Netherlands
Where to stay in Utrecht
Utrecht is a city in Netherlands, home to about 359,000 people. This guide covers 2 hotels and 1 aparthotel in Utrecht, with about 214 rooms between them. 1 of them carries a published guest score, and the list below is ordered by it.
- Places to stay in this guide
- 3
- Best months
- May to July and September
- Nearest airport
- AMS34 km · Amsterdam Airport Schiphol
- Currency
- EUReuro
- Time zone
- Europe/Amsterdam
- Language
- Dutch
About
About Utrecht
Utrecht is the fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the province of Utrecht. The municipality of Utrecht is located in the eastern part of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Netherlands, and includes Haarzuilens, Vleuten and De Meern.
The history of the city goes back to 47 AD when the Roman emperor Claudius ordered his general Corbulo to build a defensive line along the river Rhine which was the northern most border of the empire. One of the strongholds (or Castella) along the river was built at a crossing in the river and was called Traiectum (which means crossing place). In the local language this became Trecht, Uut-Trecht (lower-Trecht) and later Utrecht. On the place where once the castellum stood now stands the Domchurch built in the 13th century.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Utrecht
See
- Dom van Utrecht
- DOMunder
- Pandhof Domkerk
- Domtoren
- Pieterskerk
- Stadhuis
- Stadhuisbrug
- Kalisbrug
- Rietveld Schröderhuis
- Postkantoor Utrecht
- De Uithof
- De Inktpot
Do
- Royal Dutch Jaarbeurs Exhibition and Convention Centre
- Skate parade
- Rent a canoe
- Rent a canoe at Rijnstroom
- Visit a jamsession at T' Oude Pothuys
- Wilhelminapark
- Park Lepelenburg
- Julianapark
- Stadsschouwburg
- Theater Kikker
- Pathé Rembrandt Utrecht
- Pathé Utrecht Leidsche Rijn
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
The best-rated places to stay in Utrecht
Ordered by guest score as each operator publishes it, weighted by the number of reviews so a handful of perfect scores does not outrank thousands of very good ones. Scores are shown on their own scale.
| # | Place to stay | Rooms | Guest score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leonardo Hotel Utrecht City Center hotel | 90 | 74/100 4,272 reviews |
2 more places to stay, without a published guest score
| Place to stay | Rooms |
|---|---|
| Hotel De Bilt - Utrecht hotel | 102 |
| Utrecht Balijelaan aparthotel | 22 |
Schematic: the city centre in orange, each place to stay as a dot, distance rings in kilometres.
Where to stay
Which part of Utrecht to stay in
Utrecht, like any big town, has its fair share of business hotels of the big chains.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
More hotels in Utrecht
23 hotels within 25 km of the centre, as recorded in Wikidata. Each name links to its encyclopedia article where there is one.
| Hotel | Opened | From centre |
|---|---|---|
| Grand Hotel Karel V | 1999 | 0.4 km |
| 2L De Blend | 2.8 km | |
| Boutique Hotel Zies | 1.0 km | |
| City Center Lodge Utrecht | 0.6 km | |
| Eye Hotel | 0.5 km | |
| Hotel Beijers | 0.1 km | |
| Hