Must-see attractions in Utrecht Province

  • Rietveld-Schröderhuis

    Utrecht

    Years ahead of its time, this small but uniquely conceived house was built in 1924 by celebrated Utrecht designer Gerrit Rietveld. He'd be amazed to find…

  • Dom Under

    Utrecht

    Talented volunteer guides and fascinating educational films with CGI effects set the historical scene. Then it's your turn to become an amateur…

  • Mondriaanhuis

    Utrecht Province

    This small but absorbing museum honours the life and work of the famous De Stijl artist Piet Mondrian (1872–1944) in the house where he was born.

  • Museum Catharijneconvent

    Utrecht

    Museum Catharijneconvent has the finest collection of medieval religious art in the Netherlands – virtually the history of Christianity, in fact – housed…

  • Domtoren (Cathedral Tower).

    Domtoren

    Utrecht

    Utrecht's most striking medieval landmark, this 112m tower is worth the 465-step climb for unbeatable city views: on a clear day you can see Amsterdam…

  • Kasteel de Haar

    Utrecht Province

    The nation's biggest moated castle is a remarkable feast of Gothic spires, turrets and portcullis gates. It has a glorious chapel, and is surrounded by a…

  • Spoorweg Museum

    Utrecht

    Entered through a gloriously restored 1874 station with magnificent art-nouveau chandeliers, the national railway museum offers countless historic locos,…

  • Onze Lieve Vrouwe Toren

    Utrecht Province

    This 15th-century Gothic tower is Amersfoort's defining architectural icon. It's the only surviving component of a church that was otherwise destroyed by…

  • Kasteel Amerongen

    Utrecht Province

    Kasteel Amerongen is a moated, rectilinear castle-mansion whose sumptuous salons can be perused by joining an hourly guided tour (in Dutch). If you just…

  • Centraal Museum

    Utrecht

    More than half the museum's 10 gallery-rooms feature temporary exhibitions (so check the schedules). Meanwhile the core collection takes a thought…

  • Heksenwaag

    Utrecht Province

    Stepping on to the 'witch-weighing' scales is the main attraction of Oudewater's little Heksenwaag (Witches’ Weighing House), though it's also worth…

  • Miffy Museum

    Utrecht

    Designed to delight young children (age two to six), this bold, touch-everything play-museum celebrates beloved cartoon rabbit Miffy (or Nijntje as she's…

  • Sonnenborgh Museum & Observatory

    Utrecht

    The Sonnenborgh is actually two museums in one: upstairs has an exhibit on the history of astronomy in an 1850 building that was once among the foremost…

  • Utrechtse Heuvelrug National Park

    Utrecht Province

    Cycling and hiking is ideal in this 65km green arc east of Utrecht city. The national park has the Netherlands' second-largest sweep of wildlife-rich…

  • Pyramide van Austerlitz

    Utrecht Province

    One of the oddest rural landmarks south of Amersfoort is a 36m-high pyramid-shaped hill that was originally built in 1804 to keep some 18,000 French…

  • Huis Doorn

    Utrecht Province

    Set in beautifully tended parkland in otherwise forgettable Doorn, this refined, art-filled manor house had numerous owners, but none more infamous than…

  • Wijk bij Duurstede

    Utrecht Province

    Wijk's delightful canal-ringed antique core includes a street of cafes and galleries (Peperstraat) behind the distinctive church (on Markt) and a very…

  • Museum Speelklok

    Utrecht

    Within an old church, discover a colourful collection of self-playing organs, musical boxes and assorted mechanised noise-makers dating from the 18th…

  • Paushuize

    Utrecht

    You can't usually go inside unless attending a conference here, but it's well worth admiring the exterior of this splendid 500-year-old mansion which was…

  • Kade Museum

    Utrecht Province

    This boldly designed gallery hosts large-scale temporary exhibitions devoted to contemporary visual artists or themes. The gallery closes for around three…

  • Koppelpoort

    Utrecht Province

    This 1425 gateway guards the northwest entrance of what was once the city wall. It was given a Pierre Cuypers Gothic-revival restoration in the 1880s and…

  • Sint-Willibrod-Kerk

    Utrecht

    Easily missed, this 1877 neo-Gothic church has a gorgeously colourful interior with splendid stained glass, pattern-painted columns and plentiful gilt…

  • Museum voor het Kruideniersbedrijf

    Utrecht

    Tucked into a narrow lane is this charming replica of an old grocery store, where apron-costumed people sell sweets and tea by weight from decorative…

  • Pandhof

    Utrecht

    Between the Domkirk and Academiegebouw, a gateway leads through to this charming little formal garden ringed by 15th-century Gothic cloisters.

  • Pieterskerk

    Utrecht

    His body has gone, but the 1054 sarcophagus of Utrecht's Prince-Bishop Bernold still lies in the crypt of the 1048 Pieterskerk. That's one of four Utrecht…

  • Sint Joriskerk

    Utrecht Province

    If the tower of the Sint Joriskerk appears to be popping out of the roof, that's because it's all that remains of the original 13th-century church; the…

  • Universiteitsmuseum

    Utrecht

    Utrecht University's work is highlighted through exhibitions on current research plus past glories evoked through a late-19th-century classroom, historic…

  • Academiegebouw

    Utrecht

    Behind a distinctively spired, neo-Renaissance facade dating from 1892, lie the much older ceremonial buildings of Utrecht's multisite university. The…

  • Flora's Hof

    Utrecht

    This petite walled garden, tucked behind the Steven Sterk bookshop, makes a peaceful retreat from which to stare up and observe the Domtoren.

  • Domkerk

    Utrecht

    The cathedral's eastern end survived the 1674 hurricane and now forms a curiously truncated – if still impressive – place of prayer.