Tilburg

Tilburg is a large city in southern Netherlands. It started to grow during the Industrial Revolution, when wool factories were set up, thus making it the wool city of the Netherlands. Because wool was treated with urine during processing, employees had to bring along a full bottle to work every morning. This gave the Tilburgers their nickname of Kruikezeikers. Tilburg has about 215,000 inhabitants (2017).

Understand

History

Tilburg already existed in the late medieval period, when there was West-Tilburg and East-Tilburg (which is now in Oisterwijk). The lordship was known as Greater Tilburg, of which it was first Oisterwijk also with it, later it was Goirle. It was a part of the Bailiwick of 's-Hertogenbosch. Around the late 15th century, Tilburg contained a castle and Herd Places. These small places, streets with houses along it and agriculture between those streets formed the structure of which would once become the city of Tilburg.

Going further to the 18th century, slightly the first herd places became filled. In 1809, Louis Napoleon gave Tilburg city rights, after centuries of neglecting by the Dutch politics due to the catholic background of the city. However, the King William II, had found his nice place in Tilburg, and gave the mission to build a palace. Three weeks before completion in 1849, William II died. The palace is still standing as one of the few who survived the Mayor Becht's destructive urban renewal in the 1960s.

The city expanded rapidly in the coming century, from being not much more than a village, to one of the largest cities in the Netherlands. The industrial revolution meant that hundreds of looms were standing in the city, filling the rest of the former herd places. Wool and textiles from Tilburg were very known at the first half of the 20th century. These times gave Tilburg the name of Kruikenzeikersstad (Jars-pissing-people city).

As the Second World War was over, Tilburg shortly retained this position until halfway the 1960s. Since then, the economy would implode, that did not happen due to government money to attract Tilburg for modern industries. Many monuments have not survived the renewal terror from Cees Becht in the 1960s. Beautiful historical buildings have made place for wider roads and gray flats. Also the train station was a historical one, but isn't anymore.

Tourist Information: VVV Tilburg, Spoorlaan 434a, 013-5323720.

Get in

Central Station of Tilburg

By train

Tilburg is connected to the rest of the country by a twice an hour Intercity service, bound to both Eindhoven and Breda - Rotterdam - The Hague.

A second intercity goes twice an hour from Roosendaal-Breda to Tilburg and goes further 's-Hertogenbosch-Nijmegen-Arnhem-Zwolle. Trains in the Netherlands usually drive from 05:30/06:00 up to 00:00.

Intercity trains will drive in the night on Friday and Saturday nights from and to Eindhoven, 's-Hertogenbosch and Breda/Rotterdam/The Hague from 00:00 to 04:00.

Theater De Vorst

By car

Tilburg is connected by highway only from Breda (with Belgium, Rotterdam-The Hague) and Eindhoven (Limburg, Ardennes, Rhine-Ruhr). To Waalwijk, it goes partially on a highway, and that is also for the city of 's-Hertogenbosch (!), which is not recommended for travelling fast and safe. From Turnhout it is the small road via Ravels, Poppel and Goirle.

By bus

Flixbus serves the city. Breda and Eindhoven may have more intercity bus connections, both of them can be reached by train. Regional buses go from Waalwijk, Efteling, Oosterhout and Turnhout to Tilburg.

• Efteling with 169 or 137
• Oosterhout with 127
• Turnhout with 450 (De Lijn)
• Waalwijk with 137

By boat

No scheduled ferries come along the Wilhelminakanaal, but if you have a private boat, you can reach it from Eindhoven and the Meuse on the Wilhelminakanaal.

Get around

Tilburg has three railway stations, and around ten city bus lines, going through all of the city, so every neighborhood is connected easily with the city centre. Some night buses drive through Tilburg, but not in every neighborhood.

Buses are operated by Arriva (Bravo).

Tilburg is a very bicycle-friendly city, and has, like many other Dutch cities, red bicycle lanes. Bicycling might be faster than driving in a car or bus, and brings you much closer to many places. On the Heuvel, Pieter Vreedeplein and at the train stations are bicycle parkings.

