48 Hours in Utrecht: the Dutch city that gives Amsterdam a run for its money

Utrecht is also incredibly easy to reach from the UK.

The Eurostar to Rotterdam Centraal is around three and a half hours, and from there it is a straightforward onward train to Utrecht Centraal, taking just over 40 minutes on average. In other words, leave London in the morning and you can be wandering Utrecht’s cobbled streets by mid-afternoon.

For those of us in the north who might choose to fly for a weekend away, as an example, from Leeds Bradford Airport, it’s a 1 hour 10 min flight, then a direct 50 minute train from Schiphol to the centre of Utrecht – incredible!

Utrecht

Utrecht feels like Amsterdam’s cooler, calmer younger sibling. It has the postcard-pretty waterways and historic architecture, but it also has a more relaxed, lived-in feel. There are fewer stag or hen parties, (I didn’t even see one!) fewer selfie-stick bottlenecks and more of that lovely sense that you’ve stumbled upon somewhere that people actually live, cycle, eat, drink and linger.

That youthful buzz comes as Utrecht is a proper student city, with around 20% of its population made up of students.  This means there is a lively, creative energy that spills out into its cafés, bars, vintage shops, vegan restaurants and music venues.

The city’s medieval centre wraps around the Oudegracht, or Old Canal, where the water sits below street level and old wharf cellars have been transformed into atmospheric cafés, restaurants, bars and little independent spaces.

These canal-side wharves are one of Utrecht’s most distinctive features. Built in the Middle Ages, they were originally used for transporting and storing goods, helping bring prosperity to the city. Today, they give Utrecht a layered canal scene where you can walk at street level, then dip down to the water’s edge for coffee, lunch, wine or simply a slower view of the city.

Friday: A gentle wander

After arriving into Utrecht Centraal, drop your bags at your hotel and make your way towards the old centre. I stayed at the Conscious Hotel which is the perfect base for discovering Utrecht on foot, and a brilliant choice for travellers looking for a greener city stay with thoughtful initiatives such as bike hire and a 100% organic breakfast.  The Conscious Hotel makes sustainable exploring easy and still delivers on style, comfort and atmosphere.

Utrecht is wonderfully walkable, and the first evening is best kept simple: a gentle wander, a drink by the canal and dinner somewhere cosy.

Start around the Oudegracht and take your time having a look around. The canals are especially pretty at dusk, when the lights begin to glow along the water. There is a lovely Friday-night feeling: friends spilling into bars, bikes rattling over cobbles and the whole city feeling social and full of life.

For dinner, make the most of Utrecht’s brilliant café and casual dining culture. I’m going to suggest Broei, on Oosterkade, a canal side café/restaurant where you can sit and watch the world go by. The food is as local and as home-made as possible every day and ‘vegetables are the leading star’ – you can even see their home-made Kombucha that they are fermenting on display on the shelves!

If plant based isn’t your thing, Oosterkade is home to plenty of other options, all with lovely terraces facing the water.

Enjoy the relaxed evening atmosphere, before you head back to your hotel for a good night’s sleep to get you ready for the morning.

Saturday morning: Dom Tower, coffee and the old city

Start Saturday with coffee and breakfast at one of Utrecht’s many cafés. My choice would be Life’s a Peach’ on Korte Lauwerstraat – another plant-based beauty, with some of the best pastries in town.  I first visited here with a small group, where I was the only person who didn’t eat meat, and it’s worth saying that everyone in the group LOVED the food here.

Utrecht is a city that takes lingering seriously, so don’t rush it. Once you’ve found your spot with good coffee, relax, take your time and enjoy it.

Then make your way to the Dom Tower, no trip to Utrecht is complete without visiting Utrecht’s great landmark and the tallest church tower in the Netherlands. It’s 112 metres high, and it was originally part of the Cathedral, but the nave collapsed during a violent storm leaving the tower standing separately from the church. Climb its 465 steps and you’re rewarded with sweeping views across Utrecht’s red rooftops, canals and, on a clear day, far beyond the city. It is the city’s navigation point; wherever you are, you seem to catch a glimpse of it between buildings. Around the base of the tower, there some incredibly picturesque streets, alleyways and gardens.

From here, spend the morning exploring the historic centre on foot. Duck into courtyards, cross little bridges, browse independent shops and follow the Oudegracht.  Utrecht feels really cosy when compared to Amsterdam, you still get the canals and the architecture, but it is easier to move around and easier to feel like you have found a special ‘undiscovered’ corner of the city.

Saturday afternoon: canals, wharf cellars and culture

The big shopping centre in Utrecht is Hoog-Catherijne – in case you wanted to do a little shopping – but head downstairs and the canals run right under it – you can pick up a boat tour here and see the city from a totally different angle

The low-level buildings and wharf cellars with their practical medieval design is part of what makes Utrecht feel so special: cafés and restaurants tucked into old cellars, terraces right by the water, and a canal system that feels more immersive than Amsterdam’s grander, busier waterways.

For a hit of culture, visit the Centraal Museum or if you have the children with you the Nijntje (or Miffy) Museum is a cute place to visit with lots of interactive exhibits & super-cute Miffy memorabilia. Utrecht being Miffy’s home-town of course!

Another popular attraction, in the heart of the city, the Neude Library is a major, modern central branch of the Utrecht Library housed in a beautifully renovated 1924 monumental post office. It’s such a beautiful building to wander around and set in a bustling square, surrounded by bars and café’s.  If you’re a budding writer, you can submit your own work to the library and people can check it out to read, whether it’s hand-written, typed up, or you’ve self-published.

Saturday evening: vegan food, bars and a youthful buzz

By Saturday evening, Utrecht really comes into its own. This is where that young, hustle-bustle energy shows up: busy terraces, full bars, students on bikes, music drifting out of doorways and restaurants buzzing.  Start your evening with cocktails at Karel V, a beautiful hotel bar set in a 14th-century former monastery and military hospital elegant, impressive and steeped in history.

For dinner I’d suggest Copper Branch, one of the city’s vegan-friendly restaurants. Utrecht has a strong plant-based food scene, and you will find everything from casual bowls and street-food-style eats to cosy cafés and more polished dinner spots. It is a particularly good city for mixed groups too, where one person wants vegan food, another wants something hearty, and nobody wants dinner to feel like a compromise.

Afterwards, head back towards the canal for drinks, or try one of the bars around the old centre. The atmosphere is lively but not exhausting. That is Utrecht’s magic: it gives you the weekend-city buzz without making you feel like you need a weekend to recover from it.

Sunday morning: slow coffee, bikes and final wanderings

Sunday morning in Utrecht should be slow. If it’s available, book a vegan food tour with V for Food, that way your breakfast lasts all morning as you wander the streets tasting pastries and coffee while your guide shares the cities secrets with you.

After you’ve had your fill, hire bikes for a gentle ride or spend your final few hours exploring the quieter lanes away from the main canal.

If you want one final cultural stop, choose a small museum, some of the thrift or vinyl shops before heading back to the train station to get to Rotterdam or Amsterdam for your onward journey.

For a 48-hour Dutch city break by train (or plane), it might just be the perfect weekend.

By Sally Bendall

Image credits Sally Bendall & Dreamstime