In 60 seconds
North Brabant offers a fascinating contrast between futuristic industrial design and medieval Burgundian tradition. Eindhoven—the home of Philips electronics and DAF—has reinvented its former industrial testing grounds at Strijp-S into a world-renowned design district, hosting the annual Dutch Design Week and pioneering light art. Just twenty minutes north by train, provincial capital 's-Hertogenbosch (Den Bosch) presents an enchanting medieval world of meandering watercourses, ramparts and the spectacular Gothic Sint-Janskathedraal, famed for the grotesque carved stone figures perched upon its double flying buttresses. Den Bosch is also the birthplace of Renaissance visionary Hieronymus Bosch and the proud home of the decadent Bossche bol chocolate pastry.
Best for
Known for
Skip if
You are looking for traditional windmill landscapes; North Brabant is an urban creative and historic cathedral province.
Your match
Choose a few travel interests and we will show how well Eindhoven & 's-Hertogenbosch fits them. Choose interests
See
The things that would make the trip incomplete without them.
Triumphant Brabantine Gothic cathedral renowned for 96 double flying buttress figures
Admire the exuberant Gothic gargoyles and whimsical stone figures—including a modern angel with a mobile phone—lining the cathedral roof.
Former Philips factory complex transformed into an urban design and cultural laboratory
Wander through monumental former cathode-ray tube factories now housing design studios, skate parks, craft breweries and indie shops.
Exhibition centre dedicated to the fantastical master inside a former New Gothic church
Explore life-size sculptural reconstructions and high-resolution reproductions of The Garden of Earthly Delights in Bosch's native city.
Leading European museum of modern and contemporary art along the river Dommel
Explore radical modernism from Picasso, Chagall and El Lissitzky to contemporary interactive installations in an innovative building.
Eat
A short list, kept short on purpose. Each entry answers one question: when is this the right choice?
Too few picks yet for their own heading, so they share this list.
Michelin-starred restaurant overlooking the Pettelaarse Schans water park
Chef Edwin Kats crafts exquisite global shared-dining creations in an elegant historic chalet facing the green waters of the Dommel.
The legendary bakery renowned as the undisputed master of the Bossche bol
Join the line outside the station for the authentic giant choux pastry ball filled with real whipped cream and glazed in glossy dark chocolate.
Beyond the obvious
Less obvious, rarely queued for, and usually the part people remember.
Electric boat cruise through medieval watercourses flowing directly beneath historic houses
Glide silently into ancient vaulted tunnels and canal arches built directly under the foundations of medieval townhouses.
Iconic Dutch designer's factory atelier, art showroom, restaurant and boutique hotel
Tour the creative headquarters of the celebrated scrapwood furniture designer, browse galleries and eat in the industrial café.
After dark
Popular brewpub and tasting room on Keizersgracht
Twelve rotating taps of house-brewed craft beers, from hoppy IPAs to rich imperial stouts, in a buzzing central basement lounge.
Orientation
How the city is actually divided, and what each part is for.
Atmospheric culinary alleyway packed with candlelit brasseries
Often cited as the most gastronomic street in the Netherlands, lined cheek-by-jowl with lively terrace bistros.
Stay
Areas rather than hotels — pick the right one and the rest follows.
Boutique hotels near the market square and cathedral
The most charming base for dining, canal walks and historic evening atmosphere.
Practical
Plan this trip — useful links
Context
Enough to make what you are looking at legible.
Duke Henry I of Brabant grants city rights to 's-Hertogenbosch (The Duke's Forest).
Hieronymus Bosch is born in Den Bosch, painting his surreal religious visions on the market square.
Gerard Philips and his father Frederik found their incandescent lamp factory in Eindhoven.
Further out
Worth a day if you have one to spare.
Restored 16th-century moated star fortress on the river Meuse
Walk along grassy rampart dykes between operational windmills and cobblestone alleys in a model fortified port.
