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    Utrecht

    Netherlands

    Utrecht

    CityCulture

    Utrecht is the fourth-largest city in the Netherlands, centrally located in the country – a university city with canals, whose landmark is the 112.5-meter-high Dom Tower, the tallest church tower in the Netherlands.

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    9. Utrecht
    Utrecht is the fourth-largest city in the Netherlands, centrally located in the country – a university city with canals, whose landmark is the 112.5-meter-high Dom Tower, the tallest church tower in the Netherlands. Since a tornado destroyed the nave of the Dom Cathedral in 1674, the tower has stood freely next to the rest of the church.The city has around 376,000 inhabitants and is the capital of its namesake province. Its university, founded in 1636, is the largest in the country. Utrecht boasts a UNESCO World Heritage site of modern architecture in the 1924 Rietveld-Schröder House, and Utrecht Centraal main station is a vital hub in the Dutch railway network.
    Utrecht has around 376,000 inhabitants and is centrally located in the Netherlands. The Old Town is crisscrossed by the Oudegracht, a canal about two kilometers long, whose quays and cellar vaults lie directly on the water below street level – many of these former storage cellars now house restaurants and cafés. The Dom Tower presides over it all. Almost all sights are located between the Central Station, the Dom, and the Museum Quarter in the south; slightly outside are the Rietveld-Schröder House to the east and De Haar Castle to the west. The university, founded in 1636, is the largest in the country and shapes city life. Utrecht Centraal Station is an important railway hub; in the city, you travel with U-OV buses or, like most Utrecht residents, by bike.

    Sights in Utrecht

    Discover the most important sights and attractions

    Dom Tower (Domtoren)
    Museum

    1Dom Tower (Domtoren)

    At 112.5 meters, the Gothic tower is the tallest church tower in the Netherlands and the city's landmark. 465 steps lead up to a view over Utrecht; a 17th-century carillon hangs inside the tower. Since the collapse of the nave in 1674, it has stood separate from the rest of the Cathedral.
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    DOMunder
    Museum

    2DOMunder

    The underground exhibition at the Dom leads to archaeological remains dating back to Roman times around 45 AD, and tells the story of Utrecht.
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    Dom (Cathedral)
    Church

    3Dom (Cathedral)

    Of the Gothic Cathedral, built between the 13th and 16th centuries, today stand the choir, transept, and tower. The nave between them was destroyed by a tornado on August 1, 1674, and never rebuilt. The church has an inner courtyard.
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    Centraal Museum
    Museum

    4Centraal Museum

    The 19th-century municipal museum displays ancient and modern art, applied arts and fashion, as well as the history of Utrecht.
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    Rietveld Schröder House
    Museum

    5Rietveld Schröder House

    Gerrit Rietveld's 1924 residence, with its adaptable, multifunctional rooms, is a key work of modern architecture and a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2000. It lies east of the old town.
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    Museum Speelklok
    Museum

    6Museum Speelklok

    The museum collects self-playing musical instruments, ranging from music boxes and musical clocks to pianolas and large barrel organs. It is located just a few steps from the Cathedral Tower.
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    Restaurants in Utrecht

    1

    O'Panuozzo

    Pizzeria on Mariastraat in the center.
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    2

    Vegitalian

    Italian restaurant with an all-vegetarian menu: breakfast, pizza, sandwiches, and desserts.
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    3

    Louis Hartlooper Complex

    Cinema and restaurant at Tolsteegbrug.
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    Cathedral, Canals, Museums

    The OudegrachtThe northern part of the canal presumably dates back to around the year 1000, while the southern part was started in 1122. Once the city locks were completed in 1275 and the water level remained constant, dry cellars and quays at water level could be built along the banks – these are the wharves that distinguish Utrecht from other canal cities.MuseumsCentraal Museum: Art, fashion, and city history.Museum Speelklok: Self-playing musical instruments, from music boxes to barrel organs.Spoorwegmuseum: The national railway museum housed in a 19th-century train station.Museum Catharijneconvent: History of Christianity in the Netherlands.Nijntje Museum: A play world for young children centered around Dick Bruna's character Miffy.MusicThe Festival Oude Muziek dedicates itself to early music each year in late August and early September. Concerts of all genres take place at the TivoliVredenburg music venue.

    Nightlife

    1

    TivoliVredenburg

    The Music Centre on Vredenburgkade, new in 2014, is the city's premier concert venue. The building also has a café.
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    2

    Belgian Beer Café Olivier

    Belgian Beer Cafe with kitchen in the center, Achter Clarenburg.
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    Discovering Utrecht

    Getting ThereTrain: Utrecht Centraal is one of the country's most important rail hubs. ICE trains from Frankfurt and Cologne stop here en route to Amsterdam.Bike: The main station features a bicycle parking garage with 12,500 spaces across three floors.In the CityOn Foot: From the main station, you can reach Dom and Oudegracht without needing transport.Bus: City buses operate under the U-OV brand. You pay, as throughout the country, by checking in and out with your contactless bank card (OVpay).Schloss De Haar: The castle is located in Haarzuilens outside the city; plan half a day for it.

    Accommodations in Utrecht

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    Nearby

    Province Utrecht

    Province Utrecht

    The Province of Utrecht is located in the center of the Netherlands and is the country's smallest. Its center is the eponymous university city of Utrecht, and the province's second-largest city is Amersfoort.The west consists of polderland. In the northeast, the Utrechtse Heuvelrug stretches through the province, a wooded sandy area with hills up to nearly 70 meters high.
    Gouda

    Gouda

    Gouda gave its name to the Netherlands' most famous cheese: it is produced in the surrounding area and has been traded here for centuries – every Thursday morning from April to August at the cheese market. This city in Zuid-Holland is also the home of the Stroopwafel and was long known for candles and clay pipes.In the middle of the market square stands one of the country's oldest Gothic town halls, built between 1448 and 1450. The Sint-Janskerk, at 123 meters, is the longest cruciform church in the Netherlands and famous for its 70 stained-glass windows. Gouda has around 76,000 inhabitants and is located at the confluence of the Gouwe and Hollandse IJssel.
    Amsterdam

    Amsterdam

    Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands and by far its most visited destination: a city of 165 canals and almost 1,300 bridges, whose 17th-century canal ring has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2010. Here, Rembrandt's "The Night Watch" hangs in the Rijksmuseum, along with the world's most famous Van Gogh collection, and here stands the Anne Frank House.The city originated in the 13th century on a dam in the Amstel and is located on the IJ, a former sea inlet. With approximately 936,000 inhabitants, it is the country's largest city; however, the government and parliament are situated in The Hague, about 60 kilometers away.
    Kinderdijk

    Kinderdijk

    In Kinderdijk, about 15 kilometres east of Rotterdam, 19 18th-century windmills stand along the canals – an ensemble that has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1997. They were built around 1740 to drain the Alblasserwaard polder.Today, two diesel pumping stations handle most of the work, but some windmills are still operational. The name means “Children's Dike” and refers to a legend from the St. Elizabeth's Flood of 1421: A cradle with a sleeping child is said to have been washed ashore here, kept balanced by a cat.
    Leiden

    Leiden

    Leiden is the oldest university city in the Netherlands and Rembrandt's birthplace – a canal city on the Oude Rijn with an unusual density of museums. In the Hortus Botanicus of the university, founded in 1575, the first tulips bloomed on Dutch soil in 1594.The city, with around 130,000 inhabitants, is located approximately 18 kilometers northeast of The Hague and 45 kilometers southwest of Amsterdam. Every year on October 3, it celebrates the end of the Spanish siege of 1574, traditionally with the carrot stew Hutspot.