City Walks

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Maastricht City Walks

A yearly tradition in Maastricht!! André Rieu will host a series of open air concerts in the month of July. If you spend your holiday in the Netherlands you can combine the concerts with a visit to other places there. If you have a lot of time you could head for the Efteling (near ‘s Hertogenbosch), the fairytale park where André recorded his Wonderland DVD. We have created a walk through the amusement park, passing along the places used in the DVD. The Efteling is not in the province of Limburg, but in the province of Noord-Brabant. It will take approximately two hours by public transportation to arrive there from Maastricht. Please find below the "Wonderland Walk" which might take a full day, so it will be hard to do it in a one day-trip from Maastricht. Since the Maastricht concerts start at 21:00 (9PM), you may have time to discover Maastricht and its surroundings. Maastricht is one of the oldest cities in The Netherlands and it was founded by the Romans. Traces of the Roman history are still present today. Ineke and Ruud have compiled two walks and a bike route. One walk leads through the historic inner city and the second leads towards and over the St. Pietersberg (Mount Saint Peter). Both walks include places related to André. We have also added a bike trip around the St. Pietersberg, visiting the many vineyards of the area. Although you can walk this route (12 KM), we suggest you to rent a bike and peddle around the "mountain". This route is relatively flat (like everything else in the Netherlands), so it does not require extra stamina! If you find that the current situation has changed, or the description we provided is not clear or you notice any errors or have suggestions, please let us know at ruud @ andrerieumovies.nl (please remove the spaces from eitherside of the @, this saves us from a lot of spam).

By train from Schiphol Airport (Amsterdam) to Maastricht: Via: Utrecht (Central Station) - ‘s Hertogenbosch - Eindhoven - Maastricht.

Video clip below: André Rieu promoting the province of Limburg (colored yellow on the map).

To open one of the documents below, simply click on one of the pictures. (note: you must have Adobe Reader installed. If you do not have this program on your computer, click here. (free!) To save a copy of the document on your computer, right-click on the picture or Coat-of-Arms and select "Save target as..." Or use the Save option in Adobe reader. Then you can print this document and take it with you to Maastricht.

The Maastricht City walk. Click on the Maastricht Coat of Arms to the right.

The Wonderland walk (last update: 2011) through the amusement park The Efteling in Kaatsheuvel.

Bike trip around the St. Pietersberg and vineyards in this area.

Walk across the St. Pietersberg (Saint Peter’s Mountain).

d’Artagnan walk! Follow the footsteps of the famous French Musketeer, d 'Artagnan, and see where he perished on the battlefield. Optionally visit the church where he is (supposedly) buried and see André's birth house. Right click on the picture to the left and select "Save as…" to save a copy of the walk on your computer. So you can print it and take it with you to Maastricht.

Marc Rieu’s exhibition. Every year, during his father’s concerts, Marc Rieu brings together his most recent paintings on a summer exhibition in the Theatre on the Vrijthof. Admission is free on every concert day in July (from 12 to 5 PM). Marc will be there in person and the paintings are on sale. (Marc stopped the exhibitions in 2022).

Sightseeing Maastricht. 1. There is a city tour by solar train, departing from the Vrijthof Square. 2. City tour by American school bus: starting from the Vrijthof Square or Kesselskade (opposite the boat trips): Duration: 45 minutes. A combination tour with a boat trip is possible. Ask for information at the Stiphout ticket office of the boat trips. 3. Boat trips: from the Maas promenade. Several possibilities. There is even a trip to Liège in Belgium. Consult the schedule at the ticket office near the pier. Or check www.stiphout.nl (website also in English). In July André’s castle can hardly be seen from the river, due to the trees. We loved the “Historic trip” through historic canal locks. See Al Girard’s time-lapse below.

Al Girard created a time-lapse video of the historic boat trip in 2013. Have a look!

The newest tourist attraction opened to the public on April 12, 2017. A floating panoramic viewpoint over the ENCI quarry and surroundings. Stairs of 210 steps leading into the quarry and a walking route. Still under construction: a natural swimming pond of five different natural sources from the Limburg area, with a beach. The entrance to the viewpoint and the stairs can be found at the Luikerweg 80 or Lage Kanaaldijk 115. Below a promo video of the project (2016).

