Discover Goirle: Nature, Culture and Holiday Apartments

Goirle combines protected landscapes, traces of history and a variety of activities within a compact thematic area. Between heathlands, forests, churches, mills and guided tours, you will encounter very different sides of the municipality. Riel and Goirle provide further information to help you choose your destination.

Nature

South of Riel, in the municipality of Goirle, lies the Regte Heide en Riels Laag area. It covers a total of 540 hectares and is designated as a Natura 2000 site. The landscape consists of dry and wet heathland, peatland depressions, acidic and weakly buffered pools, as well as deciduous and coniferous forests. This means that different natural habitats exist side by side within a small area.

Another defining landscape is the Landgoed Gorp en Roovert estate. The estate covers approximately 1,200 hectares with old deciduous, coniferous and mixed forests, farmland, heathland, pools and the still strongly meandering Roovertse Leij. Its network of paths can be explored on foot or by bicycle. From the birdwatching hut, you can look out over an extensive area with wet and dry zones. Various bird species can be observed there; the site is also suitable for a picnic.

Getting Around

Natuurpoort De Roovertsche Leij is a central information centre recognised by Brabants Landschap. It offers parking facilities as well as an extensive network of cycling and walking routes. The location is also on the De Lijn bus service between Turnhout and Tilburg. At the Tourist Information Point in Boekhandel Buitelaar, you can obtain walking and cycling routes from Monday to Saturday, as well as information about local activities and excursions.

Several walks explore the area in different ways. The walk through the centre passes the Jan van Besouw Cultural Centre, with its changing exhibitions, and the local regional history museum. The walk through Riel passes ’t Zandeind, which is considered Riel’s oldest hamlet. The Goolse Geheimen Gidsen also offer guided walks and cycling tours through special places in the municipality of Goirle and in Riel.

The GPS-Wandeltocht is an adventurous GPS hike through the border region of Goirle. It follows a self-guided route: participants follow a GPS device and solve questions and puzzles about the smuggling era. Each participant receives a prize from the smugglers’ chest.

Culture and History

The museum of Stichting Erfgoed Goirle is open from 5 April to 18 October 2026 on the first and third Sunday of each month, from 14:00 to 16:30. Visits by appointment are also possible. Kerk St. Antonius Abt contains a baptismal font from 1519 and a bell cast in the same year by Jasper Moer from ’s-Hertogenbosch. From 1519 onwards, Riel had an independent parish church; the present Kerk St. Antonius Abt was built in 1897 in its current style.

Kerk Sint Jan is a neo-Gothic church built in 1896 to a design by Jos Cuypers. It is Goirle’s oldest parish church, while its tower dates from the 15th century. Another notable cultural heritage site is Molen de Wilde: a round stone Dutch windmill with a ground-sailor or belt-mill construction dating from 1898. It is also a Rijksmonument, meaning a nationally protected monument in the Netherlands. When the flag is flying at Molen de Wilde, visitors are welcome to attend demonstrations and guided tours of this cultural heritage site.

On the Regte Heide are burial mounds from the Bronze Age, dating from around 1750 BC. They were first excavated in 1935 and subsequently reconstructed. At around five burial mounds, the post circles known from the excavations were restored. Thus, natural areas and visible traces of earlier settlement meet in the same landscape.

Experiences and Leisure

Klim & Avonturenbos offers challenging courses between the treetops and a free fall from a height of 12 metres. Brouwerij Nicolaas offers a different kind of insight at the Gorp & Roovert estate and woodland area. Guided tours of the brewery and beer tastings are available there. Visitors can learn more about the facilities, the brewing process and the brewing team.

Thermen Goirle offers saunas, a snow cabin, sunbathing lawns, terraces and beauty salons. In Molenpark near Molen de Wilde, there are opportunities for a walk and a visit to the animal pasture. Golfers can visit Golfclub Landgoed Nieuwkerk, with its 9-hole golf course on the historic cross-border Landgoed Nieuwkerk estate south of Goirle. The course is surrounded by forests, grassland and the valley of the Poppelse Ley watercourse. From spring 2026, guests can once again experience the course and hospitality of Golfclub Landgoed Nieuwkerk.

Practical Information

Parking in the municipality of Goirle is free, including in the centre. A disc parking zone applies in the centre of Goirle. This provides information for further planning on both public routes and parking options, while natural areas, village walks and historic destinations offer different focal points.

Holiday apartment in Goirle: When comparing offers, check the exact location, accommodation type and possible occupancy on the respective offer page. You can also review the included services, price components, as well as the booking and cancellation conditions before booking. Open the offers and compare these fields at your leisure, without assuming any amenities or prices. This keeps your choice of accommodation in Goirle focused on the specific details stated in each offer. The booking and cancellation conditions also deserve a separate review before you commit.

You can find more information about the area via Riel and Goirle.

To the main travel overview: North Brabant.

More Destinations

More places within the same destination:

Grave, Mill En Sint Hubert, Oirschot, Deurne, Zundert, Boxmeer.