Maastricht

Photo © SirRogue58

Travel Guide Europe Netherlands Limburg Maastricht

Introduction

Market in Maastricht

Maastricht, just like Nijmegen, claims to be one of the oldest cities in the Netherlands. But unlike Nijmegen, the places has not been inhabited permanently. That said, there was already some sort of settlement about 2,500 years ago by the Kelts, at a place along the Maas where wading through the water was possible. This is also what the name Maastricht literally means.

Maastricht is located along the shores of the Maas River in between the highest hills in the country. It is one of the most popular cities in the Netherlands, but mostly amongst Dutch, Belgian and German tourists. Surprisingly few other foreign visitors come to the city.

The city has about 120,000 inhabitants, including a large number of students, both from abroad as from other parts of the Netherlands. It is a very lively city, with many restaurants and pubs and living the good Bourgondic life here is not that difficult. As a bonus, the historical hart of the city provides the visitor a good combination of culture and nightlife. And if that is not enough, around Maastricht is a beautiful landscape with green hills along the shores of the Maas river and cross border visits to Germany and Belgium are very easy and straightforward as well. That said, it is a good place to base yourself for a few days or even a week.

Maastricht also deserved a place in European history as the place where the Treaty of Maastricht was signed. This treaty was the bases for replacing over a dozen of local currencies for the Euro (€).

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Neighbourhoods

Maastricht has 7 neighbourhoods which can be chopped down to even smaller units.

Buitenwijk Zuidwest	Villapark, Jekerdal, Biesland, Campagne, Wolder and Sint Pieter
Buitenwijk West	Brusselsepoort, Mariaberg, Belfort, Pottenberg, Malpertuis, Caberg, Oud-Caberg, Malberg, Dousberg-Hazendans and Daalhof
Buitenwijk Noordwest	Boschpoort, Boscherveld, Frontenkwartier, Belvedere, and Lanakerveld
Buitenwijk Oost	Wyckerpoort, Heugemerveld, Wittevrouwenveld, Nazareth, Limmel, Scharn and Amby
Buitenwijk Noordoost	Beatrixhaven, Borgharen, Itteren and Meerssenhoven
Buitenwijk Zuidoost	Heugem, Heer, De Heeg and Vroendaal

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Sights and Activities

For the first time visitor, here are some places you really have to go:

The Vrijthof, with the Saint Servaas Church and the Saint Jans Church
The Onze-Lieve-Vrouwe Plein (Square) with the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwe Church. Both places are lined with restaurants and terraces where you can try the famous whitebeer Korenwolf or have a good meal, for example sour meat.
The central market square with the town hall
The Saint Servaas bridge across the Maas River.
Bonnefantenmuseum - Old masters meet modern art in an architectural interesting building.

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Events and Festivals

Carnaval

Carnaval is an event that takes place 40 days before Easter (so the date changes every year). Carnaval nowadays starts with on Saturday, On Sunday there is a big parade, starting at the Vrijthof, and on the monday evening there is another parade called the Family parade. These parades are the highlight of these days.

During the Carnaval people dress up (like Halloween in the USA) and drink a lot. There are parties until early in the morning for a few days straight, and typical for Limburg is that the music for these days is composed only for these days. Usually this is a kind of Polka/Folk music. On tuesday afternoon there is a contest for music groups, called Het Zate Hermenikes concours, which is staged at the Vrijthof. On the evening of the Tuesday Carnaval ends at 11:11pm.

Koningsdag (King's Day)

In 2013, the Dutch throne was passed on to King Willem-Alexander and what used to be Koninginnedag (Queen's Day) will from 2014 become Koningsdag (King's Day). The date will be changed to the 27th of April, which is the king's birthday. In 2014 however it will be on the 26th of April because the 27th falls on a Sunday. On this day the streets of almost every sizable town in the country come alive with activity.

