Subscribe

©Baarssen Fokke/Alamy Stock Photo

Gelderland

The largest Dutch province, Gelderland embraces a lush green landscape of vast heathlands, forests, corn fields and meandering dykes. During WWII, its capital, Arnhem, was heavily bombed and its river bridges destroyed during the disastrous Operation Market Garden, but the town has since risen from the ashes to become a sparky, modern place with appealing museums and parks.

To the north lies the serene Hoge Veluwe National Park, home to one the country's best art museums and sculpture parks, and a myriad of nature-rich cycling and walking trails. In the south of the province, practically within spitting distance of the border with Germany, big city Nijmegen on the banks of the Waal River honours its distant Roman origins and buzzes with creative energy thanks to its notable student population.

Top attractions

These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Gelderland.

  • See

    Honigcomplex

    No address reflects the city's youthful zest more than this soup factory-turned-entrepreneurial hub, 1.5km west of Grote Markt by the river. Until 2022 the gargantuan industrial space is open to creatives. Among the 140 companies to already move in are coffee roaster Blommers; microbreweries Oersoep and Bloom; Galerie Bart showcasing the work of young upcoming Dutch artists; a designer furniture shop; and a chocolate bar/ It is also a happening venue for dance parties, gigs, children's workshops etc. Dutch household name Honig produced wheat starch and later soups, vermicelli and other dried food products at the Honigcomplex from 1914 until 2012, when the waterfront factory, bought out by Heinz a decade earlier, closed.

  • See

    Nationaal Fietsmuseum Velorama

    Down by the riverfront is this museum with more than 250 bicycles: everything from 19th-century wooden contraptions and hand-propelled bikes to an entire room devoted to penny farthings, plus more modern machines. It's a must-see for anyone who has marvelled at the Dutch affinity for two-wheelers.

  • See

    Grote Markt

    Thankfully, Nijmegen's sweeping market square was among the few parts of the old town to survive WWII. Open-air markets are still held here each week on Saturday and Monday, while ornate Dutch Renaissance De Waagh – built in 1612 – is now a popular cafe. In the middle of the square is the statue of a repentant Mariken van Nieumeghen, a maiden from late medieval Dutch literature who was seduced by Moenen ('the devil') and spent seven years living in sin. At the crossroads of Burchtstraat, Broerstraat and Grotestraat, a blueish stone embedded in the pavement marks the spot where public executions used to be held.

  • See

    muZIEum

    On one of Nijmegen's main shopping streets, ride the escalator up to this unusual museum where visitors can experience what it is like (or as close as, at any rate) to be blind or partially sighted. English-language tours are held in absolute darkness and are themed: 'A Day in the Life of ..' or 'On Holiday with ..' (minimum age eight years). More daring is the one-hour tour through the city streets which, with the aid of virtual reality glasses simulating blindess, take you around town (minimum age 13 years). All tours require advance booking.

  • See

    Sint Stevenskerk

    From Grote Markt duck beneath the ornate Gothic Kerkboog (1542; Church Arch) – originally with cattle grid and pit beneath to prevent pigs from the market place escaping into the churchyard – to uncover this iconic church. It was built between the 13th and 15th centuries, but heavily bombed during WWII. Subsequent reconstruction of its classic reformist interior saw no expense spared with the whitewash or chandeliers. A hike up the 183 steps in the tower rewards with a marvellous city panorama.

  • See

    Valkhofpark

    Perched in a commanding position over the Waal River, the Valkhof is a lovely park and the site of a ruined palace begun by Charlemagne in the 8th century and continued by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa from 1155 (see it in better days in the Jan van Goyen painting at the museum across the way). All of it bar two side chapels was destroyed in 1796: admire the 16-sided Sint Nicolaaskapel, a rare example of Byzantine architecture in the Netherlands, and the ruined Sint Maartenskapel.

  • See

    De Waagh

    Built in 1612 in a Dutch Renaissance style, the ornate red-brick weigh house takes pride of place on Grote Markt. It was here that merchants and traders drove in with their wagons to have their wares weighed and sized before exiting on the market square to sell them. A huge pair of scales still hangs inside the beamed building, today a cafe-bar with partly cobbled flooring and giant wrought-iron chandeliers.

  • See

    Museum het Valkhof

    Changing temporary exhibitions form a substantial part of this regional history museum, at home in a striking glass shoebox-style building by Valkhof Park. Among the museum's rich collection of first-rate Roman artefacts is a column fragment from Nijmegen's Roman foundation, a replica of which doubles as a sundial on the square in front of the museum.

  • See

    Latijnse School

    An oft-overlooked gem, the Latin School stands beside Sint Stevenskerk. A fine example of Renaissance architecture dating to 1545 with sculpted figures of the 12 apostles on the facade, it somehow emerged intact from WWII. The two-headed eagle on the heraldic coat of arms above the doorway is a symbol of Nijmegen. It is now occupied by offices.