Plaque on André’s childhood house: On May 28, 2015 André Rieu and Mayor Onno Hoes unveiled a plaque on André’s childhood house: Begijnenstraat 1. The plaque is a gift by the city council and created by Désirée Tonnaer. Click HERE to see a review on the day. It’s not André’s birth house (which is at Plenkershoven 11, click HERE) . André lived in the white house from the age of 11.

French atmosphere in the Jeker quarter. As you might know: the Jeker is another river in Maastricht. The Jeker quarter is also in the city center. This part of Maastricht will breath a French atmosphere around July 14th, due to the celebration of “Quatorze Juillet” (Bastille Day) which is the national festive day of France.

Dominican Book store. The Dominican bookshop is a “must see”. The book shop is located in the more than 700 years old Dominican Church and proclaimed by the “Guardian” as: “The fairest book shop of the world, a book shop made in Heaven”. The address: Dominicanerkerkplein (in summer called: André Rieu square), near the Vrijthof. Inside in the formerly priest chancel: Nice coffees by Coffeelovers.

André’s bronze sculpture in 2016. André’s sculpture was created in 2009 by the Russian artist Alexander Taratynov, who lives in Maastricht. In 2014 and 2015 we found André’s sculpture in the Townhouse Design Hotel in Maastricht. The intention is to move the sculpture to a new to build shopping passage in the quarter “Wyck” (between the Rechtstraat and the Wycker Grachtstraat). It is called: The Wyck Bazaar”, with small shops like a bakery, a greengrocer, a florist and a bistro which will serve local produce. Last info 2016: there is a delay in building. Now we hope for summer 2019. More information about the history of the sculpture: click HERE.

Museum on the Vrijthoff

Wednesday- and Friday Market. Picture to the right: Every Wednesday and Friday there is a market around the Town Hall. (Markt). Always nice, but like everywhere else: be aware of pickpockets.

Pictures below: The most expensive (5 stars) hotel in the city is the Kruisheren Hotel. This renovated 15th century monastery of the “Crutched Friars” offers a breathtaking synthesis: its veritable Gothic facade encloses a dressed-down modernity. Have a look inside, see the design objects, the colors, special light effects and have a drink at the hotel bar. Don’t forget to have a look at the rest rooms.

On St. Pieter’s mountain: North caves (Grotten Noord) and Fort St. Pieter. With restaurant Chalet Bergrust. Luikerweg 71. Within the caves/passages the temperature will be 10 degrees Celsius. Sturdy shoes and cardigan needed. Irregular floor, rather chilly. Schedule from July 6th 2019: Guided tour caves: € 7,20 (1 hour): 11,12AM, 1,2,3,4PM. In Dutch and English. Guided tour Fort: € 7,20 (1 hour):

Just for fun: Statue of J.P. Minckelers On the Market Square. J.P. Minckelers was a professor of natural philosophy in 1772. He invented illuminating gas. Maastricht erected a statue for him with his “eternal” flame. In 2013 the city council decided that the eternal flame was too expensive. They put a money machine next to the statue and when you feed it with € 1,– the flame will be back for a couple of minutes, just for you! The St. Matthias Church behind him is dedicated to Notre Dame de Bannaux (Our Lady of Bannaux), also known as Vierge des Pauvres (Vergin of the Poor). You may visit the chapel/ pilgrimage.

Picture below: Rural Estate Slavante and Zonneberg Caves. Terrace overlooking the river Meuse, playground for children, grand café, restaurant with local food. Consult our “Pietersberg” walk for the location. Many steps to go! Not suitable for disabled. From here it is a 10 minutes walk to the Ency quarry. Follow the green rectangle marked route. Buy tickets here for guided tours in the Zonneberg caves/ passages. Tours in English at 12.50PM and 2.50PM. Some Stiphout boat trips have a stop here.

Entrance to the Zonneberg caves.

