In the Netherlands, the policy regarding soft drugs (such as weed, hash and magic mushrooms) is lenient. Therefore, there are several coffee- and headshops where you can buy these products. It is tolerated to buy up to 5 grams of marijuana. Make sure you bring your identification card or drivers license with you, because the shops are very strict about age and they will check it no matter how old you look. You have to be at least 18 years old to enter a coffee- or headshop.

The coffee shops in Maastricht have a lot of foreign customers, so they are able to understand Dutch, English, French and German. The Mississippi boat is the most popular with coffee shop visitors from abroad. It is a coffee shop built in a large boat which lays in the Maas river and is certainly worth visiting.

[edit] Culture

• Visit the Uitbalie in the Theater on the Vrijthof for (last minute) tickets to almost any cultural event. Pick up a Week in/Week uit with its weekly English agenda published by MaastrichtNet, or see what students are upto on wikimaas.org.
• Find out more about life in Maastricht through Crossroads, a webzine for expatriates in Maastricht published by the European Journalism Centre.

[edit] Ekoplan

In Autumn 2007 a collective made an English Map of Maastricht, the Ekoplan, listing as much fair trade, organic (dutch: 'eko'), second hand and vegetarian initiatives in Maastricht they could find. The map is distributed on strategic spots in town (eg. Stayokay hostel), and also available on-line [2]

[edit] Eat

Eating out in Maastricht is seldom cheap, with most restaurants catering to a posh older crowd, rather than the student population. On weekdays, good and relatively low-priced sandwiches can be had at Deli Belge and Somethin' Good, both on Tongersestraat, close to the Economics and Law faculties of the Universiteit Maastricht.

• Sour Meat (Zuurvlees)

[edit] Drink

Maastricht has many bars, restaurants, pubs and dance clubs, located on Vrijthof and Market Squares, and in the centre of downtown it's nearly impossible to walk around and not see anything to do.

• Maastricht is great for a night out (Maastricht is home to both a University & Institute). therefore, lots of students, also lots of foreign companies are based here so a mixture of international pubs & clubs can be found here.

• Be sure to check out these places to go drink and have a good time: The Highlander, Falstaff, Twee Heeren, Metamorfoos, C'est La Vie, and De Allabonneur. They all are very welcoming and have great music to dance to.

• Maastricht is known for its yearly "Carnival," a tradition celebrated in many towns in the south of the Netherlands.

[edit] Sleep

[edit] Budget

[edit] Mid-range

[edit] Splurge

[edit] Cope

[edit] Religious services

Holy mass in Catholic churches in Maastricht:

• Sint Servaas Basilica, Keizer Karelplein. Sat: 18:00; Sun: 10:00, 11:30; Mon-Sat: 09:00 (Sint Servaas chapel)

• Onze Lieve Vrouwe Basilica, Onze Lieve Vrouweplein. Sat: 17:00 (crypt), 18:30; Sun: 09:00, 10:00, 11:30; Mon-Sat: 09:30

• Sint Matthiaskerk, Boschstraat 99. Sat: 17:30; Sun: 11:15; Tue-Fri: 08:30

• Sint Petrus Banden, Oude Kerkstraat 10 (Maastricht Heer). Sat: 19:15; Sun: 08:30, 09:45; Mon-Fri: 19:00

• Basiliek van het H. Sacrament, Markt, 6231 LR Meerssen. Sun: 11:00; Mon & Tue: 19:00; Wed & Fri: 08:00

Directory of Christian churches in Maastricht

[edit] Get out

Dutch countryside, heading south toward Belgian border

• World War II Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial: take the N278 9.5 kilometers (6 miles) east of Maastricht. The cemetery is located just west of the village of Margraten. Open daily except for December 25 and January 1; 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The cemetery is the final resting place for 8,301 American military dead. A monument is inscribed with the names of 1,723 Americans whose remains were never found or identified. The site contains a chapel and museum with three engraved operations maps describing the European Campaign.

• Caves in the Sint Pietersberg: Although the limestome caves are actually mines, it is nice to take a guided tour through the belly of the berg. In the Second World War, the Dutch stored their national arts collections in a vault in the hill, and a lot of engravings - some more old than the other - are to be admired. Entrances lie at several places on the mountain, and are well within walking distance of the town center. Plan in advance to make sure you can get in.

• Fort Eben-Emael: A Belgian WW2 fort no longer in use, but open to the public on certain weekends. Very close to Maastricht, just south across the Belgian border.