About the city
A small Dutch citythat punches above its weight.
Maastricht sits at the bottom of the Netherlands, where the country runs out before it has quite decided what to be. Belgium is fifteen minutes away. Germany is twenty. The river Maas cuts through the middle, the streets are paved in cobbles older than your country, and the light has a softness that photographers keep trying — and failing — to bottle. It's a city of about 120,000 people and 2,000 years of history. People here speak in dialect at the bakery and English at the university, drink coffee like it's a sport, and take their evenings very seriously.
Quick facts
Population · ≈ 120,000
Founded · Roman, ~1st c. AD
Province · Limburg
River · Maas
Famous for · Vrijthof, marl caves, the 1992 treaty
Best season · Late spring · early autumn
Where to look
Six places we love,and the streets in between them.
Old town · Vrijthof
The wide central square, framed by Sint Servaas and Sint Jan. Quiet on a Tuesday morning, alive by Friday afternoon.
Old town · Stokstraatkwartier
Once a poor quarter, carefully rebuilt in the 1970s. The lanes are narrow, the facades are honest, and the window-shopping is excellent.
Across the river · Wyck
Maastricht's quieter, more lived-in east bank. Independent shops, family bakeries, low-key bars. The morning light here is the best free thing in the city.
Across the river · Céramique
Modern Maastricht, built on the bones of an old factory. Wide boulevards, clean lines, and the Bonnefantenmuseum's silver dome.
Outside the walls · Sint Pietersberg
A hill of soft yellow marl, hollowed by centuries of quarrying. More than 20,000 underground passages run beneath the surface. Above ground: vineyards, a fort, and the best view of the city.
Outside the walls · Jekerkwartier
South of the river Jeker, the city slows down. Garden walls, university buildings, and a working watermill. Tour buses don't fit down these streets, which is part of the charm.
Eat & drink
A little bit Dutch,a little bit Bourgondisch.
Maastrichts food sits closer to Belgium than to Amsterdam. Long lunches, real bread, fries with mayonnaise, and a fierce regional pride about vlaai — a flat sweet pie that comes in roughly thirty fruit varieties and approximately one correct opinion about which is best.
Vlaai — Apricot, cherry, or rice. Never argue with a local about the order.
Zoervleisj — Slow-cooked sour beef stew. Served with fries.
Limburgse mosterdsoep — Mustard soup. Sounds wrong. Tastes right.
A jenever — If a greeter offers you one after a walk, say yes.
A very short history
Two thousand years,in seven moments.
~50 AD
Romans build a bridge across the Maas. The settlement around it is called Mosae Trajectum — 'crossing of the Meuse'.
~700
Bishop Servatius arrives. The basilica that bears his name still anchors the Vrijthof.
1284
Maastricht becomes a 'shared lordship' between the Duke of Brabant and the Bishop of Liège. Two rulers, one stubborn city.
1632
Frederik Hendrik takes the city for the Dutch Republic after a 78-day siege. The defensive walls grow.
1815
After Napoleon, Maastricht ends up Dutch — by a paperwork margin. Belgium is 5km away.
1992
European leaders sign the Maastricht Treaty in the Provinciehuis. The euro, eventually, is born.
Today
A university town, a tourist town, and a town that still closes the shops on Sundays.
Now that you know the city,we'll show you it slowly.
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Maastricht Greeters
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