Getting Around Maastricht

Maastricht, The Netherlands

By the Travel Wiki editorial team

Getting Around Maastricht

Maastricht is a compact, walkable city in the southeastern Netherlands, and most visitors find they can cover the historic centre comfortably on foot. For longer hops, the city has a local bus network, a bike-share scheme, and two train stations, while taxis and ride-hailing fill in the gaps. Because Maastricht sits close to both Belgium and Germany, it is also well connected to a number of airports in three countries.

Walking

Walking is by far the most attractive way to get around Maastricht. It lets you take in the winding streets of the centre and the cultural mix that the city's border location creates. A particularly pleasant walk outside the centre follows the river from the Sint Servaasbrug (the old stone bridge near the entrance to the city) down to the JFK Bridge, passing through Maastricht's largest park; you can then cross the JFK Bridge to reach the Bonnefanten, the city's modern art museum.

If you prefer some structure, guided city jogging tours are available in Maastricht and the surrounding green countryside, with easy-paced highlight routes that pause at the main sights while a guide explains their history. For a self-guided option, the VVV Tourist Office on Kleine Staat sells a City Walking Tour Guide, so you can tour the town at your own pace.

Cycling

Bicycles are everywhere in Maastricht and hiring one is an easy way to join local life. Several bicycle hire shops operate in the city, and the flat country of South Limburg is well suited to exploring by bike. Dutch traffic law is heavily biased towards cyclists, so drivers tend to give way rather than cut you off. Many one-way streets in Maastricht also carry a contraflow cycle lane, so you can often ride against the direction of car traffic.

For short-term rentals, the public transport operator Arriva offers "Deelfiets" share bikes that anyone can rent, unlike the OV-fiets scheme, which is limited to Dutch residents with a personalised OV card. As with most European bike-share programmes, you download the app, register an account and set up payment. Pricing is moderate, with a small charge for the first 20 minutes, a per-minute rate thereafter, and a daily maximum.

Buses and Public Transport

The city has a bus system, the Stadsbus ("City Bus"), that covers most of Maastricht and the surrounding areas. You can buy a ticket on board, or use an OV-chipkaart, a rechargeable card that you top up with an amount of your choosing. The card itself carries a one-off cost and can be bought at the train station, from the vending machines there, or at the transport company's service point. When you board, you hold the card to the yellow reader to check in; when you leave, you do it again to check out, and the fare is deducted. Paying this way is much cheaper than buying a ticket from the driver. Note that the old "strippenkaart" is no longer valid in Maastricht.

Maastricht is also served by regional and international buses. Bus 350 runs between Aachen and Maastricht frequently throughout the day, every day, taking roughly an hour; travellers generally pay a modest one-way fare. Belgian buses connect the city with Hasselt, Tongeren, Lanaken and Liège. Long-distance coaches such as Flixbus stop at the long-distance bus station, and occasional services run further afield, for example to Bosnia via Belgium, with reservations made by phone through the operator's Belgian office.

Trains

Maastricht is well served by rail, with Maastricht station near the centre of the city and Randwyck station in the south. From Maastricht station, trains run to northern destinations, and local trains connect to Valkenburg, Heerlen and Kerkrade. The national network is operated by Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS), and an elaborate timetable with price information is available on their website.

Fares are distance-based, with longer journeys costing less per kilometre than shorter ones. You can buy tickets at the ticket office in the station's main hall, but you avoid an extra service fee by using the yellow-and-blue electronic ticketing machines; some machines only accept European debit cards, and only older ones take coins. Buy your ticket before boarding, because it is not possible to buy one on the train and you risk a fine on top of the fare. Tickets come as one-way, same-day return or same-weekend return; if your return is a few days later, simply buy two one-way tickets.

Internationally, the RE18 line links Aachen and Liège via Maastricht, so you can arrive from either Germany or Belgium. If you are travelling around the Aachen–Liège–Maastricht triangle, a Euregioticket day ticket covers most local trains and buses in the region; more information is available from the Belgian, Dutch and German rail and transport authorities. Coming from Germany with a Deutschland-Ticket, you can search for Maastricht on the German rail app and choose regional transport only: either take the train from Aachen or Herzogenrath and buy an extra ticket for the cross-border stretch, or take bus 350 from Aachen and buy an extra ticket for the Vaals–Maastricht section.

Taxis and Ride-Hailing

Private taxi and minibus transfers are available in the region, including for airport runs, and can be arranged in advance. For everyday trips around the city, taxis and ride-hailing are best treated as a fallback for late nights or when carrying luggage, since the compact centre and frequent buses make them unnecessary for most daytime sightseeing.

Driving and Parking

Travelling by car in Maastricht can be painful. Much of the city centre is pedestrian-only, roadworks and closed roads are common, and parking rates are high, with a maximum stay per ticket placement. It is often easier to park your car outside the centre and continue on foot or by bus.

Getting There from the Airport

Maastricht-Aachen Airport (MST) is small, with limited flights from selected cities in southern Europe. Most flights are seasonal and operated by discount carriers. The airport can be reached by bus route 59 between Maastricht and Sittard, which stops at Maastricht train station; a ticket from the station to the airport costs a few euros.

Because Maastricht is centrally located in the Euregion, major airports in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany are often convenient alternatives:

Practical Tips

Sources

  1. Maastricht
  2. Wikivoyage: Maastricht

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