Roermond

Roermond receives a large number of visitors every year, and is a rather well known destination for Dutch, German and to a lesser degree Belgian tourists. Apart from the water sports facilities and historic centre, this is also due to successful efforts to turn Roermond into a prime shopping centre for the larger region. The large Designer Outlet Centre, opened by McArthurGlen in 2001, alone draws in some 3.75 million visitors per year. The city centre has also been praised for its ample shopping facilities, and as shops are open on Sunday, Roermond draws in plenty of daytrip visitors from all directions, including many Germans.

Tourist Information Office (VVV), Markt 17 (on the market square), ☏ +31 475-335847. The VVV office provides information, can assist in booking of hotels or activities and sells or distributes a collections of maps and informative publications. This is also the place to book boat trips or guided tours.

By car:

Roermond is well connected by road, and several major access roads have been upgraded or newly made in the past years. The A73 highway passes the town via tunnels, providing fast connections to the south (directions of Maastricht, joining the A2 after some 10 km) and north (direction of Nijmegen). There's a connection to Germany (direction of Düsseldorf) in the west via the A52. For the direction of Weert, Eindhoven and other north or north-west destinations, the provincial N280 road connects the centre of Roermond the A2. The N271, also a provincial road, is the best connection to Venlo.

By train:

1 Roermond railway station. The train station is close to the city centre and is served by quarterly fast intercity trains operated by NS and by commuter trains to smaller destinations in the region, operated by Arriva. The fast intercity to the south (Sittard, Maastricht and Heerlen) leaves 4 times per hour, usually from platform 1 (but always check.) In the other direction the same connection runs to Weert, Eindhoven, Utrecht, and Amsterdam. Usually it leaves from platform 2. The typical travel time to Amsterdam takes 2 hours, Maastricht and Eindhoven are served in 30 minutes.

A slow train to Venlo (22 minutes) also runs twice per hour, stopping in Swalmen, Reuver and Tegelen. Also southbound there are 2 local trains per hour.

By bus:

The bus station is at the train station, and serves as a starting and ending point for many lines circling the city and connecting it to nearby villages. Special bus connections are available to transfer shopping visitors from the town centre to the Outlet Centre, Retail Park and House and Garden Boulevard. Bus lines are operated by Veolia.

If you're flying in, Schiphol airport, Eindhoven airport and Maastricht-Aachen airport are all nearby. Alternatively, consider airports across the German border. Especially Düsseldorf (DUS IATA) is nearby and has many international flights.