South-Limburg

Maastricht and Valkenburg

Maastricht
Maastricht is the provincial capital of Limburg and the embodiment of the region’s ‘Burgundian lifestyle’. The historic center of Maastricht is filled with cafes, restaurants, and terraces where you can enjoy great food and drinks. Especially the city’s beautiful squares are popular hangouts for locals and tourists enjoying Dutch ‘gezelligheid’, with the Vrijthof Square as best-known hotspot. But Maastricht has more to offer. Such as breathtaking churches, basilicas – including the Romanesque Basilica of St. Servatius. Monumental merchant houses, a fort, casemate tunnels and the St. Peter’s Caves – used as a refuge in wars and when Maastricht was under siege.

Valkenburg and surroundings
Not far from Maastricht, you can find the quaint marlstone town of Valkenburg and the pristine forests and gently rolling hills of southern Limburg. The area is also known for the mines and caves with paintings, which date back to the days of the Romans. Just a stone’s throw away is the highest point of the Netherlands: the Vaalserberg. We might call it a ‘mountain’, but our highest hill is only 322.5 meters (1,059 ft) high. The area is beautiful though, and here you can find the Three-Country Point (tripoint) where the borders of the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany meet.