"Lovely Small City in Central Li ..." a Roermond Travel Page by BillNJ

The German VTers that I met on my trip knew of Roermond only as the site of the large McArthur Glen Designer Outlet Center. I hope that my VT page helps to show that Roermond has more to offer a tourist than simply this popular outlet shopping center.

Roermond is located in the middle of the Province of Limburg where the Roer River meets the Maas River (aka the Meuse River). The Roermond city center has a pedestrian zone with shops, restaurants, sidewalk cafes, churches, and other attractions. The most picturesque area of the city center is the Munsterplein in which you will find the magnificent Munsterkerk (Munster Church) that was re-designed by the famous architect, P.J.H. Cuypers. In the Munsterplein, there is also a statue of Cuypers who was born in Roermond.

It only takes a couple of hours to see the major attractions in the Roermond city center. After doing so, you can then walk through the short pedestrian tunnel to the McArthur Glen Designer Outlets where you will find top brand-name merchandise at discounted prices.

One of the main reasons that I chose to spend a day in the small city of Roermond is that it is very easy to access by train. I traveled to Roermond from Düsseldorf with a brief stopover in Venlo. If you immediately get on the connecting train in Venlo, the entire trip takes approximately an hour. Then, if you are staying in the Hotel Roermond (like I did), you only have a very short walk to your room. In fact, the walk is less than one block -- and you don't even have to cross the street!

When I left Roermond, I took a train directly to Maastricht which takes approximately 40 minutes. From Maastricht, it is only about 30 minutes to Liège, Belgium. In Liège, you can get a train going east to Brussels -- or west to Cologne.

The small city of Roermond has a relaxed atmosphere. If you are seeking a fast-paced city with lots of famous tourist attractions, you probably want to head north to Amsterdam. However, if you want to experience a lovely small city in the south of the Netherlands without a lot of tourists, Roermond is a good place to check out.