Let me introduce you to my hometown, and probably the love of my life: Utrecht. I moved here over a decade ago and decided I never wanted to leave, ever again (well, except to travel that is). Since then, The New York Times, Lonely Planet and the Tour de France have all discovered Utrecht and were unanimously blown away by my hometown. And rightfully so. Want to see for yourself? Plan your trip using my complete travel guide to Utrecht.
How to get to Utrecht?
- Utrecht is easy to get to from all airports in The Netherlands, but Amsterdam Airport is closest and directly connected to by train. Check out all cheap flights to Amsterdam.
- With your OV Chip Card you can hop on a train to Utrecht, the city is right in the heart of The Netherlands and easy to reach by public transport. Plan your train journey online. For example: from Amsterdam, it takes less than 30 minutes to get to Utrecht.
Hotels in Utrecht
BUNK
Seriously, BUNK is just amazing. When I moved to the city, this was quite a strict protestant church. But the church community moved on and left the building to be turned into an amazing hotel with rooms for every budget. The hotel offers budget pods, but also rooms decorated with fine beds and lovely carpets. The restaurant is pretty popular and a good place for drinks or dinner.
Mother Goose
If you want a centrally located and beautifully decorated room, Mother Goose is for you. It’s just a lovely boutique hotel in one of my favourite streets in the city. The canals are just a minute’s walk away, as are most of the famous Utrecht landmarks. The rooms are decorated modernly, leaving the details of the historical building uncovered.
Mary K
Mary K is an old canal facing house that has been turned into a boutique hotel and every room has been decorated by a different artist. Sustainability is key in this hotel and all materials that have been used is organic or recycled. Your breakfast consists of lovely local produce.
About Utrecht, The Netherlands
Utrecht is one of the oldest cities in The Netherlands, dating back to Roman times. By the time the Dutch republic was formed in the 16th century, Utrecht was one of the most powerful political and important religious epicentres of the region. Nowadays, Utrecht holds the position of ‘4th largest city in The Netherlands’ with the largest student population in the country. But most of all Utrecht has a gorgeous and compact medieval city centre, surrounded by canals and their wharves (now used for terrace space by cafés and restaurants), lush parks to relax and great cafés for people watching.
Top things to do in Utrecht
Dom tower
Number one on everyone’s must-see list: the Dom tower. It’s visible, no matter where you live in the city. Whenever I come home from one of my trips I greet the Dom tower with a ‘hello big sir’ as seeing the Dom, means that I am truly home. Anyway, the tower and church were separated in the 17th century by a hurricane and when you climb the 465 steps to the top of the tower, you can see the cobbles on the street lining out where the middle of the church used to be. The view from the top is excellent, by the way.
Dom Under
The Dom Square is the centre of Utrecht for a reason. Two thousand years ago a Roman fortress was built here and the remains have been excavated. If you go Dom Under you can see the foundations of the fortress.
Trajectum Lumen
Discover Utrecht after dark by following the artistic path through the historical city centre: Trajectum Lumen. The path leads from Vredenburg to Nieuwegracht past several installations by light artists. Most of these artworks are really subtle and have a special story to them. You can take a tour with a guide or download the route to take the walk yourself.
Utrecht by bike
Be a Dutchman for a day or so and discover Utrecht by bike (if you dare!). You can easily rent a bike to take you around town for a day or two. If you’re a little nervous about cycling in a city with ten thousands of cyclists (nope, not kidding about this), I can highly recommend taking this bike tour.
Centraal museum
Basically, Centraal Museum is Utrecht’s treasure chest. Holding everything from an old Viking longboat (that was actually dug out of the mud, two streets from where I live) to applied arts from the Utrecht School and De Stijl. There is a beautiful Gerrit Rietveld collection to admire, as well.
Rietveld-Schröder Huis
The famous architect and designer Gerrit Rietveld was born and bred in Utrecht. His designs and, especially, furniture, are world-famous. Did you know that he designed the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam? In Utrecht Rietveld built more modest houses, where ordinary people still love today. All, except for one. The Rietveld-Schröderhuis was specially designed for Truus Schröder who wanted to move somewhere extraordinarily after her husband passed away. And an extraordinary house she got. Even to this day, the fixtures of the house and especially the way Rietveld designed the windowsills shake the design world. Rietveld-Schröderhuis made it to the UNESCO World Heritage List for a reason. If you want to visit, make a reservation online before you go.
