Holiday apartment in Helmond: castle, museums and cycling routes

Helmond combines medieval architecture, unusual museums, green areas and varied cycling routes within a compact thematic area. Helmond Castle, a medieval castle open to the public, stands in the city centre. It was built in 1325 and is considered the largest moated castle in the Netherlands. The Castle Garden is located directly beside it: this varied sculpture garden is open daily with free admission. The Zuid-Willemsvaart Canal also runs through Helmond, dividing the city centre into an eastern and a western section.

Culture and history

The city’s history is reflected not only in the castle. The Industrieel Atrium is a knowledge centre for Helmond’s industrial heritage and for the heritage of the basic industries of textiles, metal, energy and printing. The Jan Visser Museum focuses on the history of agriculture before mechanisation; objects from traditional crafts are also on display there. The Kunsthal of Museum Helmond presents exhibitions of contemporary photography and art.

An unusual collection awaits you at the HomeComputerMuseum. It comprises more than 900 unique computer models and more than 15,000 objects. Visitors are allowed to try out almost all of the working computers themselves. There is also an interactive journey through the history of home computers, reaching back to the 1970s. In Helmond’s distinctive station district, Loods20 houses the EDAH Museum, the Barrel Organ Museum and a special accordion collection. The EDAH Museum presents the development of food distribution and production from earlier times to the modern supermarket.

The annual calendar also includes regular cultural events. Every year, Helmond hosts activities as part of the annual Open Monument Days. During these events, monuments, museums and organisations open their doors free of charge and offer guided tours and activities for different age groups. Every Friday in July and August, the castle garden is transformed into a dance floor; bands play weekly on two stages on either side of the castle.

Nature

The landscape areas around Helmond have different characteristics. The Stiphoutse Bossen are a 525-hectare nature reserve on the border of the three municipalities of Helmond, Laarbeek and Nuenen, Gerwen en Nederwetten. De Bundertjes lies north of the centre and east of the old Zuid-Willemsvaart Canal. The nature and walking area covers approximately 100 hectares and includes swamp woodland, willow scrub, meadows, reed beds, old stream channels, an ice rink and allotment gardens. There, a walking trail leads along paths and bridges through flower-rich grasslands, wetlands, open water and alder forests.

Berkendonk, a publicly accessible recreational area, lies on the eastern side of Helmond. Thus, in addition to the cultural attractions in the city centre, the urban area and its immediate surroundings also offer green spaces with varied characteristics. The Castle Garden is a varied sculpture garden beside the medieval Helmond Castle and is open daily with free admission.

Cycling routes and special trails

The cycling options range from a signposted circuit through the city to themed routes in the surrounding area. Rondje Helmond is a signposted cycling route of approximately 50 kilometres through the whole of Helmond. A mountain bike route of around 10 kilometres runs through the Bakelsbos. The Brabant Castles Route is 46 kilometres long and connects the medieval castles of Helmond, Geldrop and Heeze.

Another 25-kilometre cycling route in Helmond passes memorial monuments and sites commemorating the Second World War. The Historic Helmond Cycling Circuit passes special historic sites and provides interesting information about the city and its historic highlights. Anyone wishing to experience Helmond on foot while also gaining an additional perspective on the city’s design can include a guided street art tour: an experienced guide leads visitors past murals and explains the artists, the creation of the works and their stories.

Local life

The Weekmarkt Helmond Centrum takes place on Saturdays. Almost one hundred stalls offer fresh products such as fruit, vegetables and dairy products. At the Brandevoortse Hoeve in Helmond, fresh lunch dishes or high tea are prepared from locally grown vegetables and fruit and served on the farm’s terrace.

VVV Helmond offers visitor information, city walks, city maps, gift vouchers, as well as walking and cycling routes. This provides specific options for different ways of exploring the city, from historic trails and street art to cycling and walking routes.

Getting around Helmond

Helmond is served by four railway stations: Helmond, Helmond Brouwhuis, Helmond ’t Hout and Helmond Brandevoort. From the stations, visitors can continue by bus, OV-Fiets or on foot. The various stations are therefore just as much a part of the public cityscape as the canal that divides the centre into two sections.

For further destination selection: Helmond, Cuijk, Alphen-Chaam, Waalre, Bladel, Dongen, Veldhoven, Bergen Op Zoom.

For the higher-level travel overview: North Brabant.