Maastricht in 3 days

Grotten van Sint Pietersberg (Caves of Sint-Pietersberg — the limestone hill to the south of Maastricht: 20,000m of tunnels carved into the Maastrichtian limestone (the 'mergel' — the soft Upper Cretaceous limestone (65–72 million years old; the Maastrichtian stage of geological time was named after Maastricht because the limestone cliffs of Sint Pietersberg were the defining location where this geological period was first described and classified by the Dutch geologist Pieter Harting in 1853); the caves (the caves were carved by centuries of quarrying: each cubic metre of stone removed created approximately 1 metre of tunnel; the quarrying began in Roman times (the oldest Roman-era quarry marks (graffiti scratched into the cave walls) date from the 2nd–3rd century CE) and continued until the 20th century)): the wartime use (the caves were used as a shelter during both World Wars: in 1944, during the allied liberation of Maastricht, approximately 20,000 Maastricht civilians sheltered in the Sint-Pietersberg caves for several weeks while the fighting raged above)): the art (the cave walls are covered with approximately 50,000 drawings and inscriptions from the past 600 years). Guided tour only: €9.

Helpoort (Sint Bernardusklooster 24 — the 'Hell Gate': the oldest surviving city gate in the Netherlands (built c. 1229 CE): the gate formed part of the first defensive wall of Maastricht (the first ring of city walls: built 1229–1350); the name ('Helpoort' = 'Hell Gate' in Dutch; the gate earned this name because the municipal plague hospital (the 'pesthuisje') was located immediately outside the gate — the dying and the dead passed through the 'Hell Gate' to the plague quarantine facilities): the structure (a round tower (diameter 7m, height 15m) of grey Maastrichtian limestone with a single pointed archway for pedestrian and cart passage; the portcullis groove (the slot in the archway through which the wooden portcullis (the defensive gate that could be lowered to close the archway) would be dropped — still visible in the stonework); the walls (the section of the first ring city wall adjacent to the Helpoort is the best-preserved medieval fortification wall in the Netherlands: 200m of the original 1229 wall, 8m high, with the original walkway)). Free.

Selexyz Dominicanen (Dominicanerkerkstraat 1 — the most beautiful bookshop in the world (Lonely Planet, The Guardian, and numerous travel publications have used this exact phrase)): the building (the Dominicanenkerk (Dominican Church — 1294 CE) was the most important Dominican church in the Netherlands; secularised at the time of the French Revolutionary occupation of Maastricht (1796); converted to a book market (1794), a storage warehouse, an archive, and (since 2007) a bookshop): the conversion (the bookshop design (Merkx+Girod Architecten, Amsterdam) placed a three-level steel mezzanine structure inside the Gothic nave — the books are arranged on steel shelves along the mezzanine levels, and the café is in the former choir (the most spectacular café setting in any bookshop in the world: the café occupies the 14th-century Gothic apse, with the original medieval stained glass above and the café tables below); the nave (the original Gothic nave is preserved intact — the 16th-century murals discovered during the 2006 restoration are visible behind glass panels in the floor)). Free to enter.

Sint Servaasbrug (the oldest bridge in the Netherlands (the 'Sint Servaas Bridge' — first built in Roman times as a military crossing; the current medieval bridge dates from 1280 CE): the bridge (a 12-arch stone bridge (175m total length; 5m wide) crossing the Maas River from the historic city centre to the Wyck district): the bridge at dusk (the Sint Servaasbrug at sunset is the finest viewpoint in Maastricht: looking south along the Maas, the Bonnefantenmuseum dome is visible on the right bank; looking north, the Wijk quarter roofline and the tower of the Sint-Januskerk reflect in the calm Maas water); the Maas River (the Maas (the Dutch name for the Meuse River — the river that flows from the Langres Plateau in France through the Belgian Ardennes and the Dutch province of Limburg to the sea): at Maastricht the Maas is 150m wide; the current (2–3 knots in normal conditions, 5–7 knots in spring flood) is visible from the bridge arches; the river barges (the Rhine-Maas freight barges that are the most important freight transport in the Netherlands and Belgium pass through Maastricht continuously)). Free.

