Utrecht (city)
From Wikitravel
Utrecht is a central Dutch city with a long history. With 250,000 inhabitants it's the fourth city in the Netherlands.
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Get in
By train
Utrecht Centraal Station is the major train hub in the Netherlands. It's fairly in the centre of the city. Utrecht has an almost direct connection with Schiphol airport, change trains in Duivendrecht. Beware the so called "Schiphollijn" is a pickpocket hangout.
By bus
The train station is also the central bus station. There are buses that travel from other cities to Utrecht, but taking a train is usually easier and faster. For information about the bus' timetables etc. check the GVU (http://www.gvu.nl/) website, this is the company that provides public transport services in Utrecht.
By car
If you are coming in by car, park your car in one of the many parking garages around the city (follow the signs) and walk from there.
Get around
Walking or renting a bike can get you a long way if the weather is on your side. A good alternative is taking the bus, which goes nearly everywhere. Utrecht Centraal Station serves as the main bus hub for Utrecht as well as the main train hub for the Netherlands. Buy tickets at vending machines or ticket booths at Utrecht Centraal, as this is much cheaper than buying them on the bus.
By car
Seeing Utrecht by car is not recommended. The city planners have made it as difficult as possible to navigate the city center, to try and discourage cars there. If you want to come by car it is recommended to park at the stadium Galgewaard, where there is a cheap shuttle bus service into town.
See
- De Dom (http://www.domkerk.nl/) is a large Gothic cathedral that was built between 1254 and 1520. It features the tallest church tower (112 meters or 367 feet) in the Netherlands, which can be seen from all over Utrecht.
- Oude Gracht - A canal going through the heart of the city, with shops and restaurants on both sides.
- The Vismarkt (Fishmarket, a lovely street in the plain centre).
- Centraal Museum (http://www.centraalmuseum.nl/). The oldest municipal museum in the Netherlands. It has a large art collection including the world's largest collection of Rietveld designs and a permanent exhibition on Dick Bruna.
- Museum Catharijneconvent (http://www.catharijneconvent.nl/) has a large collection of historic Christian items. The main part is closed for renovation until Spring 2006.
- Nationaal Museum van Speelklok tot Pierement (http://www.museumspeelklok.nl/) is a museum on all kinds of mechanical music, including carillon clocks, musical boxes, pianolas, belly organs and much more.
- Nederlands Spoorwegmuseum (http://www.spoorwegmuseum.nl/) is the Dutch Railway Museum. It is currently being renovated and will reopen in June of 2005.
- Aboriginal Art Museum (http://www.aamu.nl/).
- Moluks Historisch Museum (http://www.museum-maluku.nl/). A museum on the history of the Moluccas.
- Utrecht Universiteit Museum (http://www.museum.uu.nl/) is the museum of Utrecht University.
- De Uithof, which is the campus of Utrecht University on the outskirts of Utrecht, near the stadium of FC Utrecht. There are several buildings here that are designed by famous modern architects as well as a beautiful botanical garden.
- Stadsschouwburg (http://www.utrecht.nl/stadsschouwburg/). The city theatre.
Do
- See FC Utrecht (http://www.fc-utrecht.nl/) play soccer at their home stadium.
- Watch a movie at one of many cinemas. With the exception of some animated movies (and even those are usually available in the original language as well), all movies are subtitled and not dubbed, so you should be able to enjoy all the standard Hollywood fare in the original English.
- Climb the Dom tower, a full 112 meters high. You can climb to near the top.
- Take tour with the tour boat or:
- Rent a canal bike and pedal your own way around the canals.
- Try a locally brewed beer at Stadskasteel Oudaen (http://www.oudaen.nl/), which is a 13th century city castle turned restaurant.
Learn
Work
Buy
- El Beso (http://www.el-beso.com/) At Nobelstraat there is an excellent Wine, life and style shop, called El Beso (Spanish for Kiss). On Saturdays you can just walk in and try a wine, no buying obligations. International crowd.
- Hoog Catharijne (http://www.hoogcatharijne.nl/hc/) is a is large indoor shopping area connected to the central hall of Utrecht Centraal Station, the main railway station of Utrecht.
- Geek gear. There are half a dozen stores at the part of the Oudegracht (Old Canal) near De Dom that sell board games, card games, wargames, roleplaying games, fantasy and science-fiction books and/or comics. Keep your eyes peeled; some of these stores are easy to miss.
- Other books. Broese (http://www.broese.net/) is a large bookstore at Stadhuisbrug 5. They have a fair selection of English books. Nearby De Slegte (http://www.deslegte.nl/), at Oudegracht 121, has a wide selection of second hand books. Bijleveld (http://www.bijleveldbooks.nl/html/boekwinkel.html) at the Janskerkhof is an old bookstore with beautiful wooden show windows.
- Music. Plato (http://www.platomania.nl/) at Steenweg 13 has a fair selection at reasonable prices. There are several stores operated by the large chain Free Record Shop (http://www.freerecordshop.nl/) all over the shopping area.
- On Saturdays there is a large open air market on a square called Vredenburg.
- At Vredenburg 29 there is a give-away shop, open Tuesdays 1400-1800 and Saturdays 1400-1700.
Eat
- Stadskasteel Oudaen (http://www.oudaen.nl/), at Oudegracht 99, is a 13th century city castle turned restaurant.
- There are several Flemish snackbars outside of Hoog Catharijne that sell wonderful thick fries with mayonnaise. Try it; it's not as bad as John Travolta's character seems to think in Pulp Fiction.
- Pancakes at 'De Oude Muntkelder'
- Excellent spare ribs at restaurant Broadway.
- A dinner salad at Le Connoiseur.
- A hip and trendy dinner at Luce restaurant, located on Visschersplein.
- For cheap tapas go to El Mundo at Voorstraat or Mimadre at Oudkerkhof.
- To try something dutch visit one of the snackbars and order a "Kroket". A good one is behind City Hall, it is called "Broodje Plof". A lot of dutch people visit this place after a good night of binch drinking.
Drink
- Stadskasteel Oudaen (http://www.oudaen.nl/), at Oudegracht 99, is a 13th century city castle turned restaurant. They have their own theatre and more importantly their own brewery, where they brew the local beers Ouwe Daen, Jonge Daen en Linteloo Gold. Highly recommended.
- Cafe Belgie, on Oudegracht 196. Good music and a selection of 198 different beers. Try the Celis White if you like white beer.
- The main venue for concerts and for dancing is Tivoli (http://www.tivoli.nl/)
- A smaller, more intimate venue, is political-cultural centre ACU (http://www.acu.nl/). They host a large variety of things, such as a small cinema (smoking allowed), art exhibitions, cafe literature, concerts, disco, gay-events, and they serve vegetarian and vegan food.
- Stairway to Heaven (http://www.stairway.nl/) is a large rockcafe at Mariaplaats 11-12.
Sleep
- Hostel Strowis (http://www.strowis.nl/), a lovely hostel run by a group of clever ex-squatters who bought their building to start this initiative.
Contact
Internet
PUSCII (http://www.puscii.nl/when.shtml) is a free internet workplace at Ganzenmarkt 26, open 14:00-19:00 on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.
Cope
Utrecht as a student city is quite safe, although there are some neighbourhoods in the outskirts that you probably don't want to visit. As always, don't flash your wallet at markets and have a natural caution for pickpockets in the city centre.
Get out
External links
- http://www.utrecht.nl/ Dutch
- Concert agenda (http://www.utrecht-live.nl/), for the whole town.
