Getting around Venlo
Venlo is a compact city in the southern Dutch province of Limburg, close to the German border, and its centre is small enough to navigate on foot. That said, the city sits on a busy transport corridor, so visitors have a good range of options for reaching it and moving around it, including trains, buses, bicycles, taxis and a well-connected railway station just south of the centre.
On foot and by bike
Walking is the simplest way to explore the city centre. It is small enough to cover comfortably on foot, and the main sights, shops and the station area are all within easy reach of one another. The city has invested heavily in its centre in recent years, including the Maas Boulevard, the railway station, a tunnel through the centre and the Maas bridge, which makes for a pleasant and walkable core.
A bicycle is a convenient alternative for covering a bit more ground. If you don't have your own, you can rent one at Fietspoint at the Stationsplein, though reservations are recommended. For longer recreational rides, the region is well served by signed cycling routes: you can follow the route of a Napoleonic canal that was never constructed toward the Düsseldorf region, or head toward Duisburg and the rest of the Ruhr via LF13 and then R12.
Rail
Venlo railway station is a junction station and the main public transport hub for the city, located just south of the centre. It has facilities for travellers and good connections into the Dutch railway network as well as across the border into Germany.
- Intercity services run to Eindhoven, Den Bosch, Utrecht, Amsterdam Schiphol and Rotterdam.
- Regional services (the slow RS 11, operated by Arriva) run north to Nijmegen and south to Roermond.
- International services cross into Germany on the RE 13 to Düsseldorf, Wuppertal and Hamm, with Kaldenkirchen as the first stop in Germany. The German Deutschlandticket is accepted on this route.
There is no metro or tram network in Venlo; rail and bus are the backbone of public transport here.
Buses
Buses meet at the train station and serve most of the surrounding area, including Kaldenkirchen on the German side of the border. Local buses are primarily run by Arriva. Regional buses link Venlo to Roermond and Nijmegen, and also across the border to Straelen, Wachtendonk and Aldekerk (route SB 42, daily and hourly), plus a few runs of SB 29 from Duisburg to Neukirchen-Vluyn that are extended past the border to Venlo. Deutschlandtickets are accepted on all three cross-border routes.
On Dutch-only routes, tickets are paid for with the national chipcard system or by using your bankcard to check in and out. Routes that cross the border use German fares.
Taxis and ride-hailing
As a general rule, taxis can be found at the railway station and in the city centre, but visitors should confirm availability locally, as options may be more limited than in larger Dutch cities.
Getting there from the airport
Venlo does not have its own commercial airport, but several airports serve the city:
- Weeze Airport is the nearest, located to the north of the city.
- Düsseldorf Airport lies to the south-east.
- Amsterdam Schiphol Airport is much further away to the north-west, but NS operates direct train services between Venlo and Schiphol, making it a straightforward rail connection.
Because Venlo is a junction station with regular international services, arriving by train from Germany is also a practical option, with connections via Kaldenkirchen, Viersen and Mönchengladbach to Düsseldorf and Hamm.
By car
Venlo is a genuine industrial transport hub and a main gateway to Germany, so the main roads passing through are typically busy with trucks heading east or back. Several major roads make the town easily reachable from all directions:
- The A67/E34 connects Venlo to Germany in the west (most directly Duisburg and Essen) and east toward Eindhoven and beyond.
- The A73 leads to Nijmegen in the north and Roermond and further south.
- The A74/61 leads into Germany to the south-east, most directly connecting Venlo to Mönchengladbach.
Parking can be found on large lots surrounding the city centre, at Mgr. Nolenplein, or in modern underground garages beneath the Stadskantoor (city hall) or Romertoren buildings. Fares can seem rather high, but that is typical for the Netherlands.
Practical tips
- Use the railway station as your starting point: buses meet there and it is just south of the centre.
- For Dutch-only bus routes, pay with the national chipcard system or by checking in and out with your bankcard.
- For cross-border buses and the RE 13 train into Germany, the Deutschlandticket is accepted.
- Rent a bike at Fietspoint on Stationsplein if you want to explore beyond the centre, and reserve ahead.
- Walking is the easiest way to see the compact city centre.