Eindhoven
Travel Guide Europe Netherlands North Brabant Eindhoven
Introduction
Eindhoven is a city in the southeast of the Netherlands, in the province of North Brabant (Noord-Brabant). With around 223,000 inhabitants it is the fifth biggest city in the Netherlands. The great nightlife and many pubs, partly due to the fact that it is a real student city, with a technical university among others. The Dutch soccer champion, PSV, has its home base here and you might be able to squeeze in a soccer game.
Strijp S is the creative and cultural center of Eindhoven.
Right until the beginning of the 20th century, Eindhoven was no more than a village. Less than a century later its number of inhabitants had boomed to over 200,000. The main reason for this tremendous increase in size was the establishment of electronics multinational Philips, which was founded as a light bulb manufacturing company in 1891 and was headquartered in Eindhoven until 1997. As Philips grew, the city of Eindhoven grew with it to feed the company's constantly growing need for workers. Philips' strong presence in the city gained it the title of "Lichtstad" (City of Light) and is still prominent today, as many of its former buildings are considered valuable industrial heritage and have been renovated. Frits Philips (1905-2005), who led the company for decades, was the city's main benefactor and was extremely popular among the people of Eindhoven. When walking the streets of Eindhoven today, you'll find his and other names associated with Philips everywhere. Parks, theaters, sports facilities and many streets are named in their honor.
Although Eindhoven is an old city, with town and market rights already awarded in 1232, little of this long history is visible when exploring its center today. Large parts of the city were destroyed during air raids in World War II and post-war reconstruction was focused on ambitious, modernist plans with little respect for the historic heritage that was left. Nevertheless, there are 140 national heritage sites (Rijksmonumenten) in and directly around the city, including many 19th and early 20th century buildings and a handful of older ones.
History
Looks can be deceiving, when it comes to Eindhoven's history. Modern as the city is today, it is in fact one of the oldest towns in the Netherlands. Henry I, Duke of Brabant, already chartered the then little village of "Endehoven" in 1232, as part of his extensive town planning process. Eventually the town established itself as a trade location en route from Holland to Liège. Its industrial activities initially centered around tobacco and textiles.
The city was destroyed and rebuilt several times in its written history. Despite late 14th century improvements to its fortifications and the establishment of a castle within the city walls in the 15th century, Eindhoven was plundered and burned by the Guelders in 1486. No more than 6 houses remained. Rebuilding took almost 20 years and left the town in poverty, with the fortifications being neglected. This resulted in another plundering in 1543. That same year, a fire ruined most of the city. During the Dutch Revolt, control of Eindhoven repeatedly alternated between the Dutch and Spanish, the city was burned down again, besieged for 3 months and finally captured by Spanish troops in 1583. When the French armies took over the already weakened city some years later, large parts of it were destroyed yet again. In 1629, Eindhoven finally became part of the Netherlands for good, but its tumultuous history left it a damaged and minor city.
This would change with the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Due to the presence of Philips, DAF trucks and some other major industry, Eindhoven developed as a major player in the global technical and industrial design scene. It is considered to be the epicenter of Dutch design with such institutions as the Design Academy and the Dutch Design Week that takes place every October.
Districts
Eindhoven consists of seven Districts (Dutch: stadsdelen) and each districht has several neighbourhoods (wijken).
- Centrum
- Gestel
- Stratum
- Strijp
- Tongelre
- Woensel-Zuid
- Woensel-Noord
Sights and Activities
Strijp-S
Many of the old industrial buildings of the Philips factories are being turned into apartments but some have found a new life as a concert venue (Ketelhuis), cinema (Natlab), market hall, rehearsal rooms etc. This is the new hip part of town.
Van Abbemuseum
The Van Abbemuseum is a museum with a collection of modern and contemporary art. The old building dates back to 1936 and was renovated a couple of years ago. During this renovation they added a completely new building by architect Kropholler to create a modern and much larger museum, which opened in 2002. The Van Abbemuseum houses works by Picasso, Chagall, El Lissitzky, Beuys, Weiner, Gordon and McCarthy. The Van Abbemuseum is located at the Bilderdijklaan 10.
DAF Museum
The DAF museum shows the history of the DAF car factory. On display are cars and trucks ranging from 1928 till the present. Production cars, prototypes, Paris-Dakar trucks and race cars can be found in the collection. If you have never heard about this Dutch brand or only know their trucks it is a very nice introduction. The museum is located at the Tongelresestraat 27.
Evoluon
One of the most remarkable buildings in Eindhoven is the Evoluon. The building is shaped like a flying saucer, and was built by Philips as part of their 75th birthday celebrations in 1966. During most of its life it served as a science museum, but after the success faded Philips closed the museum and turned it into a conference center, which is the function that it retains today.
