Holiday apartment in Laarbeek: Water, nature and cultural heritage

Laarbeek lies at the intersection of the Zuid-Willemsvaart and the Wilhelminakanaal. As the “Gateway to the Peel’s waterways”, the area offers canals, streams, ponds and bridges. This gives Laarbeek a clearly recognizable waterscape combined with nature reserves, historic buildings and regional experiences.

Nature and water

Since 2018, the Blauwe Poort Laarbeek has combined an innovative water retention and storage area with walking and cycling paths and an educational observation tower. The Blauwe Poort can be reached on foot or by bicycle from Vonderweg-Oost in Beek en Donk; parking is available along the road.

’t Gulden Land comprises swamp forests, grasslands, wet soils and dry areas where numerous plant and animal species can be found. The nature reserve between the Kop van Aarle-Rixtel and the north of Helmond has a circular route with cycling and walking paths, as well as newly created ponds.

Connections

Bus line 261 connects Beek en Donk, Mariahout, Lieshout, Aarle-Rixtel and Helmond.

Culture and history

The oldest surviving part of Kasteel Eyckenlust is the gatehouse; it dates from around 1500. The paths on the 61-hectare estate of Kasteel Eyckenlust are freely accessible, except for the immediate surroundings of the castle. The oldest parts of Kasteel Croy date from the late 15th century.

The Heemhuis Barthold van Heessel Museum is located in Hoeve ten Coudenberghe, which originally dates from the 14th century. It presents changing exhibitions on religion and religious devotion, archaeology, professions and crafts, as well as daily life in a Brabant village in earlier times. The Lourdesgrot in Mariahout is a replica of a very well-known French grotto and was consecrated on 30 May 1935.

Molen De Leest has a cast-iron shaft dating from around 1830 to 1840, regarded as one of the oldest cast shafts in the Netherlands. Molen Vogelenzang is a stone grain, oil and hulling mill. It was built after a wooden post mill was blown over in a severe storm in 1817, and was painted several times by Vincent van Gogh.

Klokkengieterij Petit & Fritsen has officially existed since 1660 and is considered the third-oldest family business in the Netherlands. The building houses Europe’s only wood-fired melting furnace. The historical spectrum also includes Missieklooster Heilig Bloed: on 15 July 1903, 74 sisters moved into the new convent.

Experiences and regional products

The 44-kilometre cycling route “Pluk de Peel | Foodroute Laarbeek - Helmond” starts at Professor-Dondersweg in Aarle-Rixtel. During the Bavaria Brewery Tour, the route passes between the brewing kettles and takes visitors through the history of the brewery from 1719 to the present day.

Vlees- en Zuivelboerderij De Lage Broekkant offers the opportunity to taste its products. Oijnk is a farm shop in Mariahout where visitors can learn about pigs and buy related products. The alpaca walk is a guided, one-and-a-half-hour tour providing information about the animals and their wool.

Holiday apartment in Laarbeek

It is also worth checking which details have been explicitly recorded for your planned stay. Pay attention to the specific information published for each individual listing and note the points that are important to you side by side before booking. This keeps the decision based on the listing data that has actually been published.

Places

Place pages in Laarbeek: Beek En Donk, Mariahout, Aarle Rixtel, Lieshout.

Further destination pages: Veldhoven, Schijndel, Veghel, Zundert.

For the higher-level travel overview: North Brabant.