Maastricht city maps are on sale at the Tourist Office for € 2.50. If you will visit Maastricht for the first time during the André Rieu concerts in July and you like to receive a city map, please mail your home address to ineke @ andrerieumovies.com (please remove the spaces from either side of the @, this saves us from a lot of spam) and we’ll send you one for free.

André: “I often take vlaai along, or ensure vlaai is available for my guests. That is part of our Limburg hospitality. One is very often pleasantly surprised to be welcomed not with just a small cookie, but a generous piece of real Limburg vlaai.”

Museum of Natural History. On April 18th 2015 the remains of another huge prehistoric Mosasaurus (Meuse Lizard) were found in the ENCI (cement factory) chalk quarry in the St. Pietersberg, Maastricht, the Netherlands, by a 14 years old boy named Lars and his father. Since 1774 this is the sixth Mosasaurus found in the hill close by Andre's castle. Three of the relics (and we guess the fourth will be added soon) can be seen in the Museum of Natural History in Maastricht. If you are interested, click on the picture for more information about the Museum and the Maastricht Mosasaurus collection.

“Vlaai” (Pastry) is the local treat. When in Maastricht, you should try it with a cup of coffee. At Bishops Mill, 't Piepenhoes, Grand Café Maastricht Soiron (Museum at the Vrijthof) and many other café-terraces, you can order coffee and vlaai. André’s favorite: Kroonsele met sjoem (Maastricht dialect): Gooseberry merengue. Enjoy!

JOUW MARKTKRAAM (your market booth) Hundred little shops in one shop! Jodenstraat 32, Maastricht, next to the Tourist Office. Often JSO-members/soloists give “meet and greets” here, during the July concerts days.

Message by the tourist office “Visit Maastricht”, on June 26, 2019. A NEW CITY WALK through the Sphinx area and the Frontenpark. FRONTEN PARK. From today, (June 26, 2019), you may discover the 'wild garden' of the Sphinx area. The Frontenpark is not a tightly laid out and stately maintained park like the City Park at the other side of the city, but an exciting and rough piece of nature with a viewpoint, old fortifications and the Radium as a creative breeding ground. Do you want to get to know the park better? Then join the newly developed city walk through the industrial Sphinx area and rough Frontenpark, available for free (first 20,000 copies) at the Maastricht Visitor Center and entrepreneurs in the Sphinx area. Would you rather walk with a guide? Special free guided tours of the area are organized on three days in the month of July 2019. On Thursday 4, Thursday 11 and Friday 12th of July. The guided tours last 90 minutes and will be held twice a day: at 11 - 12.30 AM and 1 - 2.30 PM. Vouchers can be collected from tomorrow (June 27) at the Maastricht Visitor Center. (Tourist Office, Kleine Staat 1, Maastricht), E-mail: info@visitmaastricht.com . Phone: 0031(0)43- 3252121. The tour will start near the statue of Petrus Regout in the Boschstraat (street). Join! More information on the website: http://bit.ly/frontenparkrondleiding .

NEW: Caves Zonneberg, included the museum and the Nightwatch charcoal painting. Entrance at Slavante. Guided tours in July 2019, on Saturday July 13th and Saturday July 20th at 3 PM, in Dutch. Duration: 1 hour. Price: € 8.95. E-mail: info@maastrichtunderground.nl .

We found another interesting video on YouTube, about the Bishop’s Mill and the bakery. Master baker Frank van Erd bakes the healthiest bread of the region. Duration: 26 minutes.

And this reminded us to André’s art of baking Christmas “vlaais”.

A visit to the Bishop’s Mill is included in our Maastricht city walk.

Eagle owls and chicks On Mount Saint Peter’s, in the limestone quarry of the former Enci factory. (May 2021) you may spot eagle owls. Click HERE to read the story in the Limburg newspaper.

On the occasion of the 100th concert at the Vrijthof in 2019, the Maastricht Mayor presented André with a plaque, which has been placed in the pavement of the Vrijthof to stay there forever and ever. To read more about the presentation, click HERE. You can find the plaque in the pavement of the square, opposite restaurant Luster, Vrijthof 10.