Most people in the UK have only heard of Maastricht in connection with the EC treaty, they couldn't tell you what it's about, nor could they tell you even which country it's in!
The city is tucked in the bottom left hand corner of the Netherlands, and surrounded on three sides by Belgium ... Read review
Hotel - Nijverheidsweg 35, 6227AL Maastricht, The Netherlands, Nijverheidsweg 35, 6227 Maastricht, Limburg, The Netherlands, Nijverheidsweg 35, 6227 AL Maastricht, Limburg, The Netherlands
NH Hotels, the hotel chain leader in Europe, with more than 300 hotels in 20 countries in Europe, Latin America and Africa. Enter into our web site and find the best available tariff at all times
Advantages: Small, friendly, very pretty Disadvantages: Not easiest desination to get to from the UK
...UK have only heard of Maastricht in connection with the EC treaty, they couldn't tell you what it's about, nor could they tell you even which country it's in!
The city is tucked in the bottom left hand corner of the Netherlands, and surrounded on three sides by Belgium and Germany. It's also very close to France and Luxembourg is only a short car journey away.
Don't make the mistake of thinking it's in Holland - that's ... ...Limburg provence.
I attended a business conference in the beginning of March 2003, and quite by accident managed to land in town at exactly the same time as 'carnival' - which they take very seriously - more about this later.
The old town is about one kilometre square, and is a maze of narrow pedestrianised streets there's a bunch of old churches of varying ages faiths and denominations, but somehow manages to keep a ... more
Most people in the UK have only heard of Maastricht in connection with the EC treaty, they couldn't tell you what it's about, nor could they tell you even which country it's in!
The city is tucked in the bottom left hand corner of the Netherlands, and surrounded on three sides by Belgium and Germany. It's also very close to France and Luxembourg is only a short car journey away.
Don't make the mistake of thinking it's in Holland - that's in the north of the Netherlands, it's the capital of Limburg provence.
I attended a business conference in the beginning of March 2003, and quite by accident managed to land in town at exactly the same time as 'carnival' - which they take very seriously - more about this later.
The old town is about one kilometre square, and is a maze of narrow pedestrianised streets there's a bunch of old churches of varying ages faiths and denominations, but somehow manages to keep a sense of uniformity. For the tourist, there is a bewildering range of shops and pubs.
The city has about 120,000 residents, about the same number as Dundee, but there the similarity ends.
The old town is located between two tributaries of the Maas river, the town expanded to the west bank of the main Mass river in the late 19th century, and that's where many of the local government buildings are located.
Carnival was a real eye opener for me - it takes place six weeks before Easter, and the whole town goes bananas. It's like the fourth of July, St Patrick's day, Hogmanay and Mayday all rolled into one.
The streets are crammed with people, all in fancy dress, all in various states of high spirits, not a spot of bother - I only saw one policeman, and even then he was only helping a boy of about five who had been separated from his parents.
Unfortunately I couldn't spend all day in the city, I had work to do, when I did manage in during the late evening, the place was swarming with the remnants of samba drummers, brass bands, and weirdly, a hoard of people wearing kilts (not one of them Scottish).
I take it there are several processions through the town, after which people just spend the rest of the night dancing, singing and listening to ompah music played at deafening volume from the pubs.
The other thing I noticed was the number of 'coffee shops' on the edges of the town - apparently some residents of nearby Belgium and Germany take full advantage of the Netherlands legendary relaxed view on 'blow', and as a result has one of the highest proportion of shops per head of population anywhere in the country.
I fully intend to go back, the people are astonishingly friendly, and even though I made a miserable attempt to speak in Dutch, they always replied in English. After a few pints of the local brew, it all sounded much the same anyway!
You can fly direct from Stanstead by Ryanair, or take a connecting flight from Amsterdam - if you get a chance - visit. It deserves to be a far better known destination.
Advantages: Beautiful city, everything at walking distance Disadvantages: maybe the weather??
...flat with lots of canals. Maastricht lies in the province of Limburg, a hilly landscape in the lower right hand corner of the Netherlands. Belgium is right next to Maastricht, Germany is a 15 minutes drive away. Even the city of Luxemburg is closer than Amsterdam. If you want to get here you can fly directly from London almost everyday to Maastricht-Aachen Airport. Aachen is a German city 20 miles from Maastricht. You can also take the ferry to Antwerpen ... ...Harwich), and drive to Maastricht in about one and a half hour. Third possibility is to come by train. First do London-Brussels by Euro star. Then Brussels-Liege, if you want by TGV. Finally the short ride Liege-Maastricht with a local train. As you can see, not the easiest destination to reach from the UK, but definitely worth it.
