- 4 December 2023
Visit Zuid-Limburg Netherlands, the southern part of the Netherlands bringing you the only ‘hills’ of the country, great cake, food and beers. Being Dutch, I often forget how pretty the Netherlands can be. You don’t always have to go far to get into the holiday vibe and discover new places.
As a kid, I used to go camping and visit Zuid-Limburg, which is the south of Limburg, every year. I just got a new car, and thought, why not drive to Limburg and go camping again? Well, minor detail, I didn’t have any camping gear at home. This is why we ended up in so-called “trekkershutten”, little huts that are essentially made for hut-to-hut trekking.
From Friday evening to Sunday evening, we’ve spent time discovering Zuid-Limburg and these are my 10 main tips!
I liked the experience. You don’t have to set up a tent or bring loads of stuff with you, but still, you have a nice and cosy camping experience. We stayed at Hoeve de Gastmolen and Camping de Bron. Are you looking for more places to stay? Browse around here!
Herberg de Smidse is a nice cafe/hotel in Epen, where many bikers stop for some food or a drink. They have a great sunny terrace, where you should try the special called “zuurvlees”. Next to that, the place is also the start of some hikes around Zuid-Limburg.
Put on your hiking shoes and start one of the hikes around Limburg. We even quickly passed the Belgium border during our hike through the “Geuldal”. This description is quite similar to the route we did, but from Herberg de Smidse, there are a couple of hikes you can choose from.
Wingbergerhoeve is a market stand that sells great food and ice cream. When I was young, the special sizes (let’s say the names were set up as great, huge, massive) appealed to me, but also now I would still recommend it.
It is a shame to just drive the main routes in Zuid-Limburg when you have a car available. The Mergellandroute is a more scenic route that passes a large part of the area. We decided to drive the bit that kind of follows the Belgian border – and yes, it was very scenic and pretty. The full route can be found here.
I am a huge craft beer fan, so a visit to “Gulpener Brouwlokaal” was part of the planning. Both the beers and the venue did surely not disappoint.
In Aon’t Bat you will find a great river-side restaurant that will reward you with perfect sunset views. it can become very busy in the summer months. They also serve a great brunch!
Inspired to discover the nature of the Netherlands? A great place to head to is the Utrechtse Heuvelrug, where you can visit for example the Soesterse Duinen, Flightbase Soesterberg or the only pyramid of the Netherlands in Austerlitz.
Visit Austerlitz with this guide and the Soesterduinen & Flightbase with this guide.
Zuid-Limburg is in the Netherlands famous for its pies. Go for a coffee combined with a piece of pie, my personal favourite would be a cherry pie. Combine it with a visit to Valkenburg, where you can visit the historical Marl caves. Even better, go laser gaming in the caves.
Maastricht is the biggest city in the area and a nice one too and is definitely worth a stop during your visit to Zuid-Limburg!
Visit for example the Dominicanenkerk, a church that was turned into a bookstore!
Next to that, some main sights can be found in het Vrijthof, Onze Lieve Vrouwen basiliek, Sint-Servaas basiliek.
Two nice bars/restaurants we discovered during our trip were Tapijn en Brandweerkantine. They are a little bit further out of the city centre, but it is possible to walk to them. Otherwise, public transport is your friend!
