Buses to the smaller towns around Utrecht are run by BBA[dead link], Arriva and Connexxion. The main local and regional bus station of Utrecht is located adjacent to Utrecht Centraal railway station, at the East and West entrances. Due to large-scale renovation and construction works at the railway station, the station’s bus stops are changing frequently. As a general rule, westbound buses depart from the bus station on the west entrance, other buses from the east side station. Local buses in Utrecht are operated by Qbuzz; its services include a high-frequency service to the Uithof university district. The local bus fleet is one of Europe’s cleanest, using only buses compliant with the Euro-VI standard as well as electric buses for inner-city transport.
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. Utrecht city has an active cultural life, and in the Netherlands is second only to Amsterdam.[9] There are several theatres and theatre companies. In addition to theatres, there is a large number of cinemas including three arthouse cinemas.
Notable buildings
Currently it is the see of the Metropolitan Archbishop of Utrecht, the most senior Dutch Roman Catholic leader.[34][35] His ecclesiastical province covers the whole kingdom. By the mid-7th century, British, English and Irish missionaries set out to convert the Frisians. Pope Sergius I appointed their leader, Saint Willibrordus, as bishop of the Frisians. The tenure of Willibrordus is generally considered to be the beginning of the Bishopric of Utrecht.[12] In 723, the Frankish leader Charles Martel bestowed the fortress in Utrecht and the surrounding lands as the base of the bishops. From then on Utrecht became one of the most influential seats of power for the Catholic Church in the Netherlands. The archbishops of Utrecht were based at the uneasy northern border of the Carolingian Empire.
- The heavily fortified castle Vredenburg was built to house a large garrison whose main task was to maintain control over the city.
- 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.
- The city council provides coupons for discounts to inhabitants who receive welfare to be used with many of the initiatives.
- One of the strongholds (or Castella) along the river was built at a crossing in the river and was called Traiectum (which means crossingplace).
- Utrecht as a student city is quite safe, although there are some neighbourhoods in the outskirts that you probably don’t want to visit.
It was the most important city in the Northern Netherlands until the Dutch Golden Age, when it was surpassed by Amsterdam as the country’s cultural centre and most populous city. Famous for its quaint canals, cotton-candy coloured houses and romantic atmosphere, this Alsace gem is well-loved by thousands of travellers. Due to the past importance of Utrecht as a religious centre, several monumental churches were erected, many of which have survived.[47] Most prominent is the Dom Church. Other notable churches include the romanesque St Peter’s and St John’s churches; the gothic churches of St James and St Nicholas; and the Buurkerk, now converted into a museum for automatically playing musical instruments.
Utrecht
I think 1 full day will suffice, but try to stay over for a night if you can – or else you might feel a little rushed doing all your Utrecht exploring in one day. If you’re planning on doing day trips from Utrecht, then you should factor this in too, when deciding how long to stay. During my trip to the Netherlands, I spent three days in Amsterdam, and one day in Utrecht. On my only day in Utrecht, I immediately felt a sense of calm and ease. It’s not that I didn’t like Amsterdam, but it’s no secret that the Netherlands’ capital can be packed with tourists.
No matter what park you find yourself in, there are plenty of ways to pass the time. Spread out a blanket and order a pizza or, better yet, treat yourself to a barbecue! As long as you stick to a few rules, local law gives the thumbs up to BBQing in Utrecht’s parks.
Transport
I think it’s a bit of a hidden gem that will only get more popular with time, so you should visit while it’s still relatively unknown to tourists. To this day, the Dom Tower (which was previously part of St Martin’s Cathedral) dominates the city of https://bookkeeping-reviews.com/utrecht/, with its impressive and massive presence. 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. Main hubs for drinks are Neude, Janskerkhof, Mariaplaats and Ledig Erf. 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.
- Expect to pay around €3 to €5 per hour (as of Aug 2019) at any of the garages in the center.
- Every summer there used to be the Summer Darkness festival, which celebrated goth culture and music.[77] In November the Le Guess Who?
- Another reason to stay in Utrecht is because of its central location.
- These buildings, the ‘Kantoortoren Galghenwert’ and ‘Apollo Residence’, stand 85.5 m (280.5 ft) and 64.5 m (211.6 ft) high, respectively.
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. The fortified city temporarily fell to the French invasion in 1672 (the Disaster Year); where the French invasion was stopped just west of Utrecht at the Old Hollandic Waterline. In 1674, only two years after the French left, the centre of Utrecht was struck by a tornado. The halt to building before construction of flying buttresses in the 15th century now proved to be the undoing of the cathedral of St Martin church’s central section which collapsed, creating the current Dom square between the tower and choir. In 1713, Utrecht hosted one of the first international peace negotiations when the Treaty of Utrecht settled the War of the Spanish Succession. Beginning in 1723, Utrecht became the centre of the non-Roman Old Catholic Churches in the world.
Utrecht central station
Because of its central location, Utrecht is well connected to the rest of the Netherlands and has a well-developed public transport network. From the middle of the 3rd century, Germanic tribes regularly invaded the Roman territories. After around 275 the Romans could no longer maintain the northern border, and Utrecht was abandoned.[12] Little is known about the period from 270 to 650. Utrecht is first spoken of again several centuries after the Romans left.
Eurolines and Flixbus both have several lines to https://bookkeeping-reviews.com/ 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. 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.
I hope this blog post convinced you to visit Utrecht! What do you think of Utrecht? Let me know in the comments below!
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.
Utrecht was chartered in 1122 and had a city council as early as 1304. Utrecht’s greatest prosperity was in the 11th and 12th centuries, but throughout the Middle Ages it remained the most powerful and important town in the northern Netherlands. Under its bishops, it became the capital of a powerful principality and a cultural, commercial, and industrial (mainly cloth-weaving) centre until it was surpassed by Amsterdam (26 miles [42 km] northwest) in the 15th century. Utrecht’s bishops came increasingly under the influence of Holland until the Utrecht bishop Henry of Bavaria sold his temporal rights to Emperor Charles V in 1527, upon which Utrecht became part of the Habsburg dominions.
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.
During a thematic Sunday, several organisations create a program which is open to everyone without, or with a very much reduced, admission fee. The city subsidises an organisation for amateur education in arts aimed at all inhabitants (Utrechts Centrum voor de Kunsten), as does the university for its staff and students. The city council provides coupons for discounts to inhabitants who receive welfare to be used with many of the initiatives. Nevertheless, some tall buildings are now being constructed that will become part of the skyline of Utrecht. The second-tallest building of the city, the Rabobank-tower, was completed in 2010 and stands 105 m (344 ft) tall.[39] Two antennas will increase that height to 120 m (394 ft).