City centre

• Dom church [10], Domplein, open Mo-Fr 10am-5pm (October-April 11am-4pm), Sa 10(11)am-3.30pm, Su 2pm-4pm. The Gothic Dom church (built between 1284 and 1520) is the major religious building in the city. When a hurricane hit the town in 1674, the badly constructed nave collapsed, which is the reason that today the Domtoren (Bell Tower) and the church itself are separated by the Domplein (Dom Square). The interior of the church was stripped down of every sculpture during Reformation, but the exterior remains a lavishly decorated example of Dutch Gothic architecture.
• 112 meter tall Domtoren [11] is the highest church tower in the Netherlands. Climbing up the stairs to see the magnificent view on the top is highly recommended, but beware of the narrow, steep stairs. On clear days you can look as far as Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Open daily, climbing of the tower only through guided tour, admission charge.
• Next to the Dom church, the cloister garden is ideal to sit down and relax, and listen to a Saturday morning carillon concert.
• Oudegracht – A canal going through the heart of the city, with shops and restaurants on both sides. This canal is unique because of its many picturesque cellars on water level. Centuries ago they were used for storage and commerce. Nowadays, many of them host fine restaurants and pubs. In the summer you can find nice terraces at the water here.
• The Vismarkt (Fishmarket, a lovely street in the plain centre).
• Stadsschouwburg [12], the city theatre.

Architecture

• The defining building of Utrecht is the 13th century Domchurch, part of a larger cathedral which was partially destroyed by a severe storm while under construction. The main tower is the highest building in the city by municipal mandate.
• De Uithof, which is the campus of Utrecht University on the outskirts of Utrecht, near the stadium of FC Utrecht. De Uithof is a strange mix between grey concrete buildings and buildings here that are designed by famous modern architects, like the Minnaert building [13] designed by Rem Koolhaas. There is also a beautiful botanical garden [14] that is 8 acres big and houses 6 thousand different sorts of plants.
• Rietveld Schröder House Prins Hendriklaan 50 Tours organised by Centraal Museum for €16, which includes travel from Centraal Museum, Entry to Museum, Tour of House and Rietveld designed apartment, and a tea/coffee at museum. See website [15] for full details. The Rietveld-Schröderhuis, designed by Gerrit Rietveld, was built in 1923-1924 in Utrecht. The structure of the house is completely in line with the the ideas of the art movement De Stijl (The Style). The house was designed and built for Truus Schröder-Schräder, who lived there from 1924 till her death in 1985. It can only be visited under supervision of a tour guide. In 2000 the house was placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Museums

• Centraal Museum [16]. The oldest municipal museum in the Netherlands. It has a large art collection including the world’s largest collection of Rietveld designs and a permanent exhibition on Dick Bruna. There are usually several temporary exhibitions as well, an overview of which you can find at their site.
• Museum Catharijneconvent [17] has a large collection of historic Christian items.
• Nationaal Museum van Speelklok tot Pierement [18] is a museum on all kinds of mechanical music, including carillon clocks, musical boxes, pianolas, belly organs and much more.
• Nederlands Spoorwegmuseum [19] is the Dutch Railway Museum. It reopened in June 2005 after a intensive renovation. It is possible to go directly to the Spoorwegmuseum from centraal station with a special train.
• Aboriginal Art Museum [20] is a fairly large museum dedicated exclusively to Aboriginal art.
• Moluks Historisch Museum [21] is a museum on the history of the Moluccas.
• Utrecht Universiteit Museum [22] is the museum of Utrecht University.

By train

Utrecht Centraal Station forms the hub of the Dutch rail network, and is easily accessible directly, or with one change of train, from almost every station in the Netherlands. For instance, there are direct connections from Amsterdam and Schiphol Airport, both taking 30 minutes and for about €8 one-way. The high-speed train ICE to Cologne and Frankfurt stops in Utrecht. The train station is located at the western edge of the old city. A 5 minute walk through the Hoog Catharijne shopping center (follow signs to “Centrum”) will take you from the station to the city.

By bus

The bus station is located next to the train station. International buses depart from the western side of the train station ('Jaarbeurszijde'), while the regional and city buses depart from separate stations on the east side of the train station. The reqional buses are much slower than the trains. For information about the city buses, check the GVU website [2], this is the company that provides public transport services in and around the city of Utrecht. Buses to the smaller towns around Utrecht are run by BBA [3], Arriva [4] and Connexxion [5]. Time schedules for train and bus can be found at: [6].

