Eindhoven, The Netherlands in 24 Hours
If you are looking at fun day trips when you are visiting the Netherlands or Belgium, you might want to look at visiting Eindhoven. This city is located in North-Brabant and is known as the design capital of the Netherlands. It has a lot of quirky buildings, amazing food (lots of vegan options too!!) and so much more to offer. The city is not that large and is the perfect spot for a day trip. It is easily accessible coming from larger cities such as Antwerp, Rotterdam or Amsterdam.
How to Get there?
You have 2 options when visiting Eindhoven: travel by car, or travel by train. If you are taking the car, I recommend to park at the PSV stadium. It is a little bit of a walk from the city center but it does have a lot of space and is a bit cheaper than other parking places.
If you are taking the train from anywhere in the Netherlands check out the NS website to book your journey.
Where as if you are booking from anywhere in Belgium, check out NMBS to find your tickets.
For international travelers looking to find the best train connections, you can use the Trainline app.
A DAY TRIP TO EINDHOVEN THE NETHERLANDS
Start with Brunch!
What better way to start the day than with brunch? The city is full of delicious breakfast /brunch spots. I was also happily surprised at the amount of vegan options (and vegan cafes) there were in the city.
Happiness Cafe
We decided to try out this cafe near the Blob. It is called the Happiness Cafe and is the perfect spot to get some breakfast or brunch. I really enjoyed their vegan pancakes, but there are many options out there.
Coffeelab
Another great alternative for brunch is coffeelab. It is located right next to the train station, so perfect for those traveling by train.
Motion Imagination Experience
If you are looking to visit a cool museum, you need to visit Motion: imagination experience. Motion offers a lightshow & unique surrealistic experience in the center of Eindhoven. On average it takes about an hour to an hour and a half to walk around the exhibit. Tickets sell out quickly so make sure to book in advance here.
Shopping @ Nieuwe Emmasingel
After your visit at Motion, walk back passed The Blob (a quirky building in the size of, you guessed it, a blob) towards the street: nieuwe emmasingel. On this street you can find a lot of cute stores and design shops. Some of my favorites were: Hutspot, Bookstore van Pierre and the Home Stock Limited Editions.
Philips Museum at Night
Philips Museum
If the Motion experience did not interest you, you might want to visit the Philips museum instead. Philips was founded in Eindhoven and this company had, and still has, a large influence in the success of the city.
If you want to learn more about this, then head on over to the Philips museum.
Time for more food
I can imagine that you are a bit hungry again by now. Next up on our little day trip adventure takes us to the Down Town Gourmet Market. A food market located in the center of the city next to the St Catherine's Church. Open everyday between 12pm and 11pm except for Mondays, this is their closing day.
Continue shopping
Next up, head on over to the other shopping streets and explore some boutiques, designer shops and other standard shopping stores. In general a lot of the stores are located near each other. If you are not into shopping you can make a city walk near the park: Stadswandelpark.
An early evening at Strijp-S
Strijp-S is an old industrial area which belonged to Philips. It was remodeled in the early 2000's and is now home to a lot of new stores and companies. There are some fun shops, coffee shops and delicious desserts to found around this area. There are also some restaurants that are worth a try.
Some of my favorite places are:
Intelligentia Ice Taste Rooms
Pastry club
Coffeelab
Bagel and Juice
De Oude telefooncentrale
EVOLUON
After you have explored Strijp-S, take the train or car back to your next destination. If you are traveling by car, make sure to stop/ drive by evoluon. Another interesting building on the outside of the city center. It resembles a UFO and was build in the 1960s and is used as a conference building. At night, the building is lit up and looks especially like a UFO landing.
Want to know more about what to do in Eindhoven? Watch this travel recap video over on the travelaimes YouTube channel:
