Castle Duurstede, Utrecht Province, The Netherlands

3Ronald_jelle 5:00 PM Dec 9, 2011

Old ruin, nice for taking a few pictures, but possibilities to visit it inside are limited
In april i decided to go with a friend of mine to the town Wijk bij Duurstede, a nice little old town approx 15 to 20 km from the city of Utrecht. There were two reasons for going, to visit the old town, but more importantly to look at what is left of what once was a big and important castle. From the 13th century op to the 17th century Wijk bij Duurstede and the castle played an important role in the Dutch history thanks to it's location.... After the French distroyed the town Wijk bij Duurstede the citizens started to plunder and use the materials of the by then empty and abandoned castle... as a consequence of that only parts of the castle remained. We arrived from Utrecht, it is quite easy to find and so is the ruin, we parked the car on the river bank and walked through a nice park in which the castle is located. it was relatively quiet so i could have a nice look at the castle, unfortunately due to the weather i didn't manage to make panoramic pictures, but you will get the idear. What is left of the castle is part of the wall and part of a tower, in better state are what must have been one of the main buildings and a huge tower.... if only i could have entered the tower, that would have been great the view must be perfect!. Unfortunately the grounds were closed so we could only go as far as the entrance gate and walk around the ruin. Therefore after some time we walked through the old center of Wijk bij Duurstede, which is lovely (small) with a nice pub where we had a drink before going back home. All in all nice to go out and walk a bit, just disappointing that the ruins are hardly ever open for tourists... only on special events of days the ruin is open for the public, but that is only a few days a year for the rest it is open for weddings, etc, but doesn't help any tourist!. If you are in the area, it is nice for pictures, a nice day out specially if you add to it a walk in the old town. But no reason to make a detour as you can't access it.

4Heather D 5:00 PM Jun 26, 2016

The whole town of Wijk bij Duurstede
This is a small compact town with lots to see. There is a fabulous working windmill that you can visit. A portion of wall that protects the town from the flooding river. Boats in a harbour and the river. A ferry. Then on to the castle set in a lake amongst high trees. Here you can sit and have refreshments unless there is a wedding going on. Further on back into the centre there are several routes you can take along a tree lined boulevard, or past cottages covered with climbing roses until you come to the town square complete with a large church and cafes with terraces and ice-cream parlour. And don't forget the small museum with info on its long history of this important trading town, nor the many art galleries, and shops. My favourite Dutch town for a half or full day out.