Utrecht, The Netherlands: A Day Trip From Amsterdam — the weithouse (2024)

The fourth largest city in The Netherlands

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Taking the train from Amsterdam-Centraal to Utrecht Centraal

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What we did in Utrecht and how long you need in Utrecht

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The cutest hotels and Airbnb rentals in Utrecht

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utrecht, The netherlands

Most often, planning a trip to The Netherlands means exploring Amsterdam before heading off to your next European destination. However, The Netherlands is made up of a handful of charming cities outside of Amsterdam, and if you want to get a feel for Dutch small-town charm, then consider building in time in your itinerary for a day trip from Amsterdam to Utrecht.

Situated slightly Southeast from Amsterdam, almost smack in the middle of The Netherlands is the small city of Utrecht. Home to roughly 300,000 residents, Utrecht is the fourth-largest city in The Netherlands, and almost half the size of Amsterdam.

Similar to Amsterdam, Utrecht is a city made up of canals, with three main canals running through the historic center. Also similar to Amsterdam, the canals are lined with adorable little Dutch buildings and (unlike Amsterdam) there are cafes on the canals to be enjoyed in the nice weather.

Utrecht is also home to Utrecht University, one of the oldest universities in The Netherlands and home to over 30,000 students. The university and students help give Utrecht its charming university-town feeling and comes with the benefits of any university town: good food and good coffee.

how to get from amsterdam to utrecht

With The Netherlands being such a small country, its quick and easy to take a day trip from Amsterdam to Utrecht. The train from Amsterdam-Centraal to Utrecht Centraal is a short 27-minutes and there are over 100 direct trains from Amsterdam to Utrecht per day.

The one way ticket price is 9,40 € and can be booked in advance on trainline.com.

Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of getting from Amsterdam-Centraal to Utrecht Centraal.

• Book your roundtrip tickets in advance on trainline.com.

• Arrive to Amsterdam-Centraal and board your train.

• Take the roughly 27-minute train to Utrecht.

• Arrive in Utrecht.

• From the train station in Utrecht, you will walk through an indoor mall, which leads to the historic Utrecht center on the other side. This walk takes 12-minutes.

how to spend the day in utrecht

How much time you need in Utrecht totally depends on your style of travel, and whether or not you wish to spend more time in Amsterdam.

With such a short train ride between Amsterdam and Utrecht, you could easily visit Utrecht in a half day, full day or overnight if you wish to spend more time in the city.

Since we had previously been to Amsterdam and had already hit all of the Amsterdam highlights, we dedicated the full day to visiting Utrecht and wandering around its lovely historic center.

We headed to Utrecht with no itinerary, other than a lunch reservation and you could easily get away with booking your day trip last minute as Utrecht doesn’t need very much advanced planning.

The main landmark in Utrecht (other than the canals) is the proudly standing Dom Tower, built in 1382. It is the tallest church spire in The Netherlands, standing over 112 meters (367 feet) tall. Unfortunately, the tower was under massive renovations when we visited, so we opted not to go to the top. You can however, still climb to the top of the tower despite the renovations, and you can book your tickets here.

We started our day in Utrecht by grabbing a cup of coffee and wandering around the adorable streets lining the canals and browsing through the cute Dutch shops.

We visited Utrecht in November, and both the canals and city were pretty sleepy during the morning hours of our visit, but I was happy getting the entire place to myself for photographs.

In November, the city and canals were absolutely stunning with bright, near winter light dancing off the buildings and the canals, and yellow foliage hanging over the water.

Our lunch reservation was at The Streetfood Club which features a street food fusion menu from all over the world, with inspiration from Mexico to Bangkok. The interior spaces of the restaurant are as bright and colorful as the dishes, creating a fun atmosphere for brunch or meals with large groups. We ordered bao buns and dumplings and everything was delicious.

After lunch we went in search of an afternoon coffee, and found it at the adorable Keek Bakery. We sipped our coffees curbside and watched the many cyclists ride by.

Post caffeine, we explored the boutiques surrounding the Dom Tower, which included bookstores, men and women’s clothing stores, and children’s stores outfitted with all things Miffy! Utrecht is also where we discovered our first Dille & Kamille, a Dutch home & garden store that was founded in 1974 and sells the most adorable items from kitchen utensils to gardening tools.

Where to stay in utrecht

If you decide to take a little overnight trip to Utrecht, there are a handful of adorable Airbnb rentals and hotels in the historic center. Below are two options of where to stay in Utrecht with great locations, cute aesthetics and high reviews.

book Logement Petit Beijers

Book The Nox Hotel

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Need help planning the rest of your trip?

If Amsterdam is part of your larger itinerary, be sure to check out our guide to Amsterdam, as well as the best Airbnbs to book in Amsterdam.

If you’re planning a larger trip through Europe, take the train from Amsterdam to Paris, where you can take day trips to beautiful French towns like Givery, Chantilly, or Fontainebleau.

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