Venlo

Venlo is a city in the Southern Netherlands, right on the German border. It's a centre for industries and trade but also the go-to place for shopping and services for people from the wide region, including the neighbouring German Ruhr area. Although the town centre sustained a lot of damage in World War II, there's still a lot of monumental buildings to see. The city has invested heavily in re-vamping the town centre, creating new shopping boulevards and improving infrastructure, which was done in part because of the 2012 national Floriade flower show, which was hosted here.

Understand
Venlo is one of the most popular small town destinations in the Netherlands due to being right across the border from heavily populated German areas.

By car
Venlo is a real industrial transport hub, and a main gateway to Germany. The main roads passing through are typically busy with trucks on their way to the east or back. Several major roads pass here, making the town easily reachable from all directions.

The A67/E34 connects Venlo to Germany in the west (most directly Duisburg and Essen as well as east, to Eindhoven and further. The A73 leads to Nijmegen in the north and Roermond and further southern direction. The A74/61 leads to Germany in south-eastern direction, most directly connecting Venlo to Mönchengladbach.

By train
Half hourly slow train connections run between and Roermond. Faster NS intercity trains run, also twice per hour, to Eindhoven (40 min), Tilburg, Breda, Dordrecht and Rotterdam. Before Eindhoven, it stops at the smaller stations of Blerick, Horst-Sevenum, Deurne and Helmond. There are slow cross-border trains to Mönchengladbach (30 min) and fast trains to Düsseldorf and other German destinations. The Deutschlandticket is valid for rides between Venlo and North Rhine Westfalia in the RE13 stopping in Hamm, Unna, Hagen, Wuppertal, Düsseldorf, Mönchengladbach and Viersen.

By bus
The bus station serves most destinations in the area. Coming from Neunkirchen, the Deutschlandticket is also valid to Venlo in the bus line 29.

Get around
The city centre is small enough to navigate on foot. A bike is a convenient alternative. If you don't have your own, you can rent one at Fietspoint at the Stationsplein. Reservations are recommended.

See
Much of the historic centre of Venlo was destroyed in World War II, and several remaining houses were replaced by new projects in the years that followed. Some of the oldest houses are not recognizable as such, as modern façades have been placed in front of them. Nonetheless, there's plenty of history still around, especially in the city centre.

Do
Several hiking routes are available for the area around Venlo. Distances and kinds of terrain vary. The Venlo Greenpark route takes you to see the Floriade parks and gardens which were established for the 2012 Floriade show, a huge flower and plants event that's held in the Netherlands once every 10 years. . At the east side of town, there are several interesting natural areas.

Buy
The Venlo area is known as a shopping destination for people from the wider region, including Germany. The Maasboulevard, as the renovated shopping area is called, was fully redone just a few years ago. The Vleesstraat has most of the major chain stores, and at the end of it you'll find the so-called "German quarter", with many German oriented shops. Along the Parade, de Jodenstraat and Gasthuisstraat you'll find more boutiques and small speciality shops.

The region is known for its asparagus production, and in spring, when they are in season, you'll find them in abundance both on restaurant menus and for sale along the provincial streets in the agricultural areas.

Eat
The Kwartelenmarkt and Grote Markt area are good places to look for restaurants, especially in summer when they set up outdoor terraces on the squares.

Budget
The Jumbo and "2 Brüder" supermarket in the city center have fresh baked goods and sandwiches. All these are also in the city centre:



Drink
There's aren't really any major clubs, but you'll find plenty of cafés. Some of them have a special "club night", when the music is turned up and the tables removed as people come in to dance. For serious clubbing, German cities in the region have some good options, and university city Eindhoven is a good alternative.

Go next

 * Roermond has a nice historic centre and is a modern shopping highlight.
 * Arcen has a nice castle with show gardens
 * Lottum is known as the rose village of the Netherlands. There are several lovely rose gardens to admire, as well as all kinds of roses for sale.