Effenaar
Effenaar is a venue for mainly pop music in the centre of the city, and has a capacity of 1,300 visitors.
Events and Festivals
Carnaval
The (catholic) south of the Netherlands celebrates carnaval at the beginning of the year. (40 days before Easter). Eindhoven is no exception. During the days of Carnaval, Eindhoven is called "Lampegat". The big parade in the city centre takes place on the Saturday.
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.
Other Sights and Activities
- Dutch Design Week - Biggest design event in Northern Europe.
Weather
Eindhoven weather is typical of what you get in the Netherlands: mild winters with rare snow, and reasonably warm summers. Eindhoven's summers are just a tad warmer while winters are maybe a degree colder on average compared with places more to the west of the Netherlands. Summers are mostly slightly above 20 °C with occasionally temperatures above 30 °C. Winters are around zero on average.
Getting There
By Plane
Eindhoven Airport is one of the smaller airports in the Netherlands, but has connections to various cities in Europe. Transavia and Ryanair are the major airlines that operate from Eindhoven Airport. But also other smaller airlines like Wizz Air, Tailwind Airlines and Correndon operate from Eindhoven Airport. Air France flies to London City Airport. In the holiday season, there are also additional charter flights to/from popular holiday destinations.
The airport is located to the north east of the city along the A2 motorway. The airport is connected to the centre of the city by busline 401.
By Train
There are train connections between Eindhoven and other cities in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. Check the Dutch Railways website for more information about schedules and prices. More information and integrated door-to-door itinerary advice for all public transport can be obtained for free from 9292OV (Dutch only). The main national lines are:
- Tilburg – Breda – Dordrecht – Rotterdam – Delft – The Hague
- 's-Hertogenbosch – Utrecht – Amsterdam – Alkmaar
- 's-Hertogenbosch – Utrecht – Amsterdam Zuid – Schiphol Airport
- Helmond – Venlo
- Weert – Roermond – Sittard – Maastricht/Heerlen
By Car
The A2 connects Eindhoven to the north with Den Bosch, Utrecht and Amsterdam and to the south with Weert and Maastricht. The A58 starts in Eindhoven, as a junction from the A2 motorway, and heads to the west, connecting to Tilburg, Breda and Rotterdam. The A67 comes from the east (Venlo and Germany), connects with the A2 for a couple of kilometres in Eindhoven, and then continues into Belgium.
By Bus
Eurolines connects Eindhoven to numerous cities in Europe. The busstop in Eindhoven is near the Central train station, at the Stationsweg, opposite the office of Eurolines.
Getting Around
By Car
You can get around Eindhoven by car pretty easy. In the centre there are enough parking garages. If you park a little bit outside the centere you still need to pay, but the charges are lower than in the parking garages. Parking on the streets is always more expensive. Avoid driving in the city during rush hours, Monday to Friday from 7:00am to 9:30am and from 4:00pm to 6:30pm.
By Public Transport
There is a large number of city busses going around the city, all starting or ending at the Central Station in the center of town. There are almost 25 city bus lines, which also serve neighbouring cities like Veldhoven, Geldrop and Nuenen. Two of these buslines (401 and 402) are high quality public transport and the buses on these lines are so-called Phileas vehicles, a combination of tram and bus.
By Foot
Eindhoven is doable by foot, if you stay in the center of town. For some sights or connections (like the airport) you have to get on one of the city buses.
By Bike
As with other Dutch cities, Eindhoven is a bike friendly city. There are enough bike lanes, and if you have to leave these lanes, car drivers are used to having bikes around them so in general they will keep notice. Note that it is not allowed to ride your bike in the shopping streets. If you meet the wrong cop, he will write you a fine. The good cop will just urge you to continue by foot.
Eat
You'll find plenty of restaurants in the city center. Main restaurant areas are the Dommelstraat (almost directly opposite the train station), the Markt and the Bergen kwartier, comprising both the Kleine Berg and the Grote Berg.
Authentiek Turks Restaurant Ege, Rivierstraat 36, ☏ +31 40 257 33 79. This cosy restaurant is a long time favorite among Turkish cuisine lovers in and around the city.
Cooks, Kerkstraat 30, ☏ +31 40 243 41 14. Friendly, laid-back place with a nice lunch and dinnermenu and an outside terrace. They have a fair range of tapas but also a good variety of other dishes. mains from €16.50.
Ethiopisch Restaurant, Schootsestraat 170, ☏ +31 40 255 52 83. If you're in for something else, try Ethiopian cuisine. Eating here is not in the last place an experience in sharing: food comes in a giant common plate for all people at the table. You eat with your hands. Portions can be on the small side, but the taste is good. Safety is bad, they ran out of the kitchen when there was a fire and didn't bother to inform the customers. mains from €12.
