Wijlre

Wijlre is a small village in South Limburg, known for its beer and popular with tourists who are looking for a more quiet destination than nearby Maastricht or Valkenburg. It's an excellent base for hikers and bikers.

Understand
Wijlre is part of the municipality of Gulpen-Wittem but famous itself for the beer that has been brewed here since 1365 and has been known as Brand beer since the 1860s. A number of hamlets are usually considered to be part of Wijlre: Etenaken, Berghof, Cartils, Kapolder, Elkenrade, Stokhem en Beertsenhoven.

Get in
The main road in and out of Wijlre is the N595, which runs through the village and connects it to Valkenburg to the north-west and to the N278 at Wittem. There is a trainstation in the village, but it's not connected to the regular Dutch railroads. It is however used by the Zuid-Limburgse Stoomtrein Maatschappij, which brings the Miljoenenlijntje here, a steam train that connects some touristic destinations in South Limburg to each other for touristic purposes.

Bus line 40 connects Wijlre to Heerlen, Ubachsberg and Gulpen. Bus 49 passes through the village on its way from Gulpen to Valkenburg and back. There are 3 busstops, "Wijlre Brouwerij" and "Wijlre Wielderdorpstraat" being the most central ones, close to each other and served by both lines.

Get around
The village itself is very small and you can easily walk to the few sights on foot. A bike or car is handy to get to nearby destinations or the surrounding hamlets. To rent means of transport, however, you'll have to head to Valkenburg or Gulpen (for bikes).

Do

 * Touring or hiking through the lovely South Limburg countryside is a main tourist activity, also around Wijlre. You can find some leaflets with route ideas at Cafe a gen Baan'.
 * Touring or hiking through the lovely South Limburg countryside is a main tourist activity, also around Wijlre. You can find some leaflets with route ideas at Cafe a gen Baan'.

Buy
There's a supermarket from the Plus-chain, which sells everything you will need on a daily basis. For regional products, try Paul's IJsboerderij (Klapstraat 2). The local specialty is of course Brand beer, but that's for sale in pretty much any supermarket in the Netherlands.

Eat & drink
All establishments here fulfil double functions as places to eat and drink. It's perfectly normal to sit down for just a drink, or for a typical coffee with local sweet pastry (vlaai).

Connect
There's a postal service desk in the Plus supermarket (Kerkstraat 1). For internet services, some accommodations offer wifi but you'll have to head to one of the larger destinations in the area for better options or use of a computer.

Go next
Nearby destinations include:
 * Gulpen
 * Valkenburg
 * Vaals
 * Vijlen
 * Simpelveld
 * Maastricht
 * Aachen (Germany)