For many people, Tilburg is not the first destination that pops up when looking for a nice city for a day or night out. Shame! The city has undergone a major transformation in recent years undergo. Do you only know Tilburg from a decade (or more) back? Then you're hardly going to recognise it anymore. Anyway: Tilburg has everything for a weekend away: culture, architecture, history, good food, a harbour hotspot and a wandering area with quaint old shopping streets. Thegreenlist.nl takes you to Tilburg!
Tilburg tips! This you need to know about Tilburg
In cooperation with the Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions & Visit Brabant
Tilburg is a city best known to me as textile city, the Tilburg fair, the herbal liqueur Schrobbelèr and the band Krezip. The city was not high on my bucket list because the city has also traditionally been known to me as ‘an ugly duckling’. But lately, I heard other noises, that it has changed so incredibly. ‘Anyone who last visited this city years ago won't recognise it anymore’. ’The ugly duckling has turned into a beautiful swan', I was told. And that's right! Tilburg has managed to redevelop old industry into places to live, work and enjoy. Take the Spoorzone, for example, the old train workshop, which has been transformed into a catering and entertainment area, or the old post office that now serves as a hip rooftop bar and maze. Or how about Piushaven, Brabant's largest city harbour, which has been transformed into a hospitality area. In short, there is plenty to see and do in Tilburg.
City trip Tilburg.
Piece of history of Tilburg
Tilburg is a Catholic city in the province of North Brabant. Although the area has been inhabited for thousands of years, Tilburg as a city received city rights relatively late (1809). Because there was a lot of sheep farming around 1600, the area later grew into a wool and textile city. And that's what makes the city so cool now. There was a lot of activity in this prosperous city because of the many (textile) factories, the port, the railway station and the main workshop where maintenance of Dutch trains was done. These industrial buildings are still there, but have been given a new function.
Discover Tilburg on foot
During my visit to Tilburg, I speak to Dominique, a local photographer (also guide), who knows her way around by heart. ‘The great thing about Tilburg is that all the nice areas worth visiting are connected. So you can reach everything on foot.’ These are the five areas you absolutely must check out if you are going to (re)discover this city for a weekend:
1. Railway Park
The Spoorpark is a special civic initiative on the former Van Gend & Loos industrial estate. Here you can relax, exercise, eat, play and spend the night. On the site you will even find a city campsite what ‘Tilburg on a budget‘ also makes it quite possible. In nice weather, you can have a fantastic picnic here and when it is really hot, you will find coolness. In the Railway Park you will find a pond, a water stream and a water square. Clean and flowing water connects the different parts of the park. Connected to the city's water system, it acts as inner-city water storage and the water treatment with plants cleans the rainwater. In short, lovely to look at or play in!
What is also absolutely worth a visit is restaurant T-House.
2. Railway zone
Nearby, right behind central station, you will also find the impressive Spoorzone. This old train workshop has been transformed into a catering and entertainment area. This is a super nice place to have lunch, drinks or dinner in the evening. You will find plenty of restaurants and trendy bars in this area. There is so much choice in this area and so I ask two local guides, Maarten and Dominique, which places they think are absolutely worth checking out: Restaurant De Houtloods, Dining bar The Wagon, Get out, Gourmet Market Central Station (an awesome food hall) and LocHal. LocHal is a cultural meeting place in a giant hall where trains and locomotives used to be repaired. Very impressive to see. Now it is a coffee bar, library and cultural hotspot for lectures and exhibitions.
Spoorzone in Tilburg with LocHal on the right.
3. Piushaven
Once upon a time, almost a hundred years ago now, everything in Piushaven revolved around cargo ships. Wool, wine, sand and stones were loaded and unloaded here. Brabant's largest city port was an important part of the textile industry. Now the area has been completely renewed. You can have a great time in the green outskirts (within walking distance of the city). You can eat, drink, shop, stroll and even rent a boat if the weather is nice. Followers of thegreenlist.nl are big fans of Piushaven. So you'll also find plenty of nice eateries like sleeping and eating at Villa la Vida (formerly Villa Pastorie), Mediterranean enjoyment at Jaxx Marina, pancake house with playground The Boiler House or Mayor Jansen.
