Utrecht

Utrecht is a central Dutch city with a long history. With 362,000 inhabitants (2022), it’s the fourth largest city in the Netherlands. Utrecht is known as a student city with a large population of single young people. This results in a booming nightlife with many places to have a quick meal, some drinks or a dance.

Understand
The history of the city goes back to 47 AD when the Roman emperor Claudius ordered his general Corbulo to build a defensive line along the river Rhine which was the northern most border of the empire. One of the strongholds (or Castella) along the river was built at a crossing in the river and was called Traiectum (which means crossing place). In the local language this became Trecht, Uut-Trecht (lower-Trecht) and later Utrecht. On the place where once the castellum stood now stands the Domchurch built in the 13th century.

By train


Coming from Germany with the Deutschland-Ticket, take the RE19 e.g. from Düsseldorf/Duisburg to Arnhem. And then an InterCity (every 15 min) for €7-12 to Utrecht

The train station is at the western edge of the old city. A 5-minute walk through the Hoog Catharijne shopping center (follow signs to “Centrum”) will take you from the station to the city or the bus station.

By bus
The bus station is next to the train station. International buses depart from the western side of the train station ('Jaarbeurszijde'), exit the railway station on the correct side and turn right to find the busstop next to the NH-Hotel. Flixbus has several lines to Utrecht connecting directly with many European Countries. The international buses to Belgium and Germany are often a cost effective alternative to the trains with longer (Germany) or similar (Belgium) travel duration. The regional and city buses depart from separate stations on the east and west side of the train station. The regional buses are much slower than the trains. For information about the city buses, check the U-OV website, this is the company that provides public transport services in and around the city of Utrecht. Buses to the smaller towns around Utrecht are run by BBA, Arriva and Connexxion. Time schedules for train and bus can be found here.

By car
If you are coming in by car, park your car in one of the many parking garages around the city (follow the signs) and walk from there. Electronic signs display the number of parking spaces available in any given lot as well as directions to the lot, and if the sign says Vol it means the lot is full. Expect to pay around €3 to €5 per hour (as of Aug 2019) at any of the garages in the center. Parking on the curb side is also possible, expect to pay €3 to €5 an hour in advance at the meter (as of Aug 2019). Parking fines are around €70 and frequently enforced, so make sure to get back to your car before the ticket expires. It’s best to avoid driving into central Utrecht. Instead, leave your car at the city perimeter and take a bus or tram into the center.

There are 4 Park + Ride (P+R) around the city where you can park your car for the day at a flat rate of €5 (as of Aug 2019), including transit to the city center by bus or tram for up to 5 passengers. Both bus and trams offer comparable frequency of service. Two P+R facilities are adjacent to tram lines:

Get around
Walking or using a bike is the easiest way to travel in the city of Utrecht. To use the public transportation in the Netherlands, it is recommended to buy an OV-chipkaart. You can buy these on the central bus station (lower level of Utrecht Centraal Station), at kiosks inside the central train station or at some book stores and grocery stores. The OV-chipkaart is valid for bus, train and tram and works like a debit card that you must first charge with an amount. Buses do take cash though.

By bike
Using a bike is the easiest way to travel in the city centre if the weather is on your side. There are many bicycle shops near the train station where you can rent bikes. Alternatively, if you have a personal OV-chipkaart you can rent an OV-Fiets for €3.85 per 24 hours at one of the rail stations, you have to subscribe to the service for 1 eurocent a year on the NS website first though. Do make sure that you have good locks on your bike, as bike thefts are unfortunately quite common in the city centre. Also it's a good idea to make use of the free bike parking areas provided by the city council. They are usually guarded and are a safe place to park your bike.

Also recommended is to do a bike tour. There are several bike tour companies offering guided city tours. There are also cycle routes starting in the centre of Utrecht, which you can download for free: Utrecht Forts Cycle Route.

