Maastricht is most familiar for being where the treaty was signed, but this hilly part of the Netherlands offers hikes, locally made wine, and medieval history
“There are 52 churches [and former monasteries] in the city centre, one for every week of the year,” says Jos Welie, my tour guide, as he leads me into a 13th-century Gothic cathedral turned book store, Boekhandel Dominicanen.
Tourists take pictures of its towering, vaulted ceilings and piles of books are stacked on grand steel shelves. “This one has been crowned the world’s most beautiful bookshop [by online community 1000 libraries],” says Jos.
In the Dutch city of Maastricht, which was traditionally Roman Catholic and a place of pilgrimage, turn any corner and it’s likely you’ll see another spire poking out in the distance. But not all continue to be places of worship. Though there are approximately 200 churches across the city, only 16 per cent of them still operate as a church.
The night before my bookshop visit, I stayed at the Kruisherenhotel, a former 15th-century monastery and Gothic church that has been transformed into a five-star hotel.
Sint Servaas bridge over the Meuse river in the centre of Maastricht (Photo: Jaap Hart/Getty)
The city’s heritage is also evident in its medieval squares that are filled with busy restaurant terraces in warmer months, and in its cosy, cobbled streets, medieval city walls and 11th-century restored watermill.
Present day life is woven elegantly with these markers of history. For example, the watermill is next to a popular bakery, de Bisschopsmolen, which is situated on the Jeker (a tributary of the Meuse River).
The menu is filled with treats made from grains grown in the Limburg province, of which Maastricht is the capital. Vlaai, a local pastry with a mixture of fruits that are covered by a lattice of dough or crumbs, is its most-coveted item.
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The city is in the south of the Netherlands, close to Belgium (about five miles) and Germany (about 20 miles), meaning it attracts plenty of international visitors, and cross-cultural influences add to its allure.
According to its tourist board, the peak month is July when Dutch violinist and conductor André Rieu performs his summer concerts on the Vrijthof square – last July, 66,000 international visitors flocked to the city. For comparison, Amsterdam’s peak monthly tourism numbers are around a million.
Maastricht’s position also made it a fitting spot for the signing of the treaty of the European Union, which set in motion the launch of the Euro, and is more often known as the Maastricht Treaty.
At the Maastricht Museum, you can sit at the table where the foreign and finance ministers from member states signed the agreement in 1992. Or visitors can seek out the Stars of Europe memorial, near the Governorate, where 12 large stars stand alongside smaller stars on aluminium poles. The memorial symbolises the unification of Europe by the 12 countries that formed the original European Economic Community.
There’s plenty of culture among the city’s converted churches (Photo: Jan Bijl Fotografie/Getty)
Historic ties with other European countries are also evident in Maastricht’s food scene. “There’s an influence of French culture with many restaurants and bars bearing French names,” say Jos. The province of Limburg was under French control from 1795–1815, following the French Revolution.
It’s also a popular university city. Maastricht University was established in the 1970s, and student numbers have grown to now comprise about 20 per cent of its population during term time.
There’s plenty of culture to keep Maastricht’s students – and visitors – occupied.
I swing by the Fotomuseum aan het Vrijthof (which holds revolving photography exhibitions in a building that dates to the 1300s) and the Bonnefanten Museum (where there are recreations of saints and religious figures by Jan van Steffeswert, a sculptor from Maastricht, alongside contemporary art, such as a Grayson Perry tapestry named Walthamstow).
I also try the Theater aan het Vrijthof, which holds regular opera nights, and the Lumière Cinema, in a former power station.
There are more stories to be revealed underground. I take a tour of the North Caves in the southern part of Maastricht; a man-made labyrinth created during around 700 years of limestone extraction. Aided by lamps, I pass through a tunnel of about 200 metres – only a tiny fragment of the 22,000 underground tunnels built to help keep up with the demand for limestone (used for buildings). While the extraction stopped in the 20th century, the caves became a tourist attraction in the 1950s, helped by the lure of the charcoal drawings created by artists on the tunnel walls.
Bakeries serve regional treats (Photo: Aranka Sinnema)
Once I’ve had my fix of culture and history, I’m keen to experience the surrounding countryside.
As its name implies, the Netherlands (meaning low-lying) is known for its flatness. Yet Maastricht and the wider Limburg province are unlike the rest of the country and have plenty of hills, making this a popular area with hikers.
I pull on my walking boots and head on a one-hour walk out of the city to Sint Pietersberg Mount, a quarry-turned-nature reserve. The limestone extraction stopped in 2018, but there’s a platform to view the quarry and deep azure-coloured lakes. From here you can follow a walking trail into the forest and open fields before coming across the Fort Sint Pieter, built in 1701. It takes around an hour.
Of course, you could be like the Dutch and explore by bike. I hire one to cycle about 15 minutes southwest of the city centre to Apolstelhoeve.
It’s perched on Louwberg hill and is a family owned business that produces about 110,000 bottles of wine every year, including Riesling and Pinot Gris.
Walking, cycling and wine tasting is tough work, but fortunately Maastricht has an abundance of restaurants. Among them is De Brandweerkantine, a modern space with high ceilings and huge plants where dishes include eggplant with miso, cashew cream and pickled mushrooms; Marres, with its Mediterranean and Middle Eastern dishes, such as chickpea and fava bean balls; Scandinavian-influenced options such as smorrebrod (Danish rye bread) at Bikke, and vegan-friendly Preps where I try spicy tempeh with avocado and kimchi.
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After filling up at the city’s restaurants, I spend a night at Kruisherenhotel. Its past is clear from its huge, arched windows and central, open-air courtyard, but the décor is modern with white satellite installations hanging from the ceilings and work by local artists. Dining at its mezzanine restaurant Spencer’s is memorable.
Its sister hotel, Château St. Gerlach, a 10-minute train or taxi ride from the city on the edge of the Ingendael Nature Reserve, offers a different proposition. Expect an exquisite tasting menu of mainly local and seasonal produce (from €95pp) at its Les Salons restaurant, as well as a spa, and sculpture-filled gardens. It’s also surrounded by hikes in nearby forests and fields.
My break to the south of the Netherlands has whet my appetite to explore the wider province of hilly Limburg, which proved a fuss-free, no-fly escape from the UK.
Getting there
The writer was a guest of the hotels and restaurants mentioned and Omio, the online travel booking platform. Eurostar trains from London St Pancras International to Brussels starts from £39. Change there to take the train to Liege-Guillemins (45 minutes) and change there for the next train to Maastricht (35 minutes)
Staying there
Château St. Gerlach has rooms from €227, including breakfast.
Kruisherenhotel has rooms from €235, including breakfast.
Maison Maastricht has rooms from €200
Leonardo Boutique Hotel Maastricht City Center has rooms from €70
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