Holiday apartment in Bergen op Zoom – Culture, Nature and Trails

Bergen op Zoom combines urban history, historic buildings and routes into the surrounding landscape. The compact city centre contains more than 600 historic buildings. In Bergen op Zoom, monuments, a historic townscape, a preserved city gate, a museum and routes on foot or by bicycle come together. This combination provides several concrete points of interest: architectural history, urban history, views, hiking, cycling and nature.

Historic Townscape and City Walk

The Singel area within the expansion of Bergen op Zoom’s entire city centre was designated a protected townscape in 2012. For exploring on foot, the Bergen op Zoom city map includes a city walk along the city’s monuments.

Gevangenpoort: City Gate with a History

The Gevangenpoort is one of the oldest surviving city gates in the Netherlands. Guided tours are offered at the Gevangenpoort covering its history as a defensive structure, as well as former prisoners and prison guards.

Markiezenhof and Peperbus

The Markiezenhof was built in the 15th century as the residential palace of the lords and margraves of Bergen op Zoom. The Markiezenhof houses a museum about the history of Bergen op Zoom and the surrounding region. The Peperbus can be climbed, offering a beautiful view from the top. The palace and the tower therefore provide different highlights: here, the focus is on history in the museum; there, on the view from above.

Getting to the City Centre

Bergen op Zoom city centre is easily accessible by bicycle, train or car. Bergen op Zoom railway station borders the city centre and can be reached on foot. Bicycles and cars are also possible means of transport for getting there. This makes it possible to plan the journey regardless of whether a city walk, a museum visit or a longer route is to be the main focus afterwards.

Hiking and Cycling with Different Distances

The first hiking stage of the Zuiderwaterlinie runs from Bergen op Zoom to Steenbergen and is 19.2 kilometres long. For cycling, there is the 52-kilometre Fietsronde Bergen op Zoom, which includes a coffee stop in Bergen op Zoom. For an active day in Bergen op Zoom, the kilometre figures provide concrete guidance. The 19.2 kilometres of the hiking stage and the 52 kilometres of the Fietsronde provide a clear framework for planning the day; the coffee stop additionally marks a break within the cycling round. Steenbergen is the destination of the hiking route, while the Fietsronde bears Bergen op Zoom in its name and includes the coffee stop there. The city walk complements these two routes with a walking route along the city’s monuments.

De Zeezuiper East of Bergen op Zoom

De Zeezuiper is a nature area east of Bergen op Zoom. Brabants Landschap has partially restored the former marshland of De Zeezuiper. This partial restoration adds a landscape history to the nature area that differs from the protected townscape of the Singel area.

Bergen op Zoom