The best tips for Maastricht – according to me

In my time as a student, I spent many (too many?) nights in Maastricht’s nightlife. When I met my wife Marieke, it was our first romantic weekend away from our home towns Amsterdam and Gent. Maastricht will always have a special place in my heart. So, these are the best tips for Maastricht – according to me that is.

Why you’ll love Maasricht

Maastricht might be the coziest city in The Netherlands – in many ways it has the best of Belgian cities and the best of Dutch cities: beautiful, beautifully renovated, great food, amazing events. Even more so than cities like Eindhoven, Breda, Tilburg or Den Bosch.

My best omakase experience in Maastricht

The Japanese habit of omakase (お任せ) when you’re ordering at a restaurant pretty much means, “I’ll leave it up to you”, inviting the chef to be innovative and surprising in the selection of dishes. I try to do it in every city I visit, and apply the idea behind to everything between how I pick my runs, how I pick my food, how I plan activities with my kids, how I explore cities and how I travel in general. So, I tried this in Maastricht as well.

My best omakase experience in Maastricht was actually on New Year’s Eve, when my girlfriend and I were standing on the Saint Servatius Bridge watching the evening fireworks. When leaving the bridge, we bumped into an old acquintance I knew from my hometown Tilburg. In the moment, we decided to celebrate the New Year together, we ended up in a random bar and didn’t leave till dawn (I wrote a separate blog post on it).

The best hotels in Maastricht – according to me

• Kruisherenhotel Maastricht. Dating back to the 15th century, the former Kruisheren monastery and adjoining Gothic church have been transformed into a spectacular five-star design hotel, located in the heart of Maastricht’s historic center.
• Townhouse Designhotel Maastricht is a really nice design hotel very close to Maastricht’s central train station.

The best things to do in Maastricht – according to me

• Saint Servatius Bridge is a beautiful old bridge that connect the two key parts of the city.
• Boekhandel Dominicanen is arguably the most beautiful bookstore in the world, set in an old church.
• The Bonnefanten Museum is an art museum featuring archaeological finds from the province of Limburg, sculptures from the Maasland (1300-1550) and paintings of South Holland (1500-1750).

The best restaurants in Maastricht – according to me

• Chateau Neercanne is a memorable experience in itself – on top of that, the food is amazing.
• Schnitzelparadies for bulk-eating of schnitzels.

The best bars in Maastricht – according to me

• Cafe In Den Ouden Vogelstruys is a very old café and probable the oldest café in the Netherlands.
• Cafe Falstaff is a student memory – popular bar right in the city center.

The best coffee in Maastricht – according to me

• Boekhandel Dominicanen is arguably the most beautiful book store in the world, set in an old church – has some great coffee as well.
• Coffeelovers has 3 coffee bars in Maastricht, all with great coffee.