Nijntje Museum
Utrecht is actually still in mourning, as Utrecht-born and father to Miffy, Dick Bruna has passed away not so long ago. When I moved to this city, over a decade ago, I would sometimes see him in the city centre and that would put a smile on my face. Miffy is, of course, his most famous creation, but in the Nijntje Museum, you can see much more of his work. The museum is, of course, very child-friendly, but also quite fun for ‘bigger children’.
Museum Catharijneconvent
The Museum Catharijnenconvent is the home to the best collection of medieval religious art in The Netherlands and basically, tells the history of Christianity. The manuscripts are beautifully lit and the special exhibits are excellent.
Museum Speelklok
Whilst wandering the streets of Utrecht you may just stumble upon a giant street organ placed in a window of a beautiful historic building. Well, that’s Museum Speelklok. It hosts a great collection of player organs from the 18th century onwards. You can take a tour, including demonstrations of all the organs (which is a bit much, to be honest), but the visit to the restoration workshop is brilliant.
Louis Hartlooper Complex
The Louis Hartlooper Complex is now a cinema for art house films, and it’s perhaps my favourite building in Utrecht. It’s a monument built in 1927, in Amsterdamse School style. The vertical lines and tainted glass windows are stunning. It used to be a police station, but after excessive renovation became a movie theatre.
Molen De Ster
A real Dutch windmill, in the middle of the city? Absolutely! Utrecht actually has more than one windmill near the city centre, and of one them, is rather easy to visit: Molen De Ster, in the popular Lombok neighbourhood, just a few minutes walk from the central station. The windmill was built in 1739 and beautifully restored. You can have a drink in the little café.
Take a free walking tour
Who knows best about hidden gems? Locals, that’s right! Every Saturday and Sunday (and in summer on Wednesdays) you can join a local on a free walking tour through the centre of town and you will hear the most amazing stories. Like why there was a battle on between Miffy and Hello Kitty, and where poor people in Utrecht were once tucked away. Highly recommend.
Fort aan de Klop
Utrecht is surrounded by fortresses, from medieval times up until World War II these fortresses were used to protect the middle of The Netherlands and Holland. Soldiers would flood the land, whilst keeping the fortresses. Most of them were just standing there, unused for decades, until a while ago quite a few around Utrecht were turned into museums or restaurants. Close to my house Fort aan de Klop is a fine example. Once used by soldiers during the First World War, now a restaurant with a great outdoor space. Very popular with families on the weekend.
Restaurants in Utrecht
The colour kitchen
The colour kitchen is a restaurant training young people with small hopes for a bright future. These youngsters are from all walks of life and have various ethnical backgrounds. This results in a very colourful choice of dishes on the menu. You can visit the restaurant at Oudegracht or hop on a bus and visit the Zuilen based restaurant in a gorgeous old school building.
Streetfood Club
Streetfood Club is one of the hottest restaurants in Utrecht, at the moment. A with good reason. The restaurant is set in a beautiful old building sporting an amazing tainted glass ceiling. Grab a spot at the bar or at one of the small tables, order a cocktail and some Asian and Mexican inspired street food dishes.
Blackbird coffee
Blackbird coffee has been the hippest place in town for coffee, for quite a while now. Perfectly situated along Oudegracht you can sip a perfectly made cup of coffee while people-watching outside or oogling the vintage bikes inside.
Karibu Café
The Karibu Café is one of my more recent favourites. The café is set a little bit outside the city centre, though well-worth the detour. You can order breakfast or brunch all day at Karibu and there are any vegan options available. My personal favourite is shakshuka. If you happen to walk in a little later in the day, there are some really nice wines and beers on offer too.
Broei
Near the city centre, Broei is such a cute place for coffee or afternoon drinks. It’s actually a concept store, and everything you see is for sale. Having said that, the (organic) food and drinks are excellent.
Brouwerij Maximus
It’s a little out of the way but the Brouwerij Maximus is well worth the bus trip or bike ride. You can visit the brewery, but it’s just as great to just sit outside in the sun and taste the seasonal beers or the specials on tap. The hoppy beers (like high hops or pandora) are my favourites.