By bus
A good alternative is taking the bus, which goes often and will take you nearly everywhere. Utrecht Centraal Station serves as the main bus hub for Utrecht as well as the main train hub for the Netherlands. Most buses run from early morning (around 06:00) until just after midnight. City center rides cost ~€2.50. U-OV operates trams and local buses in and around Utrecht, and has a page in English for visitors.

In addition, there are several so-called nightlines. These cost €5-6 and can’t be paid for using strips or OV-chipkaart.

By public transit
Utrecht has 3 tram routes all running via the central station (Utrecht Centraal Station a.k.a. Utrecht CS). The station has an underground tram/bus stop named Centrumzijde (meaning downtown side) on the east side of the station. On the station's west side, there is another tram stop named Jaarbeursplein, but visitors are most likely to use Centrumzijde which is nearest to the old city centre. Platforms labelled B at Centrumzijde is for trams. There are 3 tram routes effective July 2, 2022:
 * Tram : Nieuwegein-Zuid – Utrecht CS – P+R Science Park
 * Tram : IJsselstein-Zuid – Utrecht CS – P+R Science Park
 * Tram : Utrecht CS – P+R Science Park

From Utrecht CS, trams run southwest passing P+R Westraven to Nieuwegein Stadscentrum where the tram line splits into two branches to IJsselstein-Zuid and Nieuwegein-Zuid. The southwest section of the line operates every day to a little past midnight.

Trams operate from Utrecht CS southeast to P+R Science Park Monday to Friday until 21:30. At these times riders can travel from either IJsselstein-Zuid or Nieuwegein-Zuid to P+R Science Park without switching vehicles. However, there is no weekend or late evening service to P+R Science Park, at which times all trams terminate at Utrecht CS. Use bus line 28 when trams to P+R Science Park are not running. P+R Science Park is in the Uithof district southeast of the centre of Utrecht.

U-OV operates trams and local buses, and their network can be travelled as cheap as €6.95 using the U-OV dagkaart. For the rest of the province, a separate €11.05 off-peak ticket exists. Both tickets offer unlimited access to U-OV buses and trams. The tickets can be bought online or at U-OV ticket machines or service desks. To use the tickets, you must be in the possession of an OV-chipkaart.

By car
Seeing Utrecht by car is not recommended. The city planners have made it as difficult as possible to navigate the city center, to try and discourage cars there. Driving around can be frustrating as the center is fraught with bus-only lanes, one-way streets, traffic lights and terribly expensive parking spaces. If you want to come by car it is recommended to park at one of the P+R (Park and Ride) places, and take a cheap shuttle bus or tram service into town. There are also several parking garages closer to the center, but they are more expensive.

Oudegracht
It is a major canal going through the heart of the city, with shops and restaurants on both sides. This canal is unique because of its many picturesque cellars on water level. Centuries ago they were used for storage and commerce. Nowadays, many of them host fine restaurants and pubs. In the summer you can find nice terraces at the water here.



Museums
Museumkaart is accepted at the city's museums.



Do

 * Have a drink at one of the terraces at the lower docks of Oudegracht
 * Climb the Dom tower, a full 112 metres high. You can climb to near the top.
 * Take a tour with a boat through the canals
 * Take a bicycle tour through the old city centre
 * Find out the stories behind the buildings in a free tour.
 * Rent a canal bike and pedal your own way around the canals.
 * Try a locally brewed beer at Stadskasteel Oudaen, which is a 13th-century city castle turned restaurant.
 * Football: FC Utrecht play soccer in Eredivisie, the Dutch top tier. Their home ground is Stadion Galgenwaard (capacity 23,750), 2 km southeast of city centre.

Parks
The, and the  are nice places to chill out in summer.

