# Helmond

Helmond is a city in the province of North Brabant in the Netherlands. With a population of 91,500 (2019) people, it's the fifth largest city of North Brabant. Typical of Helmond is its history of metal and textile industries. Lot of street names ending on wal (wall) point to the former ramparts of the fortified Helmond, of which the 14th-century castle was part.

## Understand
### History

Helmond originated from a settlement in 1179 and was first mentioned in a bull of Pope Alexander III. The city was founded in 1225 by Duke Henry I of Brabant. Helmond received city rights in 1232. In the 19th century the textile industry took off. At this time the Zuid-Willemsvaart was built that connects Helmond with 's-Hertogenbosch and Maastricht. Along the canal villas of textile barons remember to the former textile industry.

### Tourist office

* VVV Helmond, Watermolenwal 11, ☏ +31 492 522220, vvv@bibliotheekhelmondpeel.nl. M W Th 10:00-17:30, Tu F 10:00-20:30, Sa 10:00-17:00. For ticket sales, routes, gift cards, local and regional products, cycling or walking trails in the Peel.

## Get in
### By plane

Nearby is Eindhoven Airport. Ryanair, Wizzair, Transavia and more companies, service this airport from more than 60 destinations within Europe. Getting from the airport to Helmond is possible by public transport; the most convenient is by bus to Eindhoven railway station to take a direct train to Helmond.

### By train

Helmond has four railway stations on the line Eindhoven-Venlo. Intercity trains only stop in Helmond station.

### By car

The A270 highway connects Helmond with Eindhoven. Secondary roads N279 run North to Den Bosch, N270 East to Venray and N612 South direction Weert with a connection to the A67 (Antwerp-Venlo) after 2km.

### By bus

The regional buses, operated by the Hermes, link Helmond with major surrounded cities. As these are the regional buses, they do not go directly between these city but stop at several small villages. Hermes bus company operates within the boundaries of the city. Travelling inside the city by bus is difficult because many lines have been cancelled.

### By taxi

In you want to travel quickly between cities in the region you can also travel by taxi. Prices will vary, but if you use a taxi with more people than this is still a cheap way of transportation in and around Helmond. There are several taxi services available, but if you need a good and reliable one call +31 492 511517 or visit the website$^{[deadlink]}$

## See

* Brandevoort. Brandevoort is a modern district inspired on old Brabant towns and villages. No house is exactly the same, although all homes fit beautifully together with their colors in mostly earth and whites. Even the English Prince Charles has admiringly elated about this district, whose style is now eagerly copied in other cities.
* Helmond castle, Kasteelplein 1. The castle of Helmond is built in 1325. Despite a fierce fire in 1549 it remained well preserved. The castle has been in use as a town hall since 1923 until the 1970s when it became a town museum.
* Lambertus church, Kerkstraat 51, ☏ +31 492 522930. The Saint Lambert church is built from 1856-1861 in neo-Gothic style. It replaced the previous medieval church.
* Saint Lucia church, Hoofdstraat 157, ☏ +31 492 522930. The St. Lucia Church was built in 1896 in neo-Gothic style
* Water tower, Torenstraat. The water tower is built in 1948. The twelve-brick tower is 47.3 m high. The ground plan has a cross-shaped structure and the carrying structure is made up of concrete. The total reservoir capacity is 1200 m³.
* Rondje Helmond A 43-km cycling route in and around Helmond.
* 51.9202784.4905561 Cube houses (Kubuswoningen), near the site of the Theater 't Speelhuis. These houses, designed by Dutch architect Piet Blom, are literally cubes, tilted over by 45 degrees. There were 18 cube houses built in Helmond in the mid-1970s, along with 39 in Rotterdam (where one is open as a museum), and 3 in Toronto. Daily 10:00-18:00. (updated Sep 2020)

