A Weekend in the South of Limburg

While I have lived (almost) my whole life in The Netherlands, I just never came around to visiting the South of Limburg. This small piece of the Netherlands is nestled between Belgium and Germany, and is perfect for producing wine. So recently we packed our bags and set off for a weekend trip to a small village named Holset to experience some of the food and wine scene for ourselves.

Inside this guide, I’ll recommend my favourite places, as recommended by our B&B hosts. There’s nothing like a local’s guide to really get to see a city or town!

Visiting Holset

The drive to Holset from Rotterdam takes up 2 hours and 45 minutes. In a little less than 3 hours, you drive from the bustling city straight to this quaint and charming town, which is one of the closets to the border of Belgium and Germany.

The food and wine culture in the South of Limburg is what attracts international and local tourists every year, regardless of the seasons. However this autumn we had the feeling of having the place to ourselves. The temperate can drop quickly in September and the sun isn’t a given. Most tourists visit during the summer, so be aware and book your activities beforehand.

Where To Stay

If you can afford a night at Domein Holset, this is probably one of the nicest accommodations in town. The hotel was booked fully so we stayed at B&B Holset70. However, if you are on a budget, there are some great AirBnBs to be found in the area. Try booking a night in one of the nearby towns such as Vaals or Vijlen.

Holset Wine Estate

First on our agenda was to visit one of the local wine farms of the South of Limburg. There are too many to mention and way too many to visit them all. So we did some Googling, read some reviews and chose an estate where they produce sparkling wine. Holset grows the grapes from which they make sparkling wine according to the traditional method. The estate offers wine tastings, guided tours or even a masterclass winemaking. We filled our afternoon with a guided tour over the estate and a wine tasting under the guidance of a wine specialists. The estate is quite young compared to others in the region, but the land has a lot of history.

Three-Country Point

The Three-Country point near Vaals is the highest point in the Netherlands and a place where the borders between the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany meet. It is just one of those must visits if you are nearby and a great place for kids sinch there is a big labyrint and playground.

This piece of land is known for it’s history. After the First World War, various border corrections took place and the four-country point became a three-country point. Later, after the Second World War, there was a lot of smuggling near the three-country point. Several of the small forest and meadow paths were frequently used for smuggling routes.

Hike

The Vaalserberg is a hill near the Dutch village of Vaals, with a height of 322.4 meters above sea-level. Ironically this is the highest place in the whole of The Netherlands. The hill is frequently used by cyclists and hikers who make use of the cycle paths and hiking trails.

Interested in more weekends away in the Netherlands check out Droste’s Lanschapskamer or Staying in a Tiny House for more inspiration.