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Weather

Maastricht weather is typical of what you get in the Netherlands: mild winters with rare snow, and reasonably warm summers. Still, summers are on average just a bit warmer, while winters are a bit colder on average compared to the rest of the country. In summer the average temperatures are around 22 °C, during a heat wave, temperatures can reach above 30 °C. In winter the average night temperature is just below 0 °C, while during the daytime they around 5 °C - 6 °C.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Avg Max	5 °C	5.9 °C	9.7 °C	13 °C	17.8 °C	20.3 °C	22.5 °C	22.7 °C	18.8 °C	14.2 °C	8.7 °C	6.1 °C
Avg Min	-0.1 °C	-0.2 °C	2.2 °C	4 °C	8 °C	10.9 °C	13 °C	12.8 °C	10.1 °C	6.6 °C	3 °C	1.2 °C
Rainfall	60.5 mm	50.7 mm	60.5 mm	46 mm	63.8 mm	73.9 mm	67.1 mm	58.1 mm	60.4 mm	62.8 mm	66 mm	70.2 mm
Rain Days	18	14	17	14	15	15	13	13	14	15	17	18

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Getting There

By Plane

Maastricht has an international airport, shared with the German city of Aachen, the Maastricht Aachen Airport (MST), which lies just north of the city along the A2 highway. Ryanair flies to/from Alicante, Pisa and Girona, Sky Airlines flies to/from Antalya, Transavia to/from Dalaman (Turkey), Faro, Heraklion (Crete), Kos, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Malaga, Palma de Mallorca, Rhodes and Tenerife-South, and Amsterdam Airlines to/from Ankara and Kayseri.

By Train

You can reach Maastricht easiest by train from other cities in the Netherlands, like Eindhoven (1hour), Utrecht (2 hours) and Amsterdam (2.5 hours). For details check the National Railway website. The is also a trainconnection to and from the city of Liege in Belgium.

By Car

The national highway A2 runs straight through the city and is very busy during summer as it connects the Netherlands with destinations south like Belgium and France. In the coming years works will be carried out on this highway, as it will run under the city in the future. If you use this highway, expect delays during the coming years.

By Bus

Eurolines offers a number of connections with European cities. The stop of Eurolines is at the busstation (busstop K), which is near the trainstation.

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Sleep

Budget

Property	Address	Type	Popularity
2beHotel Kind of Blue	Wilhelminasingel 87	Hotel	-
Stayokay Maastricht	Maasboulevard 101	Hostel	90
Guesthouse Maastricht	Minckelersstraat 18	GUESTHOUSE	94
Villa Loca	Brusselseweg 488	GUESTHOUSE	95
Townhouse Design Hotel	Sint Maartenslaan 5	HOTEL	-
Hip Hotel St.Martenslane	St. Maartenslaan 6	HOTEL	-

Mid Range

Townhouse Hotel Maastricht - St. Maartenslaan 5, 6221 AV Maastricht, Phone: +31 (0)43 321 1111. A 3-star new design hotel, just a few hundred metres from the central train station. The rooms are small-ish but clean and comfortable, with flatscreen tv's and large bathrooms. Beds are large and very comfy. Breakfast is including in the prices (from €100 for a double room) and includes a wide selection of Dutch cheeses, hagelslag, juices, fruit, fresh coffee and lots of choices regarding bread.

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Learn

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Keep Connected

Internet

Internet cafés certainly are not ubiqutous to say the least. Although there are a few, it's best to go on the internet in your hotel, hostel or maybe in the nearest library, as they can be hard to find.

Phone

Post

The rate for sending a postcard or letter up to 20 grams within the Netherlands is €0.46 (2010). Since 2010 there are stamps available for domestic post which no longer include the value in €. Instead, there are stamps available with either a '1' or a '2' as a substitute for value. The '1' can be used for letters and postcards up to 20 grams, while 20-50 grams require you to use the '2'-valued stamps (or two '1'-valued stamps of course).

Sending items to other EU countries will cost €0.67, while the rest of the world sets you back €0.89 per piece. Stamps are sold at post offices and supermarkets; often the place where you buy your postcards can also supply you with stamps.

Sending parcels abroad is more costly. A standard-sized parcel between 500-2,000 grams will cost you €9.10 for destinations within the EU, and €17.50 to the rest of the world. Parcel service is available from major post offices only; standard-size boxes are on sale there as well.

If you need to receive mail while moving around, you can have it sent poste restante (to be called for) to a post office of your choice, where it will be kept for a month. If you come to claim it, bring a valid ID, and make sure to have told the sender that the name on the envelope must be an exact match with that in your passport. For addresses of post offices, as well as more information, consult the TNT website.

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