It was an 8-day trip in the summer of 2023. In this time of the year you can enjoy a warm weather in the Benelux states, but heavy storms could also happen. I traveled by train and I rented a car twice (in Gent for 1 day and in Breda for 2 days). The accommodations were in Ghent (3 nights), Den Bosch (1 night), Utrecht (2 nights) and Köln (1 night). On this trip I got to know two major cities of Belgium and the Netherlands (Gent and Utrecht) and around these two cities there are also a lot of interesting architectural beauties.
17.06.2023 – Ghent
The trip starts at the Main Station of Zurich. Got to Ghent by train with stops in Frankfurt and in Brussels. In the middle of the afternoon you reach Ghent and you can walk around the University District, where you can find a lot of contemporary architecture and street art. I found here everey corner something interesting: Book Tower by Henry van de Velde, University Forum and the Sint Lukas Art School Building by Xaveer de Geyter, the Winter Circus, the Vooruit Theater, States Archives by Robbrecht en Daem, the Musik Institute by Jan de Vylder (photo), the Steegbeluiken houses. I can recommend you to have an accommodation around the Museum of Fine Arts, because it is a very calm and nice area of the city.
18.06.2023 – Ghent
Spend the whole day in Ghent (photo) and enjoy the gothic heritage and channels of the city. You should see the St. Bavo Cathedral, where you can find the most famous gothic altar of the world: the Mystic Lamb by Hubert and Jan van Eyck. (Tip: you must book a ticket before your visit, otherwise you cannot see the altarpiece.) If you like museums you can take a visit at the Museum of Fine Arts (tip: you can see the painters, how they work on the restauration of the Mystic Lamb), S.M.A.K. Contemporary Art Museum, Design Museum Ghent. An other interesting places to visit the so called Beguinage or Begijnhof. There are 3 Beguinages in the city: Great St. Elisabeth-, Old St. Elisabeth Beguinage and the Small Beguinage Our Lady ter Hoyen. Beguinages came into existence in the 13th century and were meant for women who wanted to lead a devout life “together in isolation” without taking monastic vows. Nowadays these are calm places to live and they are “most to see” for architects.
19.06.2023 – Between Ghent and Kortrijk
Rent a car in Ghent and drive to the South. Oudenaarde is tiny town with a beautiful gothic town hall. Go further to Kortrijk, which is near the French border. Gastronomy is also a little bit French (tip: I can recommend Bistro Juste). Kotrijk has changed a lot in the last years and it became a vibrant town: the old industrial places are now places of culture and education. Visit the Isle of Buda (it is really an island between the rivers): Budafabriek by 51N4E, Tacktoren by Stéphane Beel. In Kortrijk there is also a Beguinage, which is similar to them in Ghent. Outside of the town you can visit the funeral chapel and the cemetery by Souto de Moura, which is very good pasted to the landscape. Drive further to Waregem and visit the office building of the Concordia Textiles company by Veincent van Duysen – it is really worth to see. Then go to the town Nevele and take a look at the old peoples home by 51N4E Architects. In the end of the day you arrive to Ghent and you give back the car.
20.06.2023 – Between Breda and Den Bosch
In the morning go to the Train Station of Ghent and go the Netherlands by train (with one stops in Antwerp). In Breda (NL) you can rent a car and drive to Eindhoven. In Eindhoven there a lot to see, but now I would have liked to see the refurbishment of the Veemgebouw by Caruso St. John Architects (photo) and the dwellings by BIQ Architects (“small high, big density”low rise, high desity” project). Go further to the national monument place of the town Vught. It was a concentration camp and nowadays it is a museum (designed by Claus en Kann Architects). In the afternoon you reach Den Bosch which is typical small dutch town with nice parks and channels.
21.06.2023 – Between Den Bosch and Utrecht
Start the day in the small town of Zaltbommel. The town is famous of its fortress based masterplan. Go further to Nijmegen near the German border. You can feel the German influence in the twn. Because the town was bombed in the second world war BIQ Architects could planed a totally new city centre with small to high town houses (photo). You can also find a museum by UN Studio. Drive further to one of the best museums of the world: Kröller-Müller Museum. The modern museum stands in a national park and th sculptures are exhibited in this green area. You can see many impressionalist paintings by Van Gogh, Georges Seurat, Paul Signac. In the park stand two nice modern scurpture pavilions by Gerrit Rietveld and Aldo van Eyck. (Tip: you should spend more time here than I – 2 hours is not enough).
22.06.2023 – Utrecht
Spend the whole day in Utrecht. Start it at the new dwelling (“low rise, high density”) Wisselspoor (photo), where you can find many residential typologies. Go to visit the House Schröder and the terraced houses by Gerrit Rietveld (tip: you have to book a quided tour for these houses). Not so far from the House Schröder you can see the famous semi-detached house by MVRDV. The old town of Utrecht is similar to Amsterdam: narrow houses, channels, boats. The symbol of the city is the belfry of the old cathedral (when I was there, I did not see it because of the scaffolding of the reconstruction works). The Domplein and the Kloostergang are very nice places, worth to visit. (Tip: if you would like to eat sea food, than I recommend the Sea Salt Saloon near Domplein.) In the old town you should visit the Hoofdpostkantoor (art nouveau building), the apartment house by Sluijmer+van Leeuwen, the town hall extension by Enric Miralles and the Vredenburg Music Centre by Herman Herzberger (it is unfortunatelly strongly rebuilt). If you would like to see the new districts of Utrecht, I can recommend you to go to Leidsche Rijn (also a train station). For example the housing complex by BIQ Architects was one of the first buildings on the new contruction site, but you will see a lot of new dwellings around this area.
23.06.2023 – Utrecht and Köln
In the morning you can visit the new University Campus of Utrecht. You will find a lot of architecture highlights: Minnaert Building by Neutelings Riedijk, NMR Facility Building by UN Studio, Campus Building by Mecanoo, University Library by Wiel Arets. The most interesting building on this site is the Educatorium by Rem Koolhaas (photo). After a lunch you leave Utrecht by train and go to Colonge (D), which you can reach in about 2.5 hours. You can visit the Columba Museum by Peter Zumthor and the famous gothic cathedral. I stayed one more nights here but you can take a flight to go back to home on this day.
And here are the maps (click on the upper left button and filter the maps – Flanders 2023+Gent 2023 and Hollandia 2023+Utrecht 2023):
ADAM BALOG 