The top 5 most interesting things to do in Utrecht!

Utrecht is lovely.

A quieter sibling to nearby Amsterdam and the birthplace of Miffy the adorable cartoon bunny, this walkable Dutch city lets you take things at your own pace without the raucous British tourists, clouds of weed smoke, and the plethora of penis-shaped objects of Amsterdam. There are lots of quirky things to see and do here, and all are easy to get to on foot. Let’s get started, then!

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Take a walk along the Canals

Along the street of Oudegracht there are plenty of restaurants lining the canals –  both at street and at, er, canal level. There are also a few high street stores too, although the nearest and much larger shopping mall is Hoog Catharijne, which is adjacent to Utrecht station. 

I’d really recommend just having a wander round some of the streets off of Oudegracht – it’s a great place to absorb the character of the city, and there are lots of gift shops, including a very nice looseleaf tea and coffee shop (Simon Lévelt koffie & thee Utrecht). The canals are particularly picturesque, especially in Autumn with the changing leaves. I don’t have any particular areas to recommend – just have a wander and see where you end up.

There are also plenty of great places to get a sweet waffle with various toppings. They’re not cheap but they are tasty. 

See some far-out architecture

In addition to the beautiful high, narrow buildings of Utrecht (common throughout the Netherlands in general), I will just leave this here. 

Visit the Miffy Museum

Created in 1953 by Dick Bruna, adorable bunny Miffy has starred in picture books, television shows, and movies broadcast all over the world.

Our quest to purchase tickets for the museum went something like this:

Us: Two tickets for the Nijntje museum, please. (Nijntje is Miffy’s name in Dutch).

Nice cashier: Uh…you do know it is for children, right?

Us: Yes, that’s fine. Two tickets please.

We paid and crossed the street to the entrance. We were immediately greeted by a row of coathangers at knee level and the sound of screaming children. 

Us: Oh. The nice cashier was right, huh?

Whilst there is some history about the author and Miffy herself, this place is basically one big soft play learning extravaganza for children. The entire top floor is dedicated to learning the rules of the road, and there are crossings and vehicles for kids to zip around on. I would have loved it here 25 years ago, but basically if you’re there as an adult without children it’s going to feel a little weird.  

The gift shop (i.e. across the road from the museum, where you get tickets) is well worth a look round though, and in the cafe nearby you can get Miffy-shaped pancakes! 

Use Miffy’s Crossing

In addition to the Miffy Museum, along Lange Viestraat there’s a rainbow zebra crossing and the traffic lights feature, you guessed it, Miffy! Very cute – just try not to get run over if you’re taking a picture.

Ride the rollercoaster at Utrecht Train Museum (Het Spoorweg)

Whilst I’m not quite an anorak I do love a good train museum, and boy this place is GREAT. Once you go through the initial entrance (an old station, naturally) there’s a huge outdoor train yard as well as a huge indoor one too, with a great mix of diesel and steam trains. (I would like to point out that there aren’t really any signs in English, so you may want to have google translate downloaded onto your phone). 

But that’s not all. 

THERE IS AN INDOOR HAUNTED TRAIN ROLLERCOASTER.

Yes you read that right.

The fear factor was somewhat lost on me given I don’t speak Dutch but I had a great time anyway. I cackled all the way round like a loon as trains hurtled out of the darkness towards me.

But wait, there’s more. 

Out in the yard there are of course, more trains and carriages, but there is also a building which houses a cinema and TRIAL BY FIRE, a gentle simulation ride which requires collaboration (i.e. pressing buttons at the right time) and a can-do attitude. Again I did not understand what was going on but the two lovely Dutch ladies I was with were very helpful and I’m sure you’ll be very pleased to know that our mission was a successful one – we drove that train through time and space and came back to the present day with no casualties whatsoever. 

Outside the building there are various warning signs as you’d expect, but this one immediately drew my eye. I’m of the opinion that people don’t add warning signs without a reason – and I would love to know how this sign came into being. On second thoughts, maybe not. 

Bonus: listen to some mechanical music at Museum Speelklok

On the list of ‘Slightly Odd Things to See and Do’ there is also a museum dedicated to mechanical musical instruments (Museum Speelklok). I wish I had been to see it instead of getting soaked, but oh well.

For more travel inspiration you can find all my European destinations here.