Cinemas
Watch a movie at one of many cinemas. With the exception of some animated movies (and even those are usually available in the original language as well), all movies are subtitled and not dubbed, so you should be able to enjoy all the standard Hollywood fare in the original English. As any large city, Utrecht has its share of cinemas showing Hollywood movies:

More interesting are the three independent cinemas, these specialize in art house movies and also are ideal places to get a drink or have dinner:

Festivals

 * Visit the Gaudeamus Muziekweek .This is the internationally celebrated annual festival for young composers and new music. Apart from the annual festival they also organize a monthly series of new, contemporary music.
 * The yearly Utrecht Festival of Old Music, called Festival Oude Muziek, late August to early September, brings to Utrecht some of the best artists in the world of authentic performance, but reserves some space for future talent as well. Concerts of all sizes are scattered over some of the city's most beautiful churches, with major performances held at Vredenburg Leidsche Rijn and the old Dom Church and a nice central lounge. There are over 60 free 'fringe' concerts and a set student price of €7.
 * Visit the Parade, a yearly open air summer festival with theatre, comedy, dance, music and other attractions. De Parade is a traveling festival that visits Amsterdam, Utrecht, Rotterdam and the Hague every summer.

Work
A ton of service positions exist in the ancient city centre. However, they usually have low wages and require fluent Dutch.

Buy
Most shops are in the city centre, concentrated around the Oudegracht, Vredeburg and Neude. There is also a large shopping centre extending east from the city centre in the direction of the Wilhelminapark. For general shop info and their opening hours you can visit openingstijden.nl as it shows an overview of the most popular shops.


 * Books. Broese is a large bookstore at Stadhuisbrug 5. They have a fair selection of English books. Bijleveld at the Janskerkhof is an old bookstore with beautiful wooden show windows.
 * Music. Plato at Voorstraat 35 has a fair selection at reasonable prices. Boudisque at the Drieharingenstraat (near Vredenburg) is the largest record store in Utrecht. Jazz, Classical music, Pop music and DVDs all have their own store. Near the Vredenburg the Revenge has a fair selection of vinyl, focusing on electronic music.
 * Markets. On Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays there is a large open air market on the Vredenburg square. On Saturdays you can find a plant market on the Janskerkhof and a flower market on the Oudegracht. The Breedstraat houses a large fabric market (lapjesmarkt) on Saturday mornings (09:00-13:00).
 * At Stationsplein 7 there is a give-away shop, open Tu 14:00-18:00 and Sa 14:00-17:00.
 * Cannabis. Sarasani, opened in 1968, was the oldest coffee shop in the Netherlands. Located at Oudegracht 327 a/d werf, which means it was on the canal level, and sat under the main street. Sarisani closed down in 2007. On Wednesdays and Saturdays Joepi makes a round through the center of Utrecht to deliver food and beverages with a little ‘extra’, mainly psychedelics, cannabis and energetic herbs.
 * Cannabis. Sarasani, opened in 1968, was the oldest coffee shop in the Netherlands. Located at Oudegracht 327 a/d werf, which means it was on the canal level, and sat under the main street. Sarisani closed down in 2007. On Wednesdays and Saturdays Joepi makes a round through the center of Utrecht to deliver food and beverages with a little ‘extra’, mainly psychedelics, cannabis and energetic herbs.
 * Cannabis. Sarasani, opened in 1968, was the oldest coffee shop in the Netherlands. Located at Oudegracht 327 a/d werf, which means it was on the canal level, and sat under the main street. Sarisani closed down in 2007. On Wednesdays and Saturdays Joepi makes a round through the center of Utrecht to deliver food and beverages with a little ‘extra’, mainly psychedelics, cannabis and energetic herbs.

Geek gear
There are half a dozen stores at the part of the Oudegracht (Old Canal) south of De Dom that sell board games, card games, wargames, roleplaying games, fantasy and science-fiction books and/or comics (e.g. Piet Snot, Elf Fantasy, the Joker and Neverneverland). Keep your eyes peeled; some of these stores are easy to miss.
 * Blunder has a large collection of “mainstream comics” on street level and an even bigger collection of the newest American comics and Manga/Anime in the basement. The address is Oudegracht 203.
 * Piet Snot is a normal comic shop. They also have a big collection of second hand comics. Vismarkt 3 (It’s a small part of the Oudegracht that for some dark reason has been given a different name...)
 * Strip & Lectuurshop. Lots of comics at Oudegracht 194
 * The Joker. Games, games and more games. From your normal family games to the German type games and the American wargames and everything in between. They also have lots of collectible card games and scenario-books for RPGs. In the basement it’s possible to play the games. It is at Oudegracht 230a.
 * Neverneverland, like The Joker, has a large selection of boardgames and RPGs at Oudegracht 202.
 * Subcultures is well... about subcultures, next to being a regular game shop. Specialized in miniature wargames, RPGs and designer toys. The address is Oude Gracht 183.

