Before Christmas, my husband and me decided to visit some Dutch cities while being home for two weeks. The first one we went was Maastricht, located in Limburg, the most Southern part of the country at the Belgian border. I had only been here once before – for New Year’s, and I didn’t see much more than the fireworks and the inside of a club as there was not enough time for sightseeing. So I was really looking forward to this trip!
Designer Outlet Roermond
On the way to Maastricht, we stopped at the big designer outlet in Roermond. To be honest, that was not my brightest idea – shortly before Christmas, it was super crowded as everybody wanted to buy some last presents. However, we almost ended up in the All You Need is Love truck to greet some people on tv. As the weather was terrible, too, all those special offers couldn’t really help to put me into a shopping mood and we only went into a few shops before walking back to the car. From Roermond, it was about one hour drive to Maastricht.
Strolling around Maastricht
After having parked the car at the hotel, we took the bus into the city center. Luckily, the weather was better here, and we used the rest of the afternoon to stroll through the town. We also went into some stores here, but didn’t really find anything. I loved the old buildings and the atmosphere of the city! We also looked for the Christmas market but for some reason could not really find it – the next day I’d find out that we were simply walking into the wrong direction. When it got dark, we crossed the river Maas again walking into the direction of the central station to take the bus back to the hotel. On the way, we stopped for dinner at the bistro ‘t Wycker Cabinet, which I really loved. Great atmosphere in there, and the food was good, too. I also liked that you could order different Belgian beers!
Shopping in Maastricht
The following day, my husband had some business appointment in the city so I had time to explore the city myself. Again, I went to the city center to look around the different stores and shops, finally finding a new winterjacket and some new jeans. I loved just walking around and getting to know the city a little! I ended up having some coffee at a coffee bar at the shopping center the Mosae before heading to the Christmas market where my husband picked me up. Best part of the day was definitely buying (and eating) fresh Oliebollen, which is typical in the Netherlands for New Year’s. But as we hadn’t been here for almost a year, we decided to eat them already, even before Christmas. Loved it!
To me, the day in Maastricht was the perfect start into the holidays and it was so much fun to finally see another Dutch city. Because usually, we tend to not visit the cities in the country we are from while we cannot get enough of travelling around in countries we are only visiting. Have you ever been to Maastricht? If you have, do you have any further tips?
Ik ben er nog nooit geweest, maar het lijkt mij wel een heel erg leuk, gezellig stadje!