48 hours in MAASTRICHT

‘A walled city on a beautiful river, with cobbled streets, stylish boutiques, grand squares and one of the world’s top antiques fairs, Maastricht in the Netherlands is steeped in history and charm, discovers Caroline Wheater

- Caroline Wheater

Maastrichtenaars. have a saying that life is good in Maastricht' - and the small city, in the region of Limburg in the south east of the Netherlands, has a laidback, unrushed vibe that suggests this is true.

At Maastricht's heart flows the river Maas (also known as the Meuse in French), a wide expanse of water that eventually drains into the North Sea. The river brought the Romans, merchants and prosperity, and enabled a major ceramics industry to develop in the 19th and 20th centuries. In more recent memory, the city hosted the signing of the Maastricht Treaty and the birth of the Euro, and, since 1988, it's been home to Europe's premier antiques fair, TEFAF: a temple to the finest art and antiques.

A vibrant university city, Maastricht is compact and easy to walk around. To the east of the river Maas is the railway station and the trendy Wyck area, where boutiques and bars vie for attention.

Walking west, across the 13thcentury Saint Servatius Bridge, is Binnenstad, which leads along winding cobbled streets to the city's two main squares. The Vrijthof is the grandest, and the location of Saint Servatius Basilica and its dazzling Treasury filled with gold, silver, textiles and spooky relics.

This expansive square, lined with cafes, also hosts local legend and star violinist, André Rieu's, annual outdoor concerts in July. Just a five-minute walk away is the more down-to-earth Markt Square, where bustling markets are held every Wednesday and Friday.

What to see

To get a handle on the city's cultural credentials, a trip to the riverside Bonnefanten art gallery on Avenue Ceramique, is essential, especially as it's housed in a glorious building designed in the 1990s by the Italian architect Aldo Rossi. He regarded it as a 'viewing factory', and the experience begins with the incredible treppenstraße or monumental flight of stairs that rise up to the exhibition rooms.