King William's statue in the Heuvel

See

Tilburg heritage is both historic and industrial of nature. The Oude Markt (Old Market) is a good place to start sightseeing, with the 1828 Heikese church and its 15th-century tower as the main point of interest. There are many churches in the city, and the 19th-century neo-gothic Heuvelse kerk (devoted to St. John) is another one you'll easily spot when exploring the town centre. It sits on the cosy Heuvelplein, where you'll also find outdoor terraces and an 1852 neo-classical statue of Dutch King William II (died 1849). William II enjoyed Tilburg and spent a lot of time in the city. Streets, schools, and the local professional soccer team are named after him.

Paleis-Raadhuis

• 1 City Hall of Tilburg (Paleis-Raadhuis Tilburg). It was built in 1847 as a royal residence for Kind William II. The royal family donated it later to the city to house a secular school for the middle class, founded in 1866. One of the early students was Vincent Van Gogh, later recognized as a brilliant painter. The school moved out to new facilities in 1934, when the city decided to refurbish it for use as a city hall. A new, much larger city hall building opened later in 1971 right behind the palace, and the historic building is now used for official ceremonies, including weddings 

Lancierskazerne

• 2 Lancierskazerne, Kazernehof. The oldest former army base for the Dutch cavalry to have survived. It's a fine example of the historic and industrial heritage in Tilburg, as these barracks were later used for two large wool- and leather factories. Today, it houses a part of the city archives. 
• 3 Safari Beekse Bergen, Beekse Bergen 1, Hilvarenbeek, ☏ +31 900-2335732, info@safaripark.nl. All days, 10am-5pm. The largest wildlife zoo of the Benelux. €21.50. 

Natuurmuseum Brabant

Museums

• Natuurmuseum Brabant, Spoorlaan 434. 

Inside the Textile Museum

• Dutch Textile Museum (Nederlands Textielmuseum), Goirkestraat 96. Exhibition of textile machinery and industry. 

Entrance to Museum de Pont

• De Pont Museum of Modern Art. 

Do

Tilburg is home to two concert halls: the Concertzaal in the Schouwburg Tilburg at the Louis Bouwmeesterplein 1, and 013 (being called after the net number) at Veemarktstraat 44, which gives more pop music.

• Dierenpark de Oliemeulen; Reitse Hoevenstraat 30 , a small zoo existing mostly of reptiles, insects and birds of prey.
• Efteling, a theme park, is close to Tilburg. It's the largest among the Benelux countries, and it's comparable with Tivoli Gardens (Copenhagen) and Disneyland Resort (Paris).
• Gipsyfestival. End of May 
• Tilburg Funfair (Tilburgse kermis). The largest funfair of the Benelux, which is held in July for ten days. 

Three cinemas are known well throughout Tilburg. All cinemas have movies in English, while Cinecitta has many movies in French, Spanish and Italian languages.

• Cinecitta, Willem II Straat 29, ☏ +31-013 542 1379. Cinecitta is an arthouse cinema, with arthouse movies, documentaries and is cosy, has no pauses and in a historical building. 

The Euroscoop

• Euroscoop, Olympiaplein 2, ☏ +31-013 581 28 20, info@euroscoop.nl. Euroscoop is a large cinema in the south of Tilburg, with twelve halls of cinema with many Hollywood movies, has large seats, pauses and automatic ticket sales. 
• Pathé, Pieter Vreedeplein 174, ☏ +31 900 1458. Pathé is also a large cinema, but is in the city centre, in opposition to Euroscoop. It has 7 halls, large seats, no pauses and online reservation. 
• 1 Kampina, Visitors Centre: Van Tienhovenlaan 5, Oisterwijk (20 km east of Tilburg), ☏ +31 13 5231800. A nature reserve with forest, heathland and stream valleys located between Boxtel and Oisterwijk. The Kampina is a popular hiking area, especially when the heather blooms. There are several hiking trails. 
• Football: Willem II were promoted in 2024 and now play soccer in Eredivisie, the top tier. Their Koning Willem II Stadion (capacity 14,600) is 2 km south of the railway station.

Learn

Tilburg has one university, known as Tilburg University, since its name is in fact in English! There are dozens of English-language only programmes. 8% out of 13,000 are foreign students. It specialises in Social sciences, Economy and Law. Unlike many other universities, it is not owned by the government (Rijksuniversiteit).

There are also other schools with the bachelor/master system, such as Avans and Fontys. Also they offer many programmes in English. For the younger travellers: there are also secondary schools (American: High Schools) which offer a largely English-language programme.

