Discover Zutphen: Medieval History, Museums and Holiday Apartments in Zutphen

Zutphen has one of the best-preserved medieval town centres in the Netherlands. With its historic townscape, museums, waterways and green paths, you can plan a stay around a range of interests. When choosing a holiday apartment in Zutphen, specific places and activities can help you determine the mix of culture, nature and active days you are looking for.

Culture in Medieval Zutphen

The Stedelijk Museum Zutphen presents the history of Zutphen through museum, archaeological and archival collections. The Henriette Polak Museum is dedicated to modern classical painting and sculpture. There, you can create your own exhibition in the Digital Depot from a representative selection of the collection and display the selected works on the museum walls. At De Hanzeaat, a special era is brought to life with animated films and interactive activities for visitors of all ages.

Monuments, Towers and Historic Details

Dat Bolwerck is a Rijksmonument dating from 1549. Its large city garden is enclosed by the historic city wall; at the same time, since 2015 Dat Bolwerck has provided a stage for contemporary art, modern music and philosophy. The Librije is regarded as a recognised and unique cultural-historical monument because its building, interior and collection have remained untouched by time.

In the attic of the Wijnhuistoren, there is an exhibition about the tower’s origins and its carillon. The oldest visible parts of the Sint-Janskerk date from the 14th century, while the Berkelpoort connected the old town with the Nieuwstad. Zutphen therefore brings together different historical layers and distinctive sights side by side.

Holiday Apartment in Zutphen Between Nature and Active Days

For a change of scenery in the great outdoors, the Tichelbeeksewaard lies along the IJssel. This nature area forms a green connection between Zutphen city centre, the IJssel and De Hoven. Zutphen is also a starting and finishing point for hiking and cycling tours, including routes into the Achterhoek, onto the Veluwe and along the IJssel; the city is also connected to regional signposted network routes and long-distance hiking trails. From Zutphen railway station, the historic city centre can be reached on foot in about five minutes.

On the water, Berkelfun makes it possible to explore the nature around Zutphen or the Hanseatic city. On the Berkel, Berkelfun offers SUP boards, Mega SUP boards for six people, canoes and kayaks for hire. When choosing your accommodation, you can therefore weigh up whether museums, hiking and cycling tours or water-based activities should be the focus.

Plan Special Sightseeing Visits

A guided tour makes it possible to climb the Wijnhuistoren free of charge. For the Sint-Janskerk, free visits are available on Saturday afternoons during the season from mid-April through December; the tower of the Sint-Janskerk can also be climbed every half hour. The Berkelruïne can be climbed free of charge on shopping Sundays from April to October. The exhibition rooms on the ground floor and the city garden of Dat Bolwerck are accessible to wheelchair users, so most of the exhibitions can be visited.

Another local idea for your plans is Warnsveld.

When deciding on the location of your holiday apartment, you can then weigh up whether monuments and collections, nature trails or activities on the Berkel should be the focus of your stay.

For the overarching travel overview: Zutphen.