Visiting Maastricht is always a good idea. The city itself is clean, compact and very, very pretty. I’ve been a handful of times now – both as a day trip and an overnight stay – and I’ve always enjoyed myself. It feels like a classic midsize European city in that it doesn’t have any major famous landmarks, but certainly enough to encover during your visit.
Maastricht is in the southern-most part of the Netherlands, the Limburg province, located very close to the borders with both Germany and Belgium, giving it an international vibe and making it a popular destination for daytrippers from all three countries. It’s certainly a popular day trip destination from Cologne (more below).
But why is it worth visiting? Here are a few of the reasons I look forward to going back to Maastricht again soon.
1. Boekhandel Dominicanen
This has to be one of the most beautiful bookshops in the world. Boekhandel Dominicanen is a former church turned into a book store and cafe back in 2006. It feels like a beautiful temple to books and is well worth having a browse just to soak it all in. Maastricht is very popular as a shopping city (particularly with Germans on a Sunday when all shops in Germany are closed) and this is located in the centre of the city, making it easy to pop in while you’re window shopping.
2. Great bars in Maastricht: the Stadsbrouwerij Maastricht
This cute little place on the river was an accidental find of ours, and I’m very glad we stumbled upon it. Stadsbrouwerij Maastricht is exactly the kind of place I love to spend a couple of hours – small and lively with great seats and good service. As the name suggests, it’s a brewery and their own blonde beer was really, really nice. They also serve up what they deem “snacks” but I personally would refer to as incredibly tasty, huge meals. The chicken wings and the loaded fries were excellent. View Stadsbrouwerij on Google Maps.
3. Where to eat in Maastricht: De Brandweerkantine
De Brandweerkantine was the first stop on my visit to Maastricht in November 2018 – I headed straight here for brunch and got an amazing falafel and feta pita. I wasn’t the only one with the same idea and it was easy to see why the former Fire Station was so popular – the food is great and the interior is big and open and airy. View De Brandweerkantine on Google Maps.
4. Walking the old city walls and the Erfprins Bastion
After fuelling up at De Brandweerkantine, next on my itinerary back in 2018 was to check out Erfprins Bastion, the former fortress on the Northwest edge of the city. I didn’t go inside (I’m not even sure if you can honestly…) but it was the start of a really nice walk around the edge of the city. Maastricht is a very walkable city and one of the nicest things you can do is go for a stroll and check out the city’s architecture. View Erfprins Bastion on Google Maps.
To the south of the city centre, you’ll also see what remains of the old city walls. You’ll still find a small moat here as well as a nice park to walk around, known as the Monseigneur Nolenspark. View the park on Google Maps.
Maastricht is a very walkable city and one of the nicest things you can do is go for a stroll and check out the city’s architecture
Me – I said that.
5. Walking Maastricht: Narrow alleyways
Just inside the old city walls, you’ll also find a small network of really charming narrow streets and alleyways and small a handful of small bars and cafes. Lang Grachtje, situated alongside another section of old city walls is a good place to start.
6. Albert Heijn
Not specific to Maastricht, but who doesn’t love Albert Heijn? It is a mecca for all great Dutch food products: I discovered flavours of Tony’s Chocolonely which I quite literally never knew existed.
7. Places to eat in Maastricht: With Love Burrito
This was emphatically recommended to me by friends and I am so happy it was! As the name suggests, this is a great place for getting burritos. On our visit, there was a fairly slow-moving line, but only because everyone was treated to a one-on-one burrito consultation about what flavours and spice-level everyone preferred to ensure everyone left happy with their order. On recommendation, I ordered the Baby Jesus which had three types of meat, bacon and egg and was more than enough for me. I look forward to going back here to try more options. (Be warned: the only downside is there’s no toilet here.) View With Love on Google Maps.
8. Boekhandel „De Tribune“
Another beautiful bookstore, De Tribune is a bit more traditional and what you might imagine when you think of a bookshop found on a quiet side street, as this is. This shop is much smaller, but still has a great English-language section and a small but beautiful basement filled to the literal brim with books.
9. Cool Maastricht neighbourhood: Wyck
Wyck is the name of the neighbourhood on the right-hand side of the Meuse river. It’s where the train station is located, so chances are it’s an area you will pass through – but it’s definitely worth spending some time to explore. On my first visit in November 2018, the whole area seemed to be being dug up and felt pretty dead, but now it is looking immaculate, with loads of cafes, shops and brunch spots along the main street and spilling into the pretty side streets.
10. Maastricht venue: Muziekgieterij
The reason for my last visit to Maastricht was the annual Tribute Fest held here in this former foundry. The setup for the day-long festival was great: two concert halls connected by a spacious and stylish bar and an on-site burger van. My friend has also visited for other rock concerts so if you get the chance to visit Muziekgieterij, then do!
Visiting Maastricht as an overnight stop
11. Where to stay in Maastricht: Green Elephant Hostel & Spa
On my most recent trip to Maastricht (December 2023), we stayed in the very cool design-focused, Green Elephant Hostel & Spa. To my knowledge, this is the only hostel in Maastricht (which might explain the very high prices) but it definitely caters to an older demographic rather than backpackers or students. The place has a great vibe, a decent breakfast and an on-site sauna. It’s by no means perfect, but an enjoyable place to stay and hang out. We booked a two-person “cosy room” which was like a little tiny house in a pod, connected to several others. A nice concept but incredibly small cosy.
Reasons to visit Maastricht at Christmas
12. Underground Christmas markets in Valkenburg
Just a 17-minute train ride from Maastricht is the small town of Valkenburg. Once I knew we’d be in Maastricht in December, there was one thing I definitely wanted to check out: the underground Christmas markets in Valkenburg. The town is fairly unique in the Netherlands in that is situated at the foot of a big hill (mountain feels a bit too strong…) and is home to several networks of caves, which host their own Christmas markets. In fact, the town hosts a whole Christmas town experience every year and was clearly a popular place to visit the weekend before Christmas.
We visited the Fluweelengrot (Velvet cave) markets – it cost €10 per person but it was huge! We spent well over an hour in there, exploring the stalls. There is even a bar inside and a place to get freshly made Stroopwaffels. I think the sexily-named Municipal Cave markets are more famous (there was certainly a much longer line), but I really enjoyed Fluweelengrot and thought it was well worth the entry price.
Reasons to visit Maastricht from Cologne
13. Distance from Cologne – Flixbus
Maastricht makes a great day trip from Cologne (or even an overnight stay) with multiple Flixbus connections per day. The journey takes just under two hours with one stop in Aachen. The bus leaves from Cologne/Bonn airport, arriving at Maastricht train station in Wyck.
Any other reasons to visit Maastricht? Comment below!
