The Best Sight in Utrecht, The Randstad

Background Illustration for Sights

If you arrive by train, you might be forgiven for thinking Utrecht is one enormous covered shopping mall, since the station is incorporated into the warren of 200-plus shops that is the Hoog Catharijne. You could get lost here for a day, but if you follow signs for Centrum (town center) and keep walking with determination, you will eventually come out in the historic center. The soaring tower of Domtoren—tower of "the cathedral that is missing"—on the skyline will direct you to the center of the action. Most of the main sights are in a fairly compact area and reachable on foot within a few minutes of the Domtoren.

Rietveld-Schröderhuis

This house, about a mile east of the city center, exemplifies several key principles of the De Stijl movement that affected not only art but also modern architecture, furniture design, and even typography in the early part of the 20th century. The house was designed for the Schröder family by Gerrit Rietveld, one of the leading architects of De Stijl, who has many objects on view in Utrecht's Centraal Museum. The open plan, the direct communion with nature from every room, and the use of neutral white or gray on large surfaces—with primary colors to identify linear details—are typical De Stijl characteristics. Rietveld is best known outside Holland for his Red and Blue Chair. Tours must be reserved online in advance.

Prins Hendriklaan 50, Utrecht, 3583 EP, Netherlands
Sight Details
Guided tour €19
Closed Mon.

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