Photo: Paul van Galen, CC BY-SA 4.0Centraal Museum
Utrecht's principal museum, showcasing art, fashion, design and the city's history.
Tue–Sun 11:00–17:00✓ Museumcard
centraalmuseum.nl
Utrecht is less than 30 minutes from Amsterdam by train, and it feels like a different country. The canals here run on two levels: at street level you walk past shops and houses, and a flight of steps down, at the water, the old wharf cellars have become cafés and terraces. Above it all stands the Dom Tower, at 112 metres the tallest church tower in the Netherlands.
The Romans built a fort here almost 2,000 years ago, which makes Utrecht one of the oldest cities in the Netherlands. In the Middle Ages, as the seat of a powerful bishop, it was the religious centre of the northern Netherlands. Today it is a university town, busy with students and bicycles, and home to the Miffy Museum and the Rietveld Schröder House.
Here is what to see:
Our advice: Easy full day
Travel time from Amsterdam: 30 minutes each way.
Utrecht is only half an hour away, so there is time for the canals, the wharf cellars and the Dom Tower, or to continue to the Kröller-Müller Museum.
The Dom Tower is 112 metres high and has 465 steps, and you can only climb it with a guide, who tells the story of the building on the way up. The tower stands on its own because in 1674 a storm brought down the nave of the church, leaving a gap between the tower and the rest of the cathedral that was never rebuilt. From the top the view stretches for miles across the flat province.
Under Domplein, the square next to the tower, lie the remains of the Roman fort and the medieval cathedral. DOMunder takes you down into the excavations with a torch, and the story of the site is told as you walk. It is the best way to understand why Utrecht is where it is.
The Oudegracht is the canal that runs through the heart of the city. The wharves along the water were built in the Middle Ages to unload goods straight into cellars under the houses. Today those cellars are cafés, restaurants and small shops, and in good weather the terraces at water level are the best place in Utrecht to sit with a drink and watch the boats go by.
The Dom Church next to the tower is what remains of Utrecht’s great Gothic cathedral: the choir, the transept and a quiet cloister garden. Inside are tall stained glass windows, carved stonework and the tombs of medieval bishops. Entry is free.
The Utrecht University Botanic Gardens are laid out in and around Fort Hoofddijk, a 19th-century fort on the university campus. There are rock gardens, glasshouses with tropical plants, and plenty of space to walk. It is a quiet change from the busy centre, at any time of year.
Half an hour from the centre, De Haar is the largest castle in the Netherlands. It looks medieval but most of what you see was rebuilt from 1892 by Pierre Cuypers, the architect of the Rijksmuseum and Amsterdam Centraal, for Baron Etienne van Zuylen and his wife Hélène de Rothschild. They used it as a luxurious country house, with electricity and central heating long before most Dutch homes had either.
Inside, the rooms are furnished as they were when the family entertained guests from all over Europe. Outside, formal gardens and a large park surround the moat. Combine it with the old town of Utrecht for a full day.
Stadsbrouwerij Oudaen brews its beer inside a medieval fortified town house on the Oudegracht, and you can see the brewing kettles behind the bar. The amber Oudaen beer is the one to try, and in summer the terrace down at the water is one of the best places in the city to sit and watch the boats pass.
17 museums in Utrecht
Photo: Paul van Galen, CC BY-SA 4.0Utrecht's principal museum, showcasing art, fashion, design and the city's history.
Tue–Sun 11:00–17:00Underground archaeological museum beneath Dom Square revealing 2,000 years of Utrecht's history.
Daily
Photo: Mark Ahsmann, CC BY-SA 3.0The Dutch National Railway Museum with historic trains and interactive exhibits.
Tue–Sun 10:00–17:00
Photo: FaceMePLS, CC BY 2.0National museum of Christian art, history and heritage in the Netherlands.
Tue–Fri 10:00–17:00, Sat–Sun 11:00–17:00
Photo: bertknot from scarborough, australia, CC BY-SA 2.0Museum of self-playing musical instruments, street organs and music boxes.
Tue–Sun 10:00–17:00
Photo: Volksbuurtmuseum, CC BY 4.0Museum bringing to life everyday working-class life in old Utrecht neighbourhoods.
Tue–Sun 11:00–17:00
Photo: Steven Lek, CC BY-SA 4.0Interactive children's museum inspired by Dick Bruna's beloved character Miffy.
Tue–Sun 10:00–17:00
Photo: G.Th. Delemarre, CC BY-SA 4.0Archaeological remains of a medieval imperial palace beneath the city centre.
Guided tours only (start times in ticket shop); desk daily 10:00–17:00
Photo: User:Husky, CC BY 3.0UNESCO World Heritage house designed by Gerrit Rietveld and an icon of De Stijl architecture.
Tue–Sun 11:00–16:00 (Fri until 21:00 May–Aug)
Photo: A. J. van der Wal, CC BY-SA 4.0Historic observatory and museum dedicated to astronomy, weather and science.
Tue–Fri 11:00–17:00, Sat–Sun 13:00–17:00; Thu also 19:00–21:30
Photo: Sandra Fauconnier, CC BY 4.0University museum exploring science, medicine and discovery through interactive exhibits.
Tue–Sun 10:00–17:00International centre for contemporary art, research and experimental exhibitions.
Tue–Sat by invitation, registration or during public eventsbakonline.orgUtrecht has a historic centre, a lively local atmosphere and far fewer visitors than Amsterdam. It combines medieval history with the energy of a large student population.
Less than 30 minutes by train from Amsterdam Centraal, with several trains an hour. That makes it one of the easiest day trips from Amsterdam.
They run on two levels. Along the Oudegracht and Nieuwegracht, medieval wharves sit at the water, below street level, with cellars that reach under the street. Today many of those cellars are cafés and restaurants with terraces right by the water.
Half a day is enough for the centre, the Dom Tower and a walk along the canals. Give it a full day if you also want to visit a museum or De Haar Castle.
Yes. Utrecht is in the middle of the country with excellent train connections, so most Dutch cities are within an hour. Hotels are also generally cheaper than in Amsterdam.
Yes. The wharf cellars along the Oudegracht are full of cafés and restaurants, and the streets around the old town have plenty of places that are popular with locals rather than visitors.