## Do

* 51.47725.65311 $^{[deadlink]}$ Gemeentemuseum Helmond (Town museum), Kasteelplein 1, ☏ +31 492 587716, info@gemeentemuseumhelmond.nl. Tu-F 10:00-17:00, Sa Su 13:00-17:00. The Gemeentemuseum Helmond is located in two buildings, Castle Helmond and Boscotondohal. In the basement is an exhibition about the building and its residents and on the history of Helmond. People and Work is a permanent exhibition. It is a collection of art from home and abroad with the working man as a theme. In Boscotondohal are often exhibitions and is contemporary art from the period 1920-1980. €7.5 adult, €4 child.
* 51.479915.658422 Home Computer Museum. Museum with many old computers on display. The museum includes an arcade hall and a shop. (updated Feb 2018)
* De Heistraat. A street in Helmond well known for its vast number of foreign food related establishments. There are many Polish, Arabic and Turkish supermarkets, kebabshops, Turkish bakeries and Chinese restaurants.
* 51.4111995.8406073 De Groote Peel National Park, Visitors Centre: Moostdijk 15, Ospel-Nederweert (24 km S of Helmond along N612 and N266), ☏ +31 495 64 14 97, depelen@staatsbosbeheer.nl. A largely excavated bog area on the border of the Dutch provinces of Limburg and North Brabant. Once this was a very impervious area. De Groote Peel has an area of approximately 15 km² and is accessed by three routes for hikers. De Groote Peel is considered one of the richest bird areas of Western Europe.

## Buy

Most shops can be found in the Veestraat, Markt and in the Elzas-passage, a covered shopping centre.

## Eat

* $^{[formerlydeadlink]}$ Charlee Browns Place, Noord Koninginnewal 7, ☏ +31 492 524456.
* Ons Loes, Frans Joseph v Thielpark 4, ☏ +31 492 520004, info@onsloes.nl. Tu-Su 12:00-21:00. Nice ambience overlooking the historic castle.
* $^{[deadlink]}$ Paviljoen de Warande, De Kluis 2, ☏ +31 492 536361, info@paviljoendewarande.com. Tu-Su 11:00-21:00. €24.50 three-course menu.
* Ristorante Sicilia, Steenweg 7-9, ☏ +31 492 532616. Tu-Su 17:00-23:00. €27.50 three-course menu.

## Drink

There are a lot of pubs in Helmond. In Helmond centre near the Zuid-Willemsvaart are some nice pubs with terraces.
* Café-Bar De Bascule, Havenweg 8-14, ☏ +31 492 540 798, info@cafebardebascule.nl.
* Franske, Havenweg 4, ☏ +31 492 590 985, info@cafefranske.nl.
* De Kapper, Havenweg 2, ☏ +31 492 590 987, info@cafedekapper.nl.
* $^{[deadlink]}$ Café Zeezicht, Steenweg 2-4, ☏ +31 492 200 021, info@zeezichthelmond.nl.
* Cafe de Engel, Markt 40

## Sleep

* Golden Tulip Hotel West-Ende (Brasserie Rubenshof), Steenweg 1, ☏ +31 49 2524151, info@goldentulipwestende.nl. This 4-star hotel offer 70 comfortable rooms with free WiFi. It has a restaurant €109.
* Sint Lambert, Markt 2, ☏ +31 492 525562, info@st-lambert.nl. Hotel Restaurant Sint Lambert is in the centre of Helmond at the foot at the Sint Lambertus Church. It has 6 double rooms and 12 single rooms. €93.50.

## Connect

The international telephone country code for the Netherlands is 31, the area code for Helmond is 0492. If dialing from abroad, use +31 but then leave out the 0 in the area code.
PostNL runs several post offices in the centre of town.
* PostNL, Ameidestraat 14, ☏ +31 900 0990.
* PostNL, Heistraat 187, ☏ +31 900 0990.
* PostNL, Mierloseweg 10, ☏ +31 900 0990.

## Go next

Visit Den Bosch, the historic capital of North Brabant or visit the nearby national park De Groote Peel.
* 51.4111995.8406072 De Groote Peel National Park, Visitors Centre: Moostdijk 15, Ospel-Nederweert, ☏ +31 495 64 14 97, depelen@staatsbosbeheer.nl. A largely excavated bog area on the border of the Dutch provinces of Limburg and North Brabant. Once this was a very impervious area. De Groote Peel has an area of approximately 15 km² and is accessed by three routes for hikers. De Groote Peel is considered one of the richest bird areas of Western Europe.