Shopping in Maastricht
Maastricht constitutes an ideal city for shoppers by virtue of the large number of shops and department stores in the city-centre region between the Vrijthof square and the railway station.
A day’s shopping in Maastricht provides visitors with both an appealing and a very special experience, since the majority of the city’s stores are located in historical streets.
The well conserved and excellently maintained small-scale Wyck quarter on the Eastern bank of the Meuse offers a refined shopping culture, with its renowned and long-established stores specialized in art, antiques, design, home furnishings and accessories and fashion, and its delicatessens. Much of the former glory of the quarter has been preserved in its late 19th century Stationstraat and Wycker Brugstraat, and its 17th-18th century Rechtstraat and Hoogbrugstraat.
The city’s Western quarter on the Meuse with the oldest region around the Stokstraat district - has a particular appeal to visitors. It offers them a large number of convivial (pavement) cafes and restaurants alternating between exclusive and specialized stores, inclusive of famous fashion houses, interior stores with home accessories and furniture, jewellers, antique shops, and galleries. This quarter is bordered by the attractive and surprising shopping streets in the Jeker district, such as the Sint Pieterstraat. In addition, Mexx’ largest megastore in the Benelux recently opened its doors in a restored historical mansion on the Wolfstraat.
The old centre between St. Servaasbrug and the Market accommodates a large number of shopping streets and alleys. During the course of 2003 the Bijenkorf concern will open its first department store in Limburg, on the Maastrichter Brugstraat. The city also possesses a mall, the Brusselse Poort shopping centre, which is located on the Dr. Bakstraat at the periphery of the city centre.
Opening hoursMonday from 1.00 pm - 6.00 pm,
Tuesday - Friday 9.00 am - 6.00 pm
Saturday from 9.00 am - 5.00 pm
MarketsOn Wednesday and Friday morning there is a general market on the Market square, around the City Hall, from 8.00 am - 1.00 pm.
The Fish-market takes place on Friday in the Boschstraat.
On Thursday there is a market in the Stationsstraat from 2.00 pm - 6.30 pm: special farming-products.
On Saturday there is a flea market in Stationsstraat, from 10.00 am - 4.00 pm (opposite the railway station).
Limburg, I love youThe ultimate holiday feeling comes naturally in Limburg, a unique part of the Netherlands with an exotic atmosphere all its own. Try a cool glass of beer from a local family brewery. Or a cup of coffee and a slice of genuine Limburg pastry, fresh from the oven.
Limburg boasts many restaurants. In addition to French and Belgium influences, you will find typical regional dishes such as asparagus, mushrooms and the “Rommedoeke”, the best known Limburger cheese. Accompanied, of course, by a good glass of Limburg wine.
Limburg SceneryLimburg is known for its bronze-green oak woods. But it also offers meadows and fields, an open landscape through which the river Meuse quietly meanders. An orchard full of blossoming fruit trees. You can smell it, see it and experience it.
Limburg at its best. Both hill country and flat land, varying from forested slopes to vast asparagus fields. With a touch of green from the Meuse valley, a dash of purple from the heather and a warm brown-reddish glow from the Peel. There is something for everyone in the Province of Limburg
Arts and antiquesMaastricht certainly lives up to its reputation of being an “arty” city. Not only because it has several academies of art and music, but especially because of all there is to see. Ancient and modern art can be seen in the Bonnefanten Museum, where the permanent collection is complemented with a wide range of temporary exhibitions.
The city also has a great number of galleries where contemporarysartists exhibit their work. And on the streets... there you will find a ‘permanent exhibition’ of statues by such wellknown Dutch sculptors as Mari Andriessen, Charles Eyck, Arthur Spronken, Willem Hofhuizen en Piet Killaars.
MuseumsRegularly there are exhibitions in the next museums:
Bonnefantenmuseum
Museum Spanish Gouvernment
Historical Printing Museum
Africamuseum
Swimming PoolsDousberg Swimming Pool, Dousbergweg 10, 6216 GC Maastricht.
Telephone: +31 43 3433466/3470707.
Internet: www.dousberg.nl
Indoor and outdoor pools, toddler’s pool, sunbathing lawn, water slide and wet playground. Weather permitting the outdoor pool is open daily from June to September from 10.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. Further information on times of opening available from VVV Maastricht.
Guided city walkOn this walk, the official VVV Tourist Office guide will show you the prettiest spots in the old city centre, including the Stokstraat Quarter, the Basilica of Our Lady on the O.L.Vrouweplein, the Rampaarts, the Parks, the Jeker Quarter and Vrijthof Square with the Church of St.Jan and the Basilica of St. Servatius. During the Autumn holiday, there are (official) guided tours of the fortifications of this, the oldest fortified city of the Netherlands, focussing on the military history of Maastricht.
Departure from the VVV Tourist Office, Kleine Staat 1, Het Dinghuis, Maastricht
Casemates Between 1575 and 1825, mining activities created a network of galleries at Maastricht's western limits. These mining galleries were used in times of siege for subterranean approach and elimination of the enemy. The tour lasts about 1 hour and is led by an official VVV Tourist Office guide who gives the visitor an impression of the 'how and why' of this unique military monument, with is domed vaults, impressive shellproof refuges, powder rooms, plunging steps and a variety of galleries.
Fort St .PieterFort St.Pieter lies at the northern most point of Mount St.Pieter and was constructed in 1701-1702. It rises up from a pentagonal base-plan, with two major galleries at its centre and a circumferential gallery round its five sides. An official VVV Tourist Office guide will show you round these galleries and the shell-proof chambers; you can look down into the depths of the water-well and, weather permitting, climb up to enjoy the magnificent view across the city and surrounding countryside. The guided tour takes about one hour.
Cruises on the MeuseWould you like to see a city from the river Maas? Then step aboard on one of the river boats waiting for you throughout the summer season. Your host on the cruise takes you along Mount St.Pieter, the hill with the famed limestone caves, to the complex of sluices at Ternaaien (Belgian border) and back again.
Caves of mount St. PieterThe famous 'St. Pietersberg' caves are the result of centuries of excavation of marl, a building stone. What we now see is an enormous labyrinth of more than 20,000 passages. The stone-hewers have left their marks. On the walls are interesting inscriptions, some extremely old; artists too, have been at work here. During the many sieges Maastricht has suffered, and also during the last world war, local inhabitants used the passages as a shelter; some of the emergency provisions are still to be seen.
The temperature in the caves is 9-10 degrees Celsius; visitors are therefore advised to take a cardigan, pullover or coat with them. The round-trips, which last about an hour, are led by official VVV Tourist Office guides. Two sections of the labyrinths of Mount St. Pieter are open to the public.
Spa and WellnessKuurpark Cauberg 27, 6301 BT Valkenburg
Tel: 043-6092001 Fax: 043-6092011
E-mail: info@thermae.nl
Thermae 2000: Spa of wellness
Sauna, whirlpools, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, beauty lounge, Turkish steam bath, every kind of modern beauty treatments: massages and revitalising body care.
