Sittard

Sittard is a city in the Dutch province of Limburg, which is the southernmost province of the Netherlands. On the east Sittard borders on Germany (municipality Selfkant, in North Rhine-Westphalia). It has some 48,400 inhabitants (including those of neighbouring villages Munstergeleen, Limbricht, Einighausen and Guttecoven). Sittard is part of the municipality of Sittard-Geleen.
Sittard has a small historic city centre with numerous architectural monuments, including several old churches (St Peter's, St Michael's, Basilica of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart) and a few half-timbered houses. The city has retained part of its city wall. On the south-eastern side of the city centre, the St Rosa chapel crowns the Kollenberg hill. Museum "Het Domein" is situated in a converted nineteenth century school building in the city centre. It focuses on contemporary art, urban history and archeology.

• VVV Sittard Tourist Office

  address: Rosmolenstraat 2

By train

The main train station is located at a 10 minutes walk from the city center. Sittard is served by intercity and regional train services. The intercity trains coming from the north (thus from the directions of Amsterdam, Utrecht, 's Hertogenbosch, Eindhoven, Weert, Roermond) are split in two here, with one part continuing to Heerlen and another to Maastricht. In the opposite direction, the two trains are combined here to continue north as one.
Regional trains pass through from the directions of Echt, Roermond, Heerlen and Maastricht.

By bus

The bus terminal is next to the trainstation. The bus operator in Sittard and surrounding cities is Veolia , with lines to most of the smaller town in the region but also to larger destinations like Heerlen, Maastricht, Roermond, and Geleen.

By car

On foot and bike

As nearly all stores, restaurants and bars are located in the center, walking is a good way to get around Sittard. From the main railway station, it's a 10 minute walk through the Steenweg to reach the Market and most of the sights. The streets in the center are pretty much free of cars and bicycles.
Bike rentals:

• Rijwielshop Station Sittard

  address: Stationsplein 2-A

By bus

Veolia offers bus connections from Sittards railway station to the surroundings. You can plan your trip door-to-door using 9292ov.nl , though results vary. Busses run twice an hour to most locations. Fares are €2 per zone.

By car or taxi

If you have a car, try parking outside the city center as it is much cheaper or even free. Renting a car is only useful if you want to head to the outskirts of town or even other cities or villages. The city center is small enough to do on foot, but also mostly car free. Taxi's are a fairly expensive way to get around, but you can find them at the trainstation.

Sittard has a quite interesting and historic city center. Just wandering around for a while will give you a fair idea of the town, but make sure to include some of its ancient churches in your tour.

• Basiliek van Onze-Lieve-Vrouw van het Heilig Hart

  address: Oude Markt, Sittard
  This 19th century Catholic church is located right in the middle of Sittard's historic center. It was the first Dutch church to be declared a basilica minor, by Pope Leo XIII in 1883.

• Sint-Petrus' Stoel van Antiochiëkerk

  address: Kerkplein Bij 1
  This church became a collegiate church in 1299. It has an impressive church tower and was renovated and expanded a number of times.

• Museum Het Domein

  address: Kapittelstraat 6
  This museum houses a small but descent collection of contemporary art as well as collections on the history of the city Sittard.

• Agnetenwal & Fort Sanderbout

  address: in a circle around the old center
  The old city wall is still more or less intact for a large part of Sittard. The walls and fortress were part of the city's defense fortifications.

Sports

• De Nieuwe Hateboer

  address: Sportcentrumlaan 9
  Indoor swimming pool. During the summer outdoor pools are also open.

• Pool & Snookercentrum Centerpocket

  address: Rijksweg Noord 26

The lively city center is a popular place for general shopping. On any sunny Saturday afternoon you'll find large crowds combining a day of shopping in the charming streets with a bit of relaxing on the market square terraces.

The Markt and surrounding streets are your best bet when looking for a place to eat. Popular places include:

• Silvester's

  address: Paardestraat 25
  This Mediterranean restaurant gets good reviews but, very importantly, has one of the finest terraces in the country.

• Pretzels

  address: Putstraat 37
  An old-fashioned café with a menu thats..different. Not so much in terms of the dishes, which are good but common, but rather by the huge amount of information and facts about them. Unfortunately, all is in Dutch. Nevertheless, it's a cosy place to eat.

• Thai Garden

  address: Rijksweg noord 8
  Good Thai cuisine and friendly service

• Schtad Zitterd

  address: Markt 25
  This old-fashioned, cosy café offers good lunch options and dinner mains start from €12.50. Inside the café smoking is still common.

Sittard is not only a reasonably large town, but it also has a large higher education institution, whose students of course encourage the city's nightlife. Most of the café's and bars are located on and around the market square, so just head there and explore the different establishments, especially on Saturday nights.

• Hotel De Limbourg

  phone: +31 46 451 81 51
  address: Markt 22, 6131 EK Sittard

• Hotel de Prins

  phone: +31 46 451 50 41
  address: Rijksweg Zuid 25, 6131 AL Sittard

• Oranje Hotel Sittard

  phone: +31 46 4513673
  address: Rijksweg zuid 23, 6131 AK Sittard

• Bed&Breakfast De Juiste Toon

  address: Broekstraat 3
  Luxurious B&B in a former farm

• address: Klaverstraat 17
  This simple budget hotel is one of the cheaper options in town, starting with rates of €30 p.p.. A normal double is €70.