Road Trippin’ the Low Countries - From Maastricht to Lille and Back

A proper mini grand tour through the Benelux - and, as it turned out, even a bit of France.

The trip started with a brief stopover on the way to Maastricht: good coffee, creative street art, and surprisingly green architecture rising from old industrial bones. Then straight into the heart of Maastricht for a guided walking tour full of history and flavour - house marks, the old city wall and Hell’s Gate, a working watermill, and Europe’s most beautiful bookstore set in a former church. Add the best Vlaai in town and a speakeasy cocktail bar, and Maastricht had us hooked from the start.

A short drive took us to Valkenburg - small, cute, and definitely on the touristy side. We explored the castle ruins and the velvet caves beneath, strolled through town, and enjoyed a sunny hike along the Geul river - in the rare Dutch “hills” no less. 

Next stop: the summit of the Netherlands. At a staggering 322.5 metres, Vaalserberg marks the meeting point of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany. A quick hike at this dizzying altitude 😄 was followed by pure relaxation at Spa Thermae 2000, then fine dining in a nearby château to end the day in style.

Back in Maastricht, we dug into some family history at the city archives (tracing the Schraven ancestry), climbed the narrow stairs of St. Janskerk’s tower, and ventured underground into the northern caves. In the late afternoon, we drove through heavy rain - and through Belgium and Germany - to Luxembourg, where sushi in Echternach made it four countries in two hours. 

Luxembourg greeted us with moody skies but stunning nature. We hiked a stretch of the Müllerthal Trail - a shorter route than planned due to forecasted downpours - but 15 km of forest, bizarre rock formations, and idyllic rivers made it worthwhile. After a “so-so” local apple pie, we checked out Vianden Castle (plus a quirky caricature exhibition on money) and the Schiessentümpel waterfall. The country’s compactness meant we crossed into Germany three times unintentionally while chasing bakeries and pretzels. 😆 Multilingual signs didn’t make things easier either - German, French, Dutch everywhere, English less so.

A rainy walking tour through Luxembourg City followed, where we learned why this tiny nation is among the world’s richest, before spending a cozy evening playing Scrabble and having drinks with some Zurich friends.

With the weather still grey, we started the next day underground again - the Caves of Han-sur-Lesse. Impressive stalactites and a great light show, though a bit crowded and partly flooded. Afterward, we wandered through charming Dinant, had ramen for lunch, stocked up on Belgian chocolates, and spent the rainy afternoon reading, drinking tea, and watching a series in our hotel - much needed downtime.

Then came a spontaneous twist: instead of visiting friends in Middelburg (down with a cold), we decided on a detour to France - hello Lille! The sun finally made an appearance, and to our surprise, our friends Artur and Kasia were there too. We spent the day enjoying French architecture, food, and plenty of beer (apparently Lille is the beer capital of France).

The next morning started with a stroll through Lille’s Citadelle park and coffee in the old town before heading back north. Two things happened upon crossing the Belgian–Dutch border: it started raining again, and petrol prices jumped from €1.60 to €2.20. Welcome home. 😂

A sunny afternoon awaited us in Delft, wandering its postcard-perfect canals and visiting the Royal Delft Museum. Our final stop was Rotterdam - modern, bold, and rebuilt from scratch after WWII. No quaint old town here, but striking architecture, cube houses, street art, and lively hipster bars around the harbour made it a great finale.

After 1,400 kilometres, four (well, five) countries, and countless cups of coffee, we rolled back home - a bit tired, very happy, and again reminded that adventures don’t always need to be far away.