Buy

Tilburg is not that one shopping city, it has even been worse in the past, though. Now there are more chains of shopping since the opening of the renewed Pieter Vreedeplein. There are shops in the Heuvelstraat, the Pieter Vreedeplein, the Pieter Vreedestraat, the Emma Passage, the Stadhuisplein and also the Schouwburgpromenade. Because Tilburg is not seen as a tourist city, there are no souvenir shops with products dedicated to Tilburg.

Emma Passage and Piusplein

• Gianotten Mutsaers, for many books, as well as English books and dictionaries. Includes a cosy café as well.

Heuvelstraat

• Apple Premium Reseller
• H&M, Swedish clothes brand
• HEMA, small-size department store, known for their smoked sausages sold at the entrance.
• Hudsons Bay.
• Zara, clothing shop from Spain.
• Vodafone, T-Mobile and Hi, for mobile telephones and issues with the telephone.

And many clothes and fashion shops

Pieter Vreedeplein

• Mediamarkt, a chain of electronics stores. Also here it has many Blu-ray discs and games, but also things for the kitchen etc.
• The Sting, Tilburgish brand of clothes, also is throughout Europe now.

Koopmansgebouw, a modernist skyscraper of the Tilburg University

Eat

Restaurants in Tilburg are mostly concentrated on the Heuvelplein, the Piusplein, the Oude Markt and in the back area, towards the train station. Different shops in the city center provide food, mostly for lunch to eat on multiple places. There are supermarkets selling lunch to eat en route such as AH to go (near the central train station) and places where you can eat en route as well as inside, such as Bakker Bart (in the Heuvelstraat).

Budget

• 1 Taco Bell, Heuvel 35. There are Taco Bell branches in just a few European countries. Here you can enjoy the Tex-Mex cuisine. (updated Aug 2023)
• 2 Lucky Hill, Heuvel 21. Cafeteria (updated Aug 2023)
• 3 Food-Atelier, Stationsstraat 44. (updated Aug 2023)
• 4 Karnak Grillroom, Heuvel 6. (updated Aug 2023)
• 5 Hizmet Piusplein, Piusplein 55. Turkish. (updated Aug 2023)
• 6 I Wok & Go, Juliana van Stolbergstraat 23. Asian. (updated Aug 2023)
• 7 Dwars Hotdogbar, Korvelseweg 86. Hot dogs (updated Aug 2023)

Mid-range

• 8 Sushi Koi, Heuvelring 126, ☏ +13-5451000. One of the best sushi places around, serving grilled Japanese dishes too. Lunch around €23. Diner around €38. (updated Aug 2023)
• 9 Pig & Rye, Nieuwlandstraat 28. The obession of this restaurant is to make the food by themselves including the bread, cheese and vegetables. During lobster season there is lobster. During truffle season there is truffle. €20-30. (updated Aug 2023)

Splurge

• 10 Hofstede de Blaak, Dussenpad 1-3. In a residential area, this historic English style mansion offers fine dining and has a lovely outdoor terrace in summer. When eating indoors, ask for a table in the "jachtkamer" ("hunting hall"). The set Menu Hofstede De Blaak is excellent value for money, but you can eat a la carte too. Call ahead. €45 for 3-course menu, mains a la carte around €35. (updated Aug 2023)
• 11 Restaurant De Houtloods, Burgemeester Brokxlaan 1041. Around €80. (updated Aug 2023)
• 12 Kok Verhoeven, NS-Plein 32. €100+. (updated Aug 2023)

Tilburg Synagogue - facade detail

Drink

Because Tilburg University had several undergraduate and graduate schools, this college town boasts lots of places where people congregate for a drink. Cafés to drink are allowed to be opened until 04:00, where in the last hour before closure time, only may come people out and not in. To neutralize the effects of alcohol, the municipality decided that bread-selling shops, shoarma/kebab tents and equivalent places are allowed to open up to 05:00. These opening times mostly will only be applied on Friday and Saturday nights.

A typical drink for Tilburg is the Schrobbelèr. This is a liquor with an alcoholic percentage of 21.5%, and is an herbal (and bitter) liqueur, although sweeter than most bitter liqueurs. The drink is sold throughout the year, more popular during carnival. It's sold in many restaurants and liqueur stores, also national stores in the city, for example in Café Tribunaal.