Eat
Many restaurants can be found in the city center. Especially near the canals there is a huge choice of places to eat, each with their own style of kitchen, like Italian, Thai, and American. Ask the locals for which places are recommended as not every restaurant offers the same quality.

Budget

 * There are several Flemish snack bars outside of Hoog Catharijne that sell wonderful thick fries with mayonnaise. Try it; it’s not as bad as John Travolta’s character seems to think in Pulp Fiction.
 * To try something Dutch visit one of the snackbars and order a Kroket.
 * For a more multi-ethnic view of Utrecht, walk away from the old city from the bus station/central station, walk under the train tracks, and follow the bus route (straight ahead) about 200 m. Try some affordable rotisserie style chicken on the left side of the Kanaalstraat, get a Moroccan style bagel across the street at one of the many middle eastern bakeries, and stock up on way-affordable (the cheapest in Utrecht) fruit and veggies at one of the many produce markets.
 * There are several Flemish snack bars outside of Hoog Catharijne that sell wonderful thick fries with mayonnaise. Try it; it’s not as bad as John Travolta’s character seems to think in Pulp Fiction.
 * To try something Dutch visit one of the snackbars and order a Kroket.
 * For a more multi-ethnic view of Utrecht, walk away from the old city from the bus station/central station, walk under the train tracks, and follow the bus route (straight ahead) about 200 m. Try some affordable rotisserie style chicken on the left side of the Kanaalstraat, get a Moroccan style bagel across the street at one of the many middle eastern bakeries, and stock up on way-affordable (the cheapest in Utrecht) fruit and veggies at one of the many produce markets.
 * There are several Flemish snack bars outside of Hoog Catharijne that sell wonderful thick fries with mayonnaise. Try it; it’s not as bad as John Travolta’s character seems to think in Pulp Fiction.
 * To try something Dutch visit one of the snackbars and order a Kroket.
 * For a more multi-ethnic view of Utrecht, walk away from the old city from the bus station/central station, walk under the train tracks, and follow the bus route (straight ahead) about 200 m. Try some affordable rotisserie style chicken on the left side of the Kanaalstraat, get a Moroccan style bagel across the street at one of the many middle eastern bakeries, and stock up on way-affordable (the cheapest in Utrecht) fruit and veggies at one of the many produce markets.
 * There are several Flemish snack bars outside of Hoog Catharijne that sell wonderful thick fries with mayonnaise. Try it; it’s not as bad as John Travolta’s character seems to think in Pulp Fiction.
 * To try something Dutch visit one of the snackbars and order a Kroket.
 * For a more multi-ethnic view of Utrecht, walk away from the old city from the bus station/central station, walk under the train tracks, and follow the bus route (straight ahead) about 200 m. Try some affordable rotisserie style chicken on the left side of the Kanaalstraat, get a Moroccan style bagel across the street at one of the many middle eastern bakeries, and stock up on way-affordable (the cheapest in Utrecht) fruit and veggies at one of the many produce markets.

Drink
As the population of Utrecht contains a lot of students, naturally there are a lot of places where you can spend the day or night having some drinks and a dance. Most are in the city center. Main hubs for drinks are Neude, Janskerkhof, Mariaplaats and Ledig Erf.

