Welcome to our house. We hope you will have a great time in Utrecht. Here is some practical information and a few of our favourite places in and around the city.
Practical information
Public transport
There is a bus stop about 50 metres from the house. When you walk out the door, turn right and then right again. Bus number 2 takes you to Utrecht Centraal. You can also walk to the station, which takes about 15 minutes.
From Utrecht Central Station there is a train to Amsterdam every 10 to 15 minutes. You can check routes and schedules on the app of NS Dutch Railways.
WiFi
Network: ZIGGO4780444
Password: 9xf2unhsxrgbSjrz
Network: VodafoneMobileWiFi-FEC1
Password: 34p4KP4k
Smoking
Please note that smoking is not permitted inside the house.
Garbage
Plastic garbage bags can be found under the sink.
The bags can be placed outside at the corner of Vrouwjuttenhof, where the collection area is marked on the road. This can be done on Wednesday or Sunday evening after 19:00, or the next morning (Monday & Thursday’s) before 09:00.
Cooking
You can use the gas stove by pressing and turning the switches at the same time.
Quooker
The Quooker tap gives boiling water. Press the button down and turn it to the right.
Dishwasher
Dishwasher tablets can be found under the sink.
Heating
In summer the heating is generally off. If this feels too cold you can turn it on and adjust the temperature manually.
Nice places in Utrecht
Shopping
Some nice streets for shopping are Twijnstraat, Nachtegaalstraat, Burgemeester Reigerstraat, Zadelstraat and the streets around the Oudegracht canals.
At the VVV, next to the Dom Tower, you can buy maps with nice walks in and around the city for a few euros. These walks bring you to secret gardens and places you probably will not find on your own. Recommended!
Food and groceries
If you like good food then you are in the right place in Utrecht. In the Twijnstraat, just left when you walk out the door, you will find: an Albert Heijn supermarket, Persepolis for specialty foods, Kazerij for cheese, Fishes for fresh fish and a good butcher. Also there are many good bakeries in the neighboorhood:
Bakeries:
- KEEK, with organic bread and coffee to go
- Vlaamsch Broodhuys, lots of good bread and pastries
- Kameel, bread and viennoiserie
- Bond and Smolders, with some of the best pastries in town
Coffee and breakfast:
There are many good coffee places around, but these are some of our favourites:
- KEEK – Twijnstraat, for coffee or lunch
- Cafe Elize – Mariaplaats, for coffee and cakes
- Tijm – Donkere Gaard, for coffee, breakfast or lunch
- Koffieleute and BROEI near Oosterkade, both independent cafés with a creative, slightly alternative atmosphere, focus on organic or durable
- Blackbird Coffee: ideal for a coffee to go while walking along the canals
Ice-creams:
- LUCA IJssalon Nobelstraat
- Roberto Gelato Poortstraat
Going out
Cinemas
Two nice small cinemas are nearby:
Louis Hartlooper Complex at Ledig Erf
Springhaver Theater on Springweg
Museums
- Centraal Museum is on Lange Nieuwstraat, just right when you walk out the door and turn right again.
- Next to it is the Nijntje Museum, with activities for children.
- The Spoorwegmuseum is also great, especially for kids.
Bars and wine
Wines:
- Bar Bet (Donkere Gaard)
- Talud9 (weekends only)
- Bar Cava Ganzenmarkt
- Café België (if you are more into beers)
Bars:
- Café Orloff: crowded in weekends, sitting outside
- De Poort at Ledig Erf (simple but always crowdy, they have games and pub quizes)
- Café ’t Oude Pothuys at Oudegracht: live music daily, in a historic basement
Restaurants
Making a reservation is often needed in Utrecht, especially in the weekends.
The restaurants directly along the canals are usually a bit more touristy and often a bit more simple in terms of food quality.
Some nice resataurants we really like are:
- Wilhelminapark, very nice to sit outside with a view over the park
- Terroir, more high end, just around the corner, a bit more traditional but excellent food
- San Siro, a very good Italian restaurant
- Bar Bet, smaller dishes, good quality and nice wines
- Jus & Pepper, mix of food cultures, good wines
- 273, more high end and culinary
A nice street to walk through and have drinks or dinner in summer is the Drieharingenstraat. The restaurants here are a bit more accessible and easy going.
Outside Utrecht
For a long walk or run:
Theehuis Rhijnauwen is a great restaurant with lots of good pancakes for lunch or early dinner. They have a beautiful terrace along the Kromme Rijn river. You can run there or even kayak there or take a boat from the city centre.
De Veldkeuken is in the same area and also very nice. You can cycle there or take the bus and walk along the Kromme Rijn. Great bread and lunch.
Sports
- There is a gym about 200 metres away: Newstyle Healthcenters Oudegracht.
- A nice running route is along the Kromme Rijn. Run towards Ledig Erf, cross the street and go left into the small road along the water. You can run all the way to Rhijnauwen and make a loop back to Utrecht, around 12 km in total.
- You can also do a nice 5 km run around the Singel canals.
- There are two ‘Boules Bars’ in Utrecht where you can play Jeu de Boules and have drinks. The Boules Club and Jeu de Boules Bar.
- There are many places in Utrecht where you can rent bikes for a few days.
- 150 meter from our house you can rent kano’s to go around in the canals of Utrecht.
- When you want to go out for a long ride then cycling along the Vecht in the direction of Amsterdam is really nice.
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to send us a message on +31648511711
Re-bookings can be also be done directly via the above number.
Imo and Patricia