Valkenburg Castle Ruins

Limburg has hills, which is why the only hilltop castle in the country is here. The ruin sits on a marl outcrop above Valkenburg, held by the lords of Valkenburg from the twelfth century, destroyed in the seventeenth and never rebuilt. What is left is walls, arches and window openings at the level of the treetops, with the valley of the Geul below. Underneath runs the Velvet Cave, a network of passages cut into the soft marl by centuries of quarrying and linked to the castle by an old escape route. The town below is a spa and day trip resort with its own medieval gates and a long habit of receiving visitors.

What's there

• The ruin - walls, arches and tower stumps on the outcrop, walkable in a circuit.
• The view over the Geul valley - wooded hills and slopes, rare in this country.
• The Velvet Cave - marl passages under the hill, with charcoal drawings and old quarry faces.
• The town gates - the surviving medieval gates standing in the streets below.

When to go

April to October, when both the ruin and the cave keep full hours. The cave stays cool all year and needs a jacket even in August. Valkenburg fills up on summer weekends and again for the Christmas markets held inside the caves, when the town is at its most crowded and least restful.

Things to know

The ruin is modest and quickly walked, and the entrance fee surprises people given how little is standing. The cave tour is guided, timed and often in Dutch first. The town below is heavily commercial, with amusement attractions and souvenir streets that undercut the setting. The climb up is short but steep in places.

Nearby

Maastricht is fifteen minutes by train, and the Geul valley walks start in the town.