Tourist attractions Zeist

The late-Gothic former monastery of St John of Malta and a neighbouring house from the 18C bring together religious art collections tracing the history of Christianity in the Netherlands from its beginnings to today (liturgical vestments, manuscripts..

This museum has a rich section on painting and the decorative arts from Utrecht and its surrounding area. Some furnished rooms are dedicated to the decorative arts in the years 1625, 1750 and 1975. Gold and silversmiths’ work , a dolls' house fr..

Restored after the death (1985) of the owner Madame Schröder, this house was built in 1924. Internationally famous, it illustrates to perfection the architectural trends of the De Stijl movement to which the architect G. Rietveld belonged: elemen..

Built from 1321 to 1382 in the Gothic style and restored at the start of the century, this campanile influenced many native belfries. It is the highest one in the country. It was once linked by an arch to the nave of the cathedral that was destroyed ..

The very shady canals in the centre of Utrecht (Oudegracht and Nieuwegracht) have the peculiarity of being bordered by a quay much lower than street level. There are vaulted cellars there.

The road is flanked by canals crossed by small bridges one of which leads to a house surrounded by a smart garden. Embedded between green isthmuses and flooded by gentle light, the lakes of Loosdrecht, which are in old peat bogs, stretch over around ..

This museum contains the collections assembled by the university since its foundation in 1636: anatomical objects and wax models, medical instruments (collections of dental and ophthalmic medicine in the Open Depot section), stuffed animals, foss..

This museum is in the old Maliebaan station and brings together films, pictures, documents and models on the history of Dutch railways. More than 60 locomotives, wagons and trams are exhibited on the disused tracks. As well as a signal box and a stat..

This canal is crossed by many bridges and crosses the town from one side to the other. At its start it joins the Rhine and the Vecht. It is one of livelier centres in the town, both on its upper and lower quays. Among the attractive buildings along t..

This sound museum is set up in the old Buurkerk church hall and has a magnificent collection of mechanical music instruments from the 18C to the 20C. There you will see old metronomes, music boxes (some with automata), pianolas and "orchestrio..

The tall silhouette of the transept of the old cathedral was miraculously preserved at the time of the hurricane in 1674. These two Gothic parts (1254-1517) were built on the site of the cathedral of St Martin, which was destroyed by fire. Notice the..

This attractive Romanesque church (1048) was affected by the Walloon Protestant worshippers in 1656. Janskerk and this one are the only remains of four churches which once formed a cross around the cathedral and formed the Cross of Bernold (a Bisho..

This beautiful Gothic tower from the 15C is 100 metres high and is the former belfry of a church destroyed in 1787. It is situated in a large, quiet square: Lieve Vrouwekerkhof (flower market every Friday morning). Built in brick, the tower is surmou..

This beautiful double gateway was built around 1400. It is comprised of a reinforced bridge over the Eem made up of a lock, a double treadmill in the centre and the actual gate itself, which is flanked by turrets. This is a meeting place for the logg..

These famous "rampart houses" built on or backing on to the first of the town's perimeter walls, have come to be a symbol of the town. They date back to the 15C. From Havik, taking the Bloemendalse Binnenpoort you'll see lovely muurhuizen b..

Completed in 1931, this work by Duko (1884-1974) is a series of terraced, mostly cubic shapes, the volumes of which, all different and are superimposed on one another or harmoniously juxtaposed. The whole thing, which plays tricks on the eye with h..

This enormous brick-built castle (the largest in the Netherlands),is surrounded by a moat and dates from the 14C and 15C. Burnt down by Louis XIV's soldiers, it was rebuilt from 1892 onwards by the architect P.J.H. Cuypers in the neo-Gothic style. ..

This castle was built between 1677 and 1686 by William of Nassau-Odijk. The interior is by Daniël Marot. In 1713 the Treaty of Utrecht was signed here. Now restored, the building is now a cultural centre. On either side of the alley which leads to ..

Built at the end of the 19C in the neo-Renaissance style, the university encompasses the old capitulary room of the cathedral ( kapittelzaal, 1409) and a large modern amphitheatre ( Aula ). It was here that the Union of Utrecht was signed on January..

Disheartened napoleon soldiers built a pyramid of sand here in 1804. It was hidden by vegetation, and re-discovered in 1894. It has been restored with the addition of a stairway and is topped by a small commemorative monument.