Utrecht is a historic city with roots in the Middle Ages. In recent decades, however, numerous new buildings have been implanted, turning Utrecht into a dynamic mix of old and new. The city is a little Amsterdam — with fewer tourists, but populated by students and criss-crossed by an incredibly well-developed cycling infrastructure.

A typological peculiarity in the city centre are the so-called werfkelders: cellars that provide direct access to the canals. Today, they make up the special charm of Utrecht’s old city centre. The old town centre has seen some interesting transformation and new construction projects in recent decades, including the Tivoli Vredenburg music centre and the former main post office, which has been converted into the public library. Beyond the old city centre, Utrecht boasts the largest railway station in the Netherlands, including a bicycle garage with 12,000 spaces, and the original residential district of Wisselspoor.