Maastricht: Sunday Getaway

Maastricht is well known for the "Maastricht Treaty", the European Union Foundation and the birth of the well known currency: Euro. Living quite close to Maastricht, it still took nearly 9 months to visit this beautiful city. Maastricht is an hour away from Aachen ( Either by Bus or Train).

Note: The students of RWTH Aachen can visit Maastricht with the semester ticket along with their enrollment certificate. You can take bus 350 from Bushof, Aachen or RE18 from Aachen Hauptbahnof. For others, it's best to check Flixbus, Bla Bla, DB Trains towards Maastricht.

We took the bus 350, because we wanted to see the countryside and it turned out to be a good decision. The Valkenburg area is quite a treat to watch.

The bus stop is near to the Maastricht Hauptbahnof. You can find various streets with eateries and restaurants along the way. A huge crowd glued towards a TV, was cheering for their boy, Max Verstappen although it faded along the way as both the title contenders (Lewis Hamilton) collided mid race ( Monza 2021).

Note: The day ticket costs around 7.5 Euros.

We have to cross the Maas river to reach most of the destinations in Maastricht. The planned locations where near to the city center, hence a day ticket was not taken.

Once you cross the bridge, you are greeted by the Old Town walls and its cannons. People spend some quality time with their books here or playing with their pets.

Once you turn the corner, you would reach Hell's Gate and the enter into the courtyard area.

Another top attraction is the Roman Catholic Basilica of St. Servaaskerk, the oldest church in Netherlands which is converted into a Museum. 

Basilica of Our Lady is quite close to the city wall and is a great place to spend some time.

Later we planned on visiting the Fort Sint Pieter and the Caves of Maastricht which was 2.5 km away from the station. The location consists of cave tours which are paid (10 Euros approx.). If you don't wanna go for it, there is always a hike towards the quarry region behind it. The maps are provided from the information center.

On our return , we visited the Town Hall. It has a huge square with lot of markets set up. Christmas stalls could be found from the month of November .

De Bisschopsmolen is a working water mill which is in functional state. It is working since the 14th century. The mill is at the backside of a bakery and you might have a small difficulty in finding this place from outside.

There is shopping street quite near to the Town Hall which has a wide variety of shops. One can spend time along the riverside in the evening or just walk around the parks or the streets. We took a return bus (350) to Aachen. You got to check the timings of the bus/train as on weekends as the transport services are less. Some photos of the Maastricht streets and surroundings are added at the End.

A place that we missed is the Book Store Dominicanen (Boekhandel Dominicanen). It's actually a church turned into a book store which has got great reviews from people. Try out some of the local cuisines as well.

If you would like to visit places farther than the city center, the best option is to take a day ticket. Valkenburg is another beautiful destination near to Maastricht (13km), which can be combined in your trip if you are having 2 days with you. The weather was awesome and it turned out to be a beautiful and peaceful getaway.#Samarth#Rushabh