Aachen (30km east of Maastricht, in Germany; the easiest and most significant day trip from Maastricht — accessible by bus (Arriva Bus 44, 50 min, €5.50 return) or by car (30 min)): the history (Aachen was the capital city of Charlemagne (Karl der Grosse — Charles the Great: King of the Franks (768–814 CE) and the first Holy Roman Emperor (crowned by Pope Leo III on Christmas Day, 800 CE); the most important political figure in European history between Julius Caesar and Napoleon)): the Aachen Cathedral (Aachener Dom — UNESCO World Heritage 1978; the most important early medieval building in northern Europe): the Palatine Chapel (the octagonal chapel built by Charlemagne (796–805 CE): the most intact surviving Carolingian building in the world (the chapel was built as Charlemagne's private palace chapel and was modelled on the Byzantine church of San Vitale in Ravenna (built 548 CE); the marble columns (requested by Charlemagne from the Pope who had them removed from Byzantine buildings in Rome and Ravenna and shipped to Aachen)): Charlemagne's throne (the marble throne on which 31 Holy Roman Emperors were crowned between 814 and 1531 CE). Free exterior; €4 treasury.

Onze-Lieve-Vrouweplein (the 'Our Lady Square' — the most intimate square in Maastricht: a small (50m × 40m) baroque square in the southern part of the old city, dominated by the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwebasiliek (the Basilica of Our Lady — the most beloved church in Maastricht: a Romanesque fortified church (11th century) with the most unusual feature: an enclosed and fortified west front (the western façade looks like a fortress rather than a church — the massive round-arched western block with round towers (the 'Westwerk': the Carolingian-influenced fortified western section typical of Rhineland Romanesque architecture)); the interior (the most important feature: the Star of the Sea (Sterre der Zee) — the medieval statue of Our Lady of Maastricht (a 14th-century wooden figure of the Virgin Mary that is the most venerated religious object in Maastricht); the Onze-Lieve-Vrouweplein has the finest outdoor café terraces in Maastricht — quieter than the Vrijthof, more intimate, and preferred by Maastricht residents). Free.

Limburgse Vlaai (the most important food item in Limburg and the defining food culture of Maastricht — the 'vlaai': a flat, round, open-face tart (30–32cm diameter; 2–3cm deep) with a thin yeast pastry base (the 'vla-bodem' — the yeast-raised pastry crust of the vlaai: made from white wheat flour, yeast, milk, butter, and salt; the dough rises for 1 hour before being rolled thin (3–4mm), placed in a round tart tin, filled, and baked); the fillings: (1) cherry (the most traditional: the 'kriekenvlaai' — with sour cherries (the 'Griottines' variety: small, dark, intensely sour cherries preserved in sugar syrup) arranged in a tight grid pattern on the pastry and baked without a covering pastry); (2) rice pudding (the 'rijstevlaai' — the rice pudding vlaai: the most consumed in Maastricht (the 'rice tart' is considered more refined than the fruit versions); (3) the 'strooivlaai' (the crumble vlaai: the pastry base is topped with a butter-flour-sugar crumble rather than a fruit filling): the best vlaai in Maastricht: Vlaaibakkerij Harry Klerks (Ezelmarkt 1). €2.50–4 per slice.

Genever (the Dutch gin — the most important traditional spirit of the Netherlands and the direct ancestor of English gin (the English learned to distill juniper-flavoured spirit from the Dutch soldiers who brought genever to England during the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648); the resulting English adaptation was called 'gin' (a corruption of the Dutch/French word 'genever' (Dutch genever → English genever → gin)): the genever types: (1) Jonge genever (young genever — the most consumed type: lighter and more neutral-tasting than old genever; the Jonge genever was developed in the 1950s when distillers reduced the malt wine content (the 'mout wijn' — the whisky-like distillate that gives old genever its distinctive character) and increased the neutral grain spirit content); (2) Oude genever (old genever — the original style: a slightly sweet, complex, malt-whisky-influenced spirit with prominent juniper and the characteristic 'moutwijn' caramel-vanilla notes)); the Maastricht genever culture (the Burgundian character of Maastricht means the city has a particularly developed drinking culture compared to the more Calvinist north; the Vrijthof and Wyck area bars serve an extensive selection of Dutch and Belgian genevers). Genever: €2.50–4 per shot.