In and around that city in the southernmost Dutch province of Limburg, you will also find outstanding meals, very pretty countryside, miles of interesting caves carved into limestone hills, Roman ruins and the chance to get into some special mineral waters. Maastricht, a city of 130,000, is so close to where Holland, Germany and Belgium meet that its shops accept currency from all three countries. Most residents speak French as well as Dutch. Many also speak German and English. Maastricht dates to about 50 BC, and was a way station on a Roman road from Cologne to the North Sea.
Longer tours are available.
Maastricht nowadays is a mix of Roman ruins, medieval walls and tall, narrow houses towering over cobblestoned streets. Its squares offer pleasant sidewalk cafes under the leafy cover of big trees. Roman ruins are everywhere, and bits and pieces of walls mark the early boundaries of Maastricht. Downtown, in the Derlon hotel's basement, are remnants of Roman civilization. But a better place to stay is the waterfront Holiday Inn, where you can have breakfast by the river.