What is there????
Worth it because Maastricht is a relatively small city (140.000 inhabitants) with a rich history. ...
gola 10.11.2005
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Maastricht (Netherlands)
Advantages: culture, food, prices, everybody speakes englisch. Disadvantages: the rain.
I lived in Maastricht for 20 years and I want to tell you a little bit about my town. Maastricht was founded by the romans, a very long time ago. The city became the name: Mosam Trajectum. This means: crossover ont the Maas(our river). Even longer ago, some million years, Maastricht was laying under the sealevel. In our caves here, are still remains of dinosaurs in the clay. In 2001 is Maastricht a modern town, with the romance of a small french ... ...chat with strangers. Hospitality is something normal here. Some numbers: ------------- There live 130.000 people in Maastricht; 28.000 of them are students. We have 600 pubs; open untill 5 a.m. The shops are open untill 10 p.m. There are 37 churches from different religions. Where to go? ------------ We have a new complex here; its called Centre Ceramique. You cann shop there, have a drink, visit the city-museum, visit a big library, walk around ...
www.diamantladen.de 19.07.2002
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Maastricht (Netherlands)
Advantages: a lot of different nationalities Disadvantages: not that much parking space
Maastricht is the most southern city of The Netherlands. A lot of people come to see the city because it is in the neighbourhood of Belgium and Germany.
There are a lot of pubs, they are open till early in the morning, every day of the week. If you want to go to a Club, yes you can as well.
The "Vrijthof" is a really nice place to sit on a sunny day and watch people go by. There are a lot of pubs and after that you can go to the Theatre. In the ... ...there is a big Market on the marketplace of course. The market is really famous; a lot of people from Belgium are coming over to see this.
For people who want to know something about the history you can make a roundtrip with a guide through the old other part of the city.
Which dates back to Roman times, really exciting I have to say.
Hopefully see you soon in Maastricht! ...
yoanie 07.08.2000
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Maastricht (Netherlands)
Similar reviews »
Reviews which might be of interest for "Maastricht (Netherlands)"
Advantages: Interesting, cheap and close to Maastricht Disadvantages: Cold and dark with uneven, sandy ground floors
The St. Pietersberg Caves are just on the edge of Maastricht and near the boarder of Netherlands and Belgium in the southern Province of Netherlands called Limburg. Maastricht is the capitol city of Limburg.
The caves date from Roman Times, before Christ, but were used and lived in as recently as WWII as an escape from Hitler's occupying forces.
There are 2-hour tours inside the caves, which are cold enough for the guides to offer 'loan' jackets for sightseers to borrow while inside the caves and also tours conducted in English are available. What you see is incredible drawings and artwork (drawings and paintings) and intricate sculpture from the soft pale yellow sandstone, of which the caves are made. The guides, carrying gas lanterns and flashlights, will give you detailed information about the history of the caves ...
Advantages: please see opinionheading Disadvantages: please see opinionheading
Pros: Small, friendly people, a lot of nature.
Cons: Crowded in the summer, the weather.
The Bottom Line: Visit Holland soon and love it too!
Recommended: Yes
I already wrote about my town, Maastricht, now i write about my country; the Netherlands.
Capital:
--------
The capital is Amsterdam. In this town live about 700.000 people. Its a very historical place and has more to offer then drugs and the redlight-district. The most important musea and buildings of the Netherlands are build here. There is a streetmarket that is opened 365 days a year and you can buy there everything xou can imaging or not imagine.
Den Haag:
---------
This is our second "capital". Here you find our queen Beatrix and all government buildings. Daily politics are made here. It is almost completely build in the 1920s and has a lovely ...
Advantages: Good food, good service Disadvantages: Good but not outstanding
INTRODUCTION
Here's one for you hardcore meat eaters. In the mood for a steak, I found myself on Breda's main square and considering going to Gauchos. This is a popular steak restaurant on the main square and I thought it was about time that I treated them to a review. I am not sure if my reputation precedes me, but I note a definite improvement in service, attitude and food quality the more I review. Or perhaps I had been unlucky or unkind? Nah! I'm sure I'll experience the normal Dutch service one more time before I leave. In any case, here is my review of Gauchos.
THE RESTAURANT
Gauchos is a chain of Argentinean restaurants in the Netherlands, with branches in Amsterdam (5 branches), Breda, The Hague, Eindhoven, Maastricht, Rotterdam (3 branches) and Utrecht. Apparently they are in the UK as well.
When we ...