By car

If you are coming in by car, park your car in one of the many parking garages around the city (follow the signs) and walk from there. Electronic signs display the number of parking spaces available in any given lot as well as directions to the lot, and if the sign says Vol it means the lot is full. Expect to pay around € 2 per hour at any of the garages in the center. It’s best avoided to drive into central Utrecht and to leave your car at the city perimeter and to take a bus or tram into the center.

By tram

Utrecht is connected to two neighboring towns by a high speed tram line. At the edge of the city, close to the A12 and A2 motorways, you will find Transferium Westraven [7]. It's a good idea to park your car there and to take the tram into town. The last two stops are both at Utrecht Centraal Station.

€ 3,50 will allow you to park your car all day and to travel into the city with a maximum of five people. Visiting Utrecht by car doesn't come cheaper than this.

Walking or renting a bike can get you a long way if the weather is on your side. Do make sure that you have good locks on your bike, as bike thefts are unfortunately quite common in the city centre.

By bus

A good alternative is taking the bus, which goes often and will take you nearly everywhere. Utrecht Centraal Station serves as the main bus hub for Utrecht as well as the main train hub for the Netherlands. To use the bus in the Netherlands, you can buy a strippenkaart (more information). You can buy these on the central bus station (lower level of Utrecht Centraal Station). Bus travel within the city takes you 2 or 3 strips. 3 strips will cost 2.4 euros. Alternatively, you can pay on the bus (most trips are 1.6 euros) and the drivers do give change. Most buses run from early morning (around 6am) until just after midnight.

In addition, there are several so-called nightlines [8]. These cost 5 to 6 euros and can’t be paid for using strips.

By tram

In Utrecht there is a tram line from central station to southern suburbs Nieuwegein and IJsselstein. For tourists, only the the first stops will be interesting, Westplein and Graadt van Roggeweg. These are located next to the Turkish neighbourhood and the main convention centre respectively. For the tram one can pay using a strippenkaart.

By car

Seeing Utrecht by car is not recommended. The city planners have made it as difficult as possible to navigate the city center, to try and discourage cars there. Driving around can be frustrating as the center is fraught with bus-only lanes, one-way streets, traffic lights and terribly expensive parking spaces. If you want to come by car it is recommended to park at stadium Galgenwaard or one of the P+R (Park and Ride) [9] places, and take a cheap shuttle bus or tram service into town. There are also several parking garages closer to the center, but they are more expensive.

Most shops are located in the city centre, concentrated around the Oudegracht, Vredeburg and Neude. There is also a large shopping centre extending east from the city centre in the direction of the Wilhelminapark. For general shop info and their openings hours you can visit openingstijden.nu [26] it shows an overview of the most popular shops.

• Hoog Catharijne, [27] is a is large indoor shopping area connected to the central hall of Utrecht Centraal Station, the main railway station of Utrecht.
• Books. Broese [28] is a large bookstore at Stadhuisbrug 5. They have a fair selection of English books. Nearby there is also De Slegte [29], at Oudegracht 121, which has a wide selection of second hand books. Bijleveld [30] at the Janskerkhof is an old bookstore with beautiful wooden show windows.
• Music. Plato [31] at Steenweg 13 has a fair selection at reasonable prices. Boudisque [32] at the Drieharingenstraat (near Vredenburg) the largest record store in Utrecht. Jazz, Classical music, Pop music and DVDs all have their own store. There are several stores operated by the large chain Free Record Shop [33] all over the shopping area. Near the Vredenburg the Revenge has a fair selection of vinyl, focusing on electronic music.
• Markets. On Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays there is a large open air market on the Vredenburg square. On Saturdays you can find a plant market on the Janskerkhof and a flower market on the Oudegracht. The Breedstraat houses a large fabric market (lapjesmarkt) on Saturdaymornings (0900-1300).
• At Stationsplein 7 there is a give-away shop, open Tuesdays 1400-1800 and Saturdays 1400-1700.
• El Beso, [34] At Nobelstraat there is an excellent Wine, life and style shop, called El Beso (Spanish for Kiss). On Saturdays you can just walk in and try a wine, no buying obligations. International crowd.
• Narcotics. Sarasani [35], opened in 1968, is the oldest coffee shop in the Netherlands. Located at Oudegracht 327 a/d werf, which means it is on the canal level, and physically sits under the main street. Sarisani is closed down at the moment(Sep 2007), let’s hope not for long. On Wednesdays and Saturdays Joepi [36] makes a round through the center of Utrecht to deliver food and beverages with a little ‘extra’, mainly psychedelics, cannabis and energetic herbs.
• Used cars. The Utrecht Car Market [37] is one of the largest car markets in Europe, offering more than 2,000 second-hand vehicles every week and visited by buyers from all parts of the world. The market is open every Tuesday from 6 a.m. except on Christmas Day, Boxing Day or New Year’s Day if they fall on a Tuesday.