Drinks

 * The terraces at Neude, Janskerkhof or Ledig Erf
 * The lower docks near the canal Oudegracht
 * The cafe's at the street Lucasbolwerk
 * Stairway to Heaven is a large rockcafe at Mariaplaats 11-12.
 * Olivier at the Achter Clarenburg. A Belgian cafe with some thirty beers. Located in an old church.
 * Theatercafé De Bastaard, Jansveld 17. Students, artists, the occasional local celebrity. There is a pool table in the back.
 * Jan Primus, Jan van Scorelstraat 27 - 31. It’s a little out of the centre of the city near the Wilhelmina Park. No music, no slot machine, no nothing. Just 160 beers. 10 draught and 150 bottled.

Along the Oudegracht
The Oudegracht is home to a lot of bars, both in- and outdoors, and both at street and at water level. From north to south:

Nightlife

 * The clubs near the square Janskerkhof provide a great dancing opportunity for young people ('t Pakhuis, Jansbar, Hofman).
 * The clubs at the street Oudkerkhof provide a great dancing opportunity for everyone (Dikke Dries).
 * The Nobelstraat is full of pubs which turn into dancing venues at night (de Vrienden, Otje, Kneus, Jaloezie).
 * Other cafes, recommended for students, are Beurs (at Neude), Zussen and Hemmingway (near Janskerkhof).
 * The main venue for pop concerts and for dancing are TivoliVredenburg, De Helling, Ekko, Kargadoor, De Vloer and DBs (close to the train station Zuilen).
 * Techno fans can visit BASIS.

Sleep
Utrecht, like any big town, has its fair share of business hotels of the big chains.

Budget


The city's campsite (De Berekuil, on the east side of the city) has been a huge mess for a couple years now, and it is uncertain what will happen to it in the future. There are few other campsites, though some farmers also have small scale camping on their land. For instance Camping de Boomgaard, 8 km from Utrecht city.

Connect
As of July 2022, Utrecht has 5G from all Dutch carriers. Wifi is widely available in public places.

Stay safe
Utrecht as a student city is quite safe, although there are some neighbourhoods in the outskirts that you probably don't want to visit. As always, don’t flash your wallet at markets and have a natural caution for pickpockets in the city centre. Unfortunately, bike thefts are a common nuisance, so if you travel by bike, make sure you have good locks and park your bike at a bike parking spots. Parking your bike in the city centre is easy as Utrecht has it own bike parking route. Parking lots for bikes are located under the Vredenburg (entrance between Zara and The Sting), the Neude (Neudeflat), Zadelstraat, under the City Hall, under the stairs at the Stationsplein West or the Jaarbeursplein.

You are unlikely to have any business in the lower-income and immigrant neighbourhoods such as Kanaleneiland and Overvecht south-west and north of the city center. While serious crime rarely takes place, they are best avoided unless you want to tempt fate. If for some reason you do end up in these neighbourhoods it is strongly advised to keep your mobile phone and camera concealed. The youth in this area is known to act aggressively if they suspect they are being filmed or photographed.

Go next

 * IJsselstein has a small attractive old town centre located near Binnenstad station along tram line 21 from Utrecht Centraal Station.
 * Amersfoort has a medieval centre, and is a fifteen-minute train ride from Utrecht.
 * 's-Hertogenbosch (commonly known as Den Bosch) has a preserved medieval centre, and is a half-hour train ride from Utrecht.
 * Vechtstreek — a region along the river Vecht famous for its magnificent 17th and 18th-century estates
 * Soest (Netherlands) — home to the biggest dune area in Utrecht
 * Soesterberg — home to the Dutch national air force museum
 * Wijk bij Duurstede — a typically old Dutch town on the Rhine river; dikes galore!
 * Rhenen — played a key-role in the World War II Grebbelinie defense. Beautiful forests and a great zoo
 * Rhijnauwen — take a walk in the forests between the Uithof and Bunnik
 * Rhenen — played a key-role in the World War II Grebbelinie defense. Beautiful forests and a great zoo
 * Rhijnauwen — take a walk in the forests between the Uithof and Bunnik