GETTING THERE
ANDRÉ RIEU will be performing in Maastricht from July 4 to 22. One night’s B&B accommodation plus tickets to the concert starts from €308 for two. Visit andrerieu.com/en/maastricht-2018.
Ryanair flies to Brussels from €85 return pp. Onward connections to Liège cost from €39. A local train to Maastricht costs from about €5.67.
It’s one of the oldest cities in Holland, just a stone’s-throw from the Belgian and German borders, and gets its name from the Romans who called it Traiectum ad Mosam or ‘Crossing at the Meuse’.
From Roman times to the Second World War, it has been coveted by many conquerors and liberators. It has been under siege several times, and has been claimed by both Spain and France.
You can feel the French influence in the city and in the local Mestreechs dialect there are still a number of French words in use. The city’s rich past means it has spectacular sights spanning the Romanesque, Renaissance and baroque periods, and churches and museums in abundance.
One church I make sure to visit every year is the Basilica of Our Lady, much of which dates from the 11th Century. It has a majestic and spiritual feel, and a steady stream of people come to admire its beauty within and light candles for loved ones.
The Basilica is situated in Onze Lieve Vrouweplein – the Square of Our Lady – which is often packed with people making the most of the pavement cafes that surround it.
The largest square in the city is the Vrijthof, which has attracted crowds since medieval times when pilgrims came to see the grave of Saint Servatius, the city’s first bishop.
Maastricht’s charm is in its squares, always teeming with people eating, drinking and enjoying themselves.
There is a laid-back feel, but the locals are always wonderfully friendly and give you a warm welcome.
It’s easy enough to walk around Maastricht and see the key sights, or you can do as many of the locals do – they are Dutch, after all – and cycle. If you head up to Fort Sint Pieter, the highest point in the area, you can get a great view of the surrounding area.
The locals call the area Klein Zwitserland, or Little Switzerland, as the rest of the Netherlands is so flat. Once you’ve admired the view you can take a look underground with a tour around the St Pietersberg caves – miles of tunnels excavated over the centuries, and used as a refuge during the Second World War. Back above ground there are several green spaces to stroll around. The Aldenhofpark is set against the backdrop of the old city walls, and there you will find a statue of D’Artagnan, who was immortalised in Alexandre Dumas’s Three Musketeers, but in truth was a captain of Louis XIV’s Musketeers of the Guard. He died at Maastricht in the first Franco-Dutch war of 1673, and his statue bears the Musketeers’ famous oath ‘one for all, all for one’ in French.
It is the perfect photo opportunity, but be prepared for the inevitable accompanying shouts of ‘En garde!’ As well as the plentiful sightseeing opportunities, there is also a great variety of shops, all in a compact area. There are designer boutiques, department stores, and home shops.
To keep your energy levels up it is definitely worth trying the local speciality – a sweet pastry treat called vlaai.
There are bakeries crammed full of them in the mornings but you have to get there early as they sell like veritable hot cakes – just like those André Rieu tickets.