Geek gear

There are half a dozen stores at the part of the Oudegracht (Old Canal) south of De Dom that sell board games, card games, wargames, roleplaying games, fantasy and science-fiction books and/or comics (ie. Piet Snot, Elf Fantasy, the Joker and Neverneverland). Keep your eyes peeled; some of these stores are easy to miss.

• Blunder [38] has a large collection of “mainstream comics” on street level and an even bigger collection of the newest American comics and Manga/Anime in the basement. The address is Oudegracht 203.
• Piet Snot [39] is a normal comic shop. They also have a big collection of second hand comics. Vismarkt 3 (It’s a small part of the Oudegracht that for some dark reason has been given a different name...)
• Strip & Lectuurshop [40]. Lots of comics located at Oudegracht 194
• Labyrinth [41] is all about fantasy games. They have furniture, weapons, clothing, jewelry and lots of roleplaying books. It is located at Oudegracht 207.
• The Joker. Games, games and (much) more games. From your normal family games to the German type games and the American wargames and everything in between. They also have lots of Collectible Card games and scenariobooks for RPGs. In the basement it’s possible to play the games. It is located at Oudegracht 230a.
• Neverneverland, like The Joker, has a large selection of boardgames and RPGs. It is located at Oudegracht 202.
• Subcultures [42] is well... about subcultures. Specialized in miniature wargames, RPGs and designer toys. The address is Oude Gracht 194, but the store is a werfkelder. This means that when on street level you have to take the stairs down to the canal.

• Cafe ’T College, Mariastraat (Close to the dom), ☎ 030 2319136, [43]. mo: 10am-7pm,tu-th:10am-01am,fr-sa: 10am-2pm,su 12am-7pm. Cozy jazz-blues restaurant with good simple food: steaks, salads, sate. The kitchen closes at 9pm, but you can get bitterballen, spring rolls, etc. after that. Euro 14 for a main course.  edit
• Stadskasteel Oudaen [44], at Oudegracht 99, is a 13th century city castle turned restaurant.
• There are several Flemish snack bars outside of Hoog Catharijne that sell wonderful thick fries with mayonnaise. Try it; it’s not as bad as John Travolta’s character seems to think in Pulp Fiction.
• Pancakes at ‘De Oude Muntkelder’
• Excellent spare ribs at restaurant Broadway.
• A hip and trendy dinner at Luce restaurant, located on Visschersplein. Very trendy atmosphere with exclusive and delicious food.
• For cheap tapas go to El Mundo at Voorstraat or Mimadre at Oudkerkhof.
• To try something dutch visit one of the snackbars and order a “Kroket”. A good one is behind City Hall, it is called “Broodje Plof”. A lot of dutch people visit this place after a good night of binge drinking.
• For a more multi-ethnic view of Utrecht, walk away from the old city from the bus station/central station, walk under the train tracks, and follow the bus route (straight ahead) about 200 meters. Try some affordable rotisserie style chicken on the left side of the Kanaalstraat, get a Moroccan style bagel across the street at one of the many middle eastern bakeries, and stock up on way-affordable (the cheapest in Utrecht) fruit and veggies at one of the many produce markets.

• Ledig Erf, [45]. at the south end of the Oudegracht has a large outdoor seating area which is packed whenever the sun is shining.  edit
• Stadskasteel Oudaen [46], at Oudegracht 99, is a 13th century city castle turned restaurant. They have their own theatre and more importantly their own brewery, where they brew the local beers Ouwe Daen, Jonge Daen en Linteloo Gold. Highly recommended.
• Café België, on Oudegracht 196. Good music and a selection of 198 different beers of which 20 are draught. Try the Celis White if you like white beer and try the Trock Banaan if you want to try a beer that tastes just like the banana sweets you probably ate when you were a kid (Most likely you are going to get a question from the bartender like “Are you sure you want to have this??”).
• Jan Primus, Jan van Scorelstraat 27 - 31. It’s a little out of the centre of the city near the Wilhelmina Park. No music, no slot machine, no nothing. Just 160 beers. 10 draught and 150 bottled.
• Stairway to Heaven [47] is a large rockcafe at Mariaplaats 11-12.
• Olivier at the Achter Clarenburg. A Belgian cafe with some thirty beers. Located in an old church.