Here is a Valkenburg day trips guide to help you plan a nice excursion. Valkenburg’s ruins may seem intimidating sometimes, with castle and bomb shelters, a symbol of an albeit significant and beautiful past. Here are some recommendations.

Maastricht

Considered in 2005 as the best city in Netherlands, Maastricht is just 10 kilometers from Valkenburg. It’s quite easy to take different forms of transportation from Valkenburg to Maastricht, either via train or cars. The city is an especially popular destination because of its clean streets and vast open shopping areas. The city center is where most of its historical significance is located with structures such as St. Jan’s Cathedral, St. Servaas Church and also cultural significance with an open market on Wednesday and Friday. Most of Maastricht’s festivals are also held here, such as the winter and summer festival. The whole center is beautifully lit at night. You will also see many coffee shops or head shops, as they are called, where soft drugs can be purchased (considering legal age).

Heerlen

Approximately just 10 minutes away from Valkenburg, Heerlen is a quiet town which once had traces of being a Roman hub. Since then, Heerlen has went on to become part of a greater city project, Parkstad Limburg. Heerlen is more of an industrial town, but there are still plenty of natural wonders here such as Terworm, a park where different architectural wonders are also located, or Benzerade with its old farm village feel and black horses running around. Heerlen is also a great place for casual dining.