The city of Maastricht had been on our list of places to see in the Netherlands for a long time. We had originally wanted to see it in winter during their annual Christmas market but we were unable to the last few years because of covid.
We won't be around next christmas and we didn't want to miss seeing the city so we made it our last stop on our trip to the Netherlands. We stopping in after our brief visit to the small town of Thorn.
Maastricht is a large city located in the Southeastern part of the country very close to the borders of Germany and Belgium.
It's one of the oldest cities in the Netherlands and the largest in the province of Limburg.
This is only mildly related to the city but it's a bit of a fun fact about the country; one that is both hilarious and confusing all at the same time and worth mentioning in my opinion for discussion purposes.
So anyway, I have a few family members that originate from the Netherlands and they always refer to the country as Holland. Many sources inline do the same, even when they aren't referring to the actual province of North or South Holland. The Netherlands and Holland are sort of used interchangeably it seems, by many people.
Even the official tourism site for the country is called Holland.com. More confusing still is the fact that they sometimes give out the wrong information about a particular cities location on their website.
For instance the website states that Maastricht is located "in the of south Holland."
This is confusing because South Holland is its own province and its located in the western part of the country.
In actuality Maastricht is located in Limburg, which is a completely different province that is located in the Southwestern part of the Netherlands.
Confused? I sure am.
If you want a brief history and geography lesson on the subject there is a super funny three minute video that I will share in the comment section that clarifies these things.
See comments for video.
It will probably make you more confused but its worth watching for a laugh and because its also quite interesting.
But for now let's get back to the city.
Maastricht has a large intact and well preserved old town at its center with a large square surrounded by shops, restaurants and charming little terraced cafes.
In the center of the square is the old town hall building and around that is a market that sells food and antiques.
The market was running on the Saturday that we were there, and though I assume that it is a weekly event I don't actually know it's schedule, so please keep in mind that it may not be there if you go on any random day.
There are several nice churches in the city as well that are worth popping into.
I went into at least three of them myself.
The one seen above and below was the Basilica of Our Lady.
The most impressive though was located at the Vrijthof plaza, the largest and most well know square in the city.
Saint John's and the Basilica of Saint Servatius sit side by side across from a tree lined street of bars and restaurants.
I thought that the vibrant red tower and the eclectic look of both buildings were particularly unique comlared to other churches that I've seen.
It's worth walking around both buildings to get a glimpse of their varied architecture styles.
A quick peak inside never hurts either.
For €2.00 you can climb the extremely narrow staircase of the tower to get a birds eye view of the city below.
It was pretty busy at the top and a tight squeeze but worth the small fee.
Different views from the tower balcony.
Something else that we stumbled upon while walking through town was this working water wheel, referred to as Bishops Mill.
The mill is the oldest working watermill in the country and is attached to a bakery nextdoor that uses it to grind grain. The bakery specializes in making an assortment of delicious looking pies. I should have taken a photo of the window display.
We didn't end up buying any pie that day but we did buy a stroop waffle to share.
A stroop waffles is two very thin waffles that are sandwiched together with a sugary syrup that is similar to caramel.
We also got kibbeling later on, which are chunks of battered fish served with garlic sauce that is similar to tartar. This kibbeling was from a vendor at the market and wasn't nearly as good as what you get from fish stores and permanent fixtures.
We stopped at a bar for a drink in the afternoon at a good spot along a busy street that was excellent for people watching.
My wife had a cider and I had a local beer that is brewed in the city.
We've been to a lot of places in the Netherlands and have liked quite a few of them. Overall would put Maastricht high on my list of our favorite destinations in the country. It's a large city with a big old town with lots of things to do and see. It's an excellent location for a day trip or to spend a weekend at so I would probably go back again if I could.