4. Korte Heuvel and Piusplein
The presence of universities and colleges are also always a good indicator of whether a city is an interesting city trip destination. Because student cities bustle, and so does Tilburg! Can you appreciate a bit of student cosiness? Then Korte Heuvel and Piusplein the places to be. This is the city's entertainment district. With almost twenty thousand students living in rooms here, it will rarely be boring or too quiet.
5. The Wandering Area
If you like historic winding streets with lots of greenery, small boutiques and coffee shops, you will be totally absorbed by the Dwaal area. The old mansions now house trendy shops and concepts that give colour to this neighbourhood. This is the perfect place for sustainable shopping. Stroll through this area and immerse yourself in what attracts you. There is so much choice. To get you started anyway: a few food and drink tips from followers of thegreenlist.nl. These places are guaranteed to be cosy if you want to unwind from time to time during your city walk: a piece of Paris in Tilburg at The Burgerij, creative coffee café Buutvrij, vegetarian and vegan to go at FoodAtelier, Café Kadinsky with more than two hundred beers, Pizzabar Rijslust, City pub the Savings Bank, lunch café Nieuwland, coffee bar and lunchroom Mr Morris, Foodbar Focus, Mercado Emma and brunch café Koppig.
Snapshots of the Dwaal area in Tilburg with the FoodAtelier, Pizzabar Rijstlust and Buutvrij.
Highlight 24 hours in Tilburg: rooftop bar & meta maze Doloris
To be honest, I don't think you can go to Tilburg without visiting Doloris. The rooftop bar in the old post office takes you straight to Berlin. The atmosphere is good, the cocktails make you happy and the shared dining bites are divine. Add to this the maze which is hard to put into words, but absolutely a unique experience. All I can say about the maze is that without a phone and watch, you are escorted with a blindfold to an entrance. From there, you are instructed to find the exit. Don't take it as a competition to be the fastest to find the exit, but instead take your time to explore all the corridors and rooms (12 years and up). People also describe it as an ‘art experience; or as a ‘trip without drugs’. Get the picture?
Doloris rooftop bar and maze.
Second-hand shopping in Tilburg
Besides the cute boutiques in the wandering area and in Piushaven, you will also find some great second-hand shops in these and other neighbourhoods. Do you like second-hand and thrift shops? Then be sure to check out the following addresses: thrift shop La Poubelle, Lieke Frederieke, ReShare Store Tilburg, Aunt Pollewop, ‘A bargain, thrift shop La Vida, PortAgora, Recycling in Tilburg, Petra Clothing, Rijkers Conceptstore, EcoGents, Studio KLO. Find more cool second-hand shops in Tilburg in this article.
Textile Museum Tilburg.
Culture in Tilburg
While strolling through all these nice neighbourhoods and places, you would almost forget that Tilburg is also the perfect place for art and culture lovers. At walking distance from the centre, you'll find the Textile Museum, as well as a contemporary art museum: The Pont. The centre itself also has all kinds of culture to soak up: Kesselsmuseum is a music experience for young and old, you can have a street art route walk and you will also find the Nature Museum Brabant.
For culture lovers, it is also advisable to LocHal agenda and from The New Forest to keep an eye on.
Also nice: Hotel Escape (room).
De Pont, museum of contemporary art.
To keep an eye on: Roof Garden Moes
‘As far as we are concerned, it is time to restore the connection between city, nature, food and its sustainability. We decided in 2020 to go for it on our own initiative by creating Tilburg's first publicly accessible roof garden. This is Daktuin Moes in the making. A roof garden on which fruit and vegetables are grown and bees kept. Where residents, students and visitors come together for contagious experiences: a substantive programme, small-scale events and snacks and drinks. A place where everyone's view of the world is subconsciously shaken up.’
City trip Tilburg: what's your sustainable tip?
Are you now thinking ‘golly, I'm missing a great Tilburg tip’. If so, please let us know and we will lovingly add it to the more sustainable Tilburg list. You can get in touch with the editors via the contact and follow buttons at the bottom of this page.
More sustainable tips from thegreenlist.nl
- Also see: City trip Breda, seeing and doing in this sustainable city.
- Beklijk too: The Efteling: an enduring fairytale.
- Also see: Huttopia De Meinweg: glamping experience close to home.
Photo credits: Merel Tuk, thegreenlist.nl.
