Looking for a nice weekend destination? Eindhoven is a lovely city close to the Belgian border. Hire bicycles and explore the countryside and discover its shopping streets, interesting museums and great restaurants.
The city barely counted 1000 people in the 13th century but is now home to a diverse population of more than 200,000. Most of the old city, including its castle, was destroyed in the 80-year war. Luckily not everything was destroyed and you can still see traces of the old city today.
Eindhoven has a wide variety of museums that have something for everyone. Modern art lovers will thoroughly enjoy the Van Abbemuseum and historians will love the Eindhoven Museum a great open air museum just outside the ring road. There's also the PSV Museum and of course the Philips Museum in honour of the company that was founded here.
Between museums, walk around town and pop into the 19th-century Sint-Catharinakerk, go shopping in the Heuvel shopping mall and end the day at Strijp-S a vibrant part of town with numerous restaurants and shops in former Philips factories. The area around Eindhoven is also full of things to do. Hire bicycles and tour the area yourself or with a guide.
If you're already in the Netherlands and travelling to Eindhoven by train, the centre of town is just across the street from the train station. The city also has an excellent bus service should you wish to travel longer distances. If you're travelling around the Netherlands by car, park it in one of the many parking garages. If you want to park for free, head for the park and ride (P+R) parking lots at Meerhoven which is west of the city centre outside the ring road.
There's a direct train from Amsterdam that will have you in Eindhoven in 1h20 as well as direct trains from The Hague, Rotterdam, Utrecht, 's-Hertogenbosch and Tilburg. Alternatively you can fly direct to Eindhoven from Manchester and London Stansted, to Rotterdam from London City and of course to Amsterdam, from where you can catch a direct train to Eindhoven. If you're travelling by car, taking the Eurotunnel will get you to Eindhoven in 3.5 hours. The car ferry from Dover to Calais will take almost 5 hours, and the car ferry from Harwich to Hoek van Holland will take about 7 hours.
Eindhoven is a vibrant city with plenty of ways to spend a relaxing weekend.
