Eindhoven, NL

Sep 26, 2015

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Tips

• We tried to grab a snack in a local grocery store and they only excepted Maestro cards or cash. Just beware since most countries issue Visa or MasterCard.

• When landing in the Eindhoven Airport you can book a train or bus ticket to city center. Train is 8 Euro one way and bus is 3.50 Euro. We didn’t know this and followed huge signs leading to the train. So we bought a train ticket then couldn’t find the train but ended up riding the bus. By the way the bus ticket machine is right at the bus stop just outside the airport. The ride was only 20 minutes. I recommend the bus. Same for the return. You can buy bus tickets at a ticket counter in the central station.

• You can see most of  Eindhoven in a day. If I could have spent at least another half day in Eindhoven I think it would have been just the right amount of time.

• Eindhoven has great towns nearby by bike ride and also Amsterdam 55min by train. Its a great city to use as a home base.

• Most hotels offer bikes to borrow for the day. Many times they are free but our hotel charged 13 Euro for 24 hours. STILL WORTH IT.

 

Unique

Eindhoven has tons of great sculptures, art galleries and architecture. They have embraced their industrial past and created modern industrial galleries, restaurants and shops all over the city.

One of the most unique places to see is a short bike ride outside center city. There is a glow in the dark bike path that is inspired by Van Gogh’s Starry Night. You won’t know you are riding on it if your bike light is on so keep a look out. Also, my cell phone couldn’t capture the lights so make sure you bring a professional camera or know how to shoot at night. It can come across scary because it is pitch black on this path and often hard to see others on the path but definitely worth the trip.

*Photo compliments of Mic Rogers

 

Food & Drink

There are a few key restaurant streets where you can find all sorts of different foods. The 2 that we sought out ahead of time were below.

• Giornale Lifestyle Bar & Restaurant is the best Italian Food I have had outside of Italy. Yes, you read that right. Their décor has an industrial vibe and their food is rich in flavors. Don’t worry it not all pasta either. There is actually very little pasta options but many salad, soup and meat dishes.

• Kazerne is a place to go for a unique eating experience. The menu changes almost every 2 weeks and you eat dinner right in the middle of an art gallery. It’s a really neat experience and with wonderful food.

Also, I can’t leave out Bagel & Beans. This place is a chain, yes. However, it is not often that you can get a good bagel anywhere in the world. I live in a place that does NOT have bagels. I highly recommend them for breakfast. They also have wonderful coffee, teas and juices.

 

Budget

Grab a bike and spend a day riding to a nearby town called Nuenen. Van Gogh lived here and painted some of his first paintings in this town. You will understand why he was so inspired. It has beautiful homes and gardens and the bike paths take you through a nice downtown park with restaurants around it and through farms. You will see old windmills, farm raised deer that are excited to see visitors and eat grass that you feed them, and a lot of beauty no matter where you look. It was a VERY easy bike ride and at a slow wanderers pace it took about an hour to get from our hotel to Nuenen. By taking our time and getting lost on purpose we managed to make almost a whole day out of this. I recommend going one way and coming back a different way. We took a bunch of side street back and got to see some of the coolest houses and neighborhoods.

Also if you take the bike path along Professor Doctor Dorgelolaan on your way to Nuenen you will meet a very awesome bike roundabout with TONS of wall murals. There was a sweet one of Marty McFly from Back to the Future but unfortunately I didn’t manage to grab a photo.

If you want a budget snack or meal you will find TONS of vending machine/automats throughout center city. I can’t vouch for the quality as I didn’t actually eat any. But it could be a good budget option if needed.

 

Shopping

All of center city is filled with small walking street filled with shops. Luckily most stay open until 5 on Saturdays and even open at 12 on Sundays. Favorites?

Homestock Limited Editions: Eindhoven. Great design furniture and accessories. Will certainly inspire and tempt you to buy.

WAAR is another great mix of a store with tons of fair trade and environmentally friendly items. A great spot for some gifts if you like bringing things back for friends and family.

 

Downfalls

I must say that the downfall was actually discovering a really cool spot outside of the city on the bus ride back to the airport! It was just passed the Stadium and a bus stop called Strijp. There is an art space, a skate park and some cool street art. Not for certain that its a lot of stuff to do but I would have enjoyed roaming around there.

 

Travel Details

• Weekend trip: Sat-Mon

• September

• Leisure trip