Most out and about places are in and around the city center, in three areas, all of them within a 1-km radius:

• Heuvel and Heuvelring, with the city's most discos and some restaurants.
• Korte Heuvel, which is a small street, packed with nice and cosy cafés.
• Piusplein — a residential area with one McDonald's and several cafés and restaurants.

You can visit a traditional beer brewery in Berkel-Enschot (just east of Tilburg) at the Trappistenklooster. The brewery is now owned by the big brewer Bavaria, so it's not that traditional anymore.

Stationstraat, one of the typical Dutch historic streets in Tilburg

Sleep

Goirkestraat 87, a historic monument

• Bastion Hotel, Kempenbaan 2 (next to the highway, near Hilvarenbeek and the Beekse Bergen), ☏ +31 13 5441999. 
• City Hotel Tilburg, Heuvelring 126 (in the centre), ☏ +31 13 535 1355. This place has a modern style and spacious rooms. Take into account that in the morning you'll likely be woken by the church bells. €95 for a double. 
• Auberge Du Bonheur, Bredaseweg 441 (at the outskirts of town). This place is almost in the forest. There's a good breakfast and the restaurant serves gourmet cuisine, but it's not cheap. From €79 for a double. 
• Het Wapen van Tilburg, Spoorlaan 362 (in the city center, near the shopping district), ☏ +31 13 542 2692. This "Inn" has group rooms for up to 6 people as well as fairly small but cosy singles/doubles. There's no real breakfast, but they provide some free sandwiches, fruit and juice in the morning, if you don't want to eat somewhere else. 
• Bed and Breakfast Tilburg "Gust van Dijk", Tivolistraat 22 (south of the Interpolis Tower), ☏ +31 13 544 4495. 
• Hotel Brasserij Grand Central, Spoorlaan 422 (opposite the central train station), ☏ +31 13 543 6234. 
• Ibis Hotel, Dr. Hub Van Doorneweg 105 (next to the highway, near Goirle), ☏ +31 13 4636465. 
• Mercure Hotel, Heuvelpoort 300 (in the city center, in the shopping district), ☏ +31 13 5354675. 
• De Postelse Hoeve, Dr. Deelenlaan 10 (northwest, next to the road to the Efteling), ☏ +31 13 463 6335. 

Connect

Internet

In the Netherlands generally, mobile internet via your mobile phone may cost no more than €3.50/Mb, and from July 1, 2012 the law allows no more than €0.90/Mb.

Internet and Wifi locations: At the central library on 10, Koningsplein (King's Sq), there's internet, with payment. At the McDonald's, free WiFi at four locations: Piusplein 75, Zuid at Mina Krusemanweg 4, West/Reeshof at Aphroditestraat, and (December 2011) at the Kreitenmolenstraat, close to Udenhout and Oisterwijk. The uppermost floor of the V&D offers paid WiFi, at Heuvelstraat 33, at the La Place.

Post

Since the modernizing of the post system, no post office will (ever) serve Tilburg (anymore). To send post, you have either to do it via small points in supermarkets, unmanned, which are faster than the previous offices, and mostly open for longer hours too, since the shops where they are also keep open until 18:00, 20:00, 21:00 or even 22:00 on some days and on some Sundays too. To find a location, you can go to a web site of PostNL: . Type in: Tilburg and click at Postkantoor van PostNL.

Cope

Tilburg is home to two hospitals:

1. St. Elisabeth Ziekenhuis Tilburg, Hilvarenbeekse Weg 60, Tel:(31-)013 539 1313
2. Tweesteden Ziekenhuis Loc. Tilburg, Dr. Deelenlaan 5, Tel:(31-)013 4655655

There are five police stations in Tilburg:

1. Inner City police station: Stationsstraat 22, for the centre and the southern part
2. Leijdal police station: Ringbaan Zuid 498a, for Tilburg southeast and Hilvarenbeek
3. West/Reeshof police station: Karel Boddenweg 9, for everyplace west of the 'Ringbaan West'
4. Wilhelmina Park police station: Wilhelminapark 6, for the northern half of inner Tilburg
5. Tilburg North police station: Brucknerlaan 18, for everyplace north of the Wilhelminakanaal

Go next

• Breda
• Eindhoven
• 's-Hertogenbosch

Routes through Tilburg

Vlissingen ← Breda ←

W  E

→ Eindhoven