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