Memories, Dommelstraat 36, ☏ +31 40 237 72 02. Memories has a rather average menu but the food is well prepared. Mostly, its nice and cosy atmosphere makes it a pleasant place for dinner. €25.
New York Café, Dommelstraat 9, ☏ +31 40 293 92 27. Housed in a national heritage monument, this stylish restaurant is also a popular place to stay for drinks after dinner. Service can be a bit slow but the food is generally okay.
Yakitory & the Sushi's, Grote Berg 30, ☏ +31 40 243 27 00. Popular place for all-you-can-eat sushi. The sushi may not be phenomenal but it's quite okay and with €22.50 for an all-you-can-eat menu well worth the money.
Yokohama, Stationsplein, ☏ +31 40 246 55 91. Expect your teppan yaki food to be served with a show, in this upper class Japanese restaurant. You'll sit around the teppan yaki baking plate together with other people so don't count on a romantic dinner for two. There's a sushi bar too, if you prefer, but pay attention, taking sushi of the moving bar can result in a surprisingly steep bill. € 28.
Drink
Bars and eateries's opening times in the city centre are usually until 2AM during the week, and 4AM on a Friday and Saturday. Student-nights in Eindhoven are Thursdays. The city's late nightlife mostly takes place in Stratumseind, a street literally filled with bars and fast food places, and the Market Square. The Stationsplein and adjoining Dommelstraat has a few bars too and for a less main stream experience, try the places on the Kleine and Grote Berg which are also more popular with an artistic crowd. Main party days are Thursday to Sunday, and you might find some places to be closed on other days.
On a sunny day, the Grand Café terraces on the Market Square fill up in no time. This is the heart of the city, where the shopping crowd sits down for a break, colleagues drink an after work beer and friends meet over coffee or cocktails. You'll find a number of places on and around the Square.
O-Sheas (Irish pub), Jan van Lieshoutstraat 9, ☏ +31 40 246 62 13. Just off the main square, this place has a great atmosphere, great beer, live music at the weekend after 10:30PM. Sports events, especially football, are shown on two big screens.
De Vooruitgang, Markt 11, ☏ +31 40 243 39 95, ✉ [email protected]. This "City-café" is quite similar to the ones next to it, but a long time favorite and repeatedly listed as having the best terrace in the city. They also serve food, but to choose from the full menu you have to take a table in the 1st floor restaurant. After about 10PM the music volume is turned up.
The Little One, J v Lieshoutstrt. 26, ☏ +31 40 243 89 95. Extremely small and somewhat harder to find pub, specialised in cocktails and whiskey.
Go for a pub-crawl in the longest pub-street in the Netherlands. With over 40 bars and a number of places to eat, Stratumseind is Eindhoven's main nightlife area. Bar-hopping is the best way to get the Stratumseind-vibe. Its venues attract renown DJ's on a regular basis and when the weather allows the street becomes part of the party ground. The eating places stay open late, even after the bars close, to allow for the essential bite afterwards.
De Bier Professor, Stratumseind 33, ☏ +31 6 553 555 72. Specialist of Belgium beers, with a 100 different kinds to choose from.
Santiago de Cuba, Stratumseind 65, ☏ +31 40 206 96 06. closed on Mon & Wed. For an evening of Latin-American fun, move on the rhythm of Cuban Salsa in this Cuban swing café.
Sleep
Hotel rooms are abundantly available in the city, mainly serving an international business crowd visiting the many technology initiatives. With the exception of major soccer matches in the PSV stadium, Eindhoven rarely runs out of places to stay. That being said, most accommodation is offered by large hotel chains in the city center and doesn't come cheap. Listed minimum prices can be significantly higher when the cheaper rooms are all taken, so check actual prices on the hotel or booking websites. Prices are often lower in the weekends. In many cases, €3.50 tourist tax and breakfast are not yet included.
If you're on a budget, check out the bed&breakfasts. These are smaller places which are often cheaper than the hotels (some starting around €30) but many of them don't have a website. Alternatively, consider the villages surrounding the city where you will find some smaller hotels and campsites.
Best Western Eindhoven (formerly Mercure Eindhoven), Leenderweg 80, ☏ +31 40 212 10 12. Demoted to a Best Western, the former Mercure does not enchant with style and is a bit on the outskirts of the centre, but attractive pricing often makes up for that €60.
Boutique Hotel Lumière, Hooghuisstraat 31 A, ☏ +31 40 239 49 50. Relatively small, luxurious hotel with good, clean rooms and a central location. Breakfast is served in the next door bakery, but quite good. 70.
Crown Inn, Markt 35. It's location right in the middle of the center, on the Markt, is this hotel's biggest asset. Rooms are clean but many have no outside facing windows. It can be quite noisy here, so ask for ear plugs at the reception or bring your own. On Sundays you can book a late check out (5PM) for €12.50 extra €70.
Crown Hotel Eindhoven, Vestdijk 14-16, ☏ +31 40 844 40 00. Fairly small but good and clean rooms. Located along a busy street, but directly opposite the train station. Wifi is free. €80.
Park Plaza Mandarin Eindhoven, Geldropseweg 17, ☏ +31 40 214 65 00, ✉ [email protected]. Located in the city centre and close to the train station, has an indoor swimming pool and 3 restaurants From €69.
Queen Hotel, Markt 7, ☏ +31 40 245 24 80. On the bustling Market Square, making it a great location but noisy when the café terraces are full. Offers nice and clean but somewhat thin-walled rooms. €60.
Holiday Inn, Veldmaarschalk Montgomerylaan 1, ☏ +31 40 235 82 35. Recently renovated with nice and clean standard rooms, just a few hundred meters from the train- and bus station. There's an indoor pool, free wifi and a pretty good restaurant in the hotel. €115.
Intell Hotels Art Eindhoven, Mathildelaan 1, ☏ +31 40 751 35 00, ✉ [email protected]. This trendy and comfortable 4-star hotel is decorated with a mixture of antiques, design and art. On top of that, it's located right in the center and in one of the cities main landmarks: the Light Tower. €105 to €170. edit
Pullman Eindhoven Cocagne, Vestdijk 47, ☏ +31 40 232 61 11. This large 4 star hotel offers recently renovated, luxurious rooms at a great location. There's an indoor pool, fitness space and sauna. Bathroom privacy in the rooms is somewhat limited and if you like to sleep with an open window, don't take a room at the (busy) street side. €140.
Van Der Valk Hotel Eindhoven, Aalsterweg 322 (just on the outskirts of Eindhoven to the south), ☏ +31 40 211 60 33, ✉ [email protected]. Van der Valk is a Dutch chain of conference and resort hotels, with this property situated right at the motorway exit, complete with 23 conference rooms, a pool and fitness facilities. Upscale features and amenities come at reasonably low prices if you are flexible with your booking dates. €95.
Keep Connected
Internet
Internet cafés are not as widespread as you would expect, but you can easily find one in the popular cities. Most hostels, hotels and camp sites have several computers, so you can keep connected with folk at home. Here is a list of internet cafés that could come in handy for travellers. Otherwise, most libraries have lots of computers and prices are around the €2-3 per hour range, although sometimes it can be even more expensive.
Wireless internet access using wifi is becoming more popular and is usually available at most hotels and increasingly at train stations. Also in trains (at least in most first class wagons, but also more and more in second class) and some buses you can use wifi. Finally, places like McDonald's and Starbucks have free wifi, and smaller individual business like cafés and restaurants are on the rise too offering these services. More often than not, these service tend to be free of charge, though there might be a limited time you can use the internet.
Phone
See also: International Telephone Calls
The country code for the Netherlands is 31. The outbound international prefix is 00. The general emergency number is 112, like many other countries.
0800 numbers are toll-free and for 09xx numbers are charged at premium rates. Mobile phones have numbers in the 06 range, and calls to cell phones are also priced at higher rates.
From internet cafés, it is also usually possible to make long distance international calls. Like in other countries, telephone booths have almost disappeared, though some are still found around public transport stations, where you can use a few coins to make calls. It is only recommended for local calls.
The cellular phone network in the Netherlands is GSM 900/1800. The main providers of cell phone networks are KPN (Dutch only), T-mobile and Vodafone, who cover the whole country. Other operators, like Hollandsnieuwe, Simyo or Tele2, use one of these 3 networks basically.
It is best to buy a SIM card when in the Netherlands for use in your cellphone, as this usually works out cheaper than using the one from home. If you are planning to study or work in the country and stay for several months, buying a cellphone is the best option. A simple one, sometimes with €10 worth on it, can be bought from around €25. The simplest smartphones are around €75.
Post
The rate for sending a postcard or letter up to 20 grams within the Netherlands is €0.64 (2014). 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 and the rest of the world (there is one price since 2014) will cost €1.05. Stamps are sold at post offices, supermarkets and smaller shops/kiosks; 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 up to 2 kilograms will cost you €9 for destinations within the EU and €18 (both without Track & Trace) to the rest of the world. Prices with Track & Trace start at €13 and €24.30 respectively. Parcel service is available from major post offices only; standard-size boxes are on sale there as well. For sending parcels, it might be just as competitive and fast to use a company like TNT, UPS or DHL.
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.
Accommodation in Eindhoven
We have a comprehensive list of accommodation in Eindhoven searchable right here on Travellerspoint.
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Ask Catnl a question about Eindhoveni'am born at Eindhoven and still live here after 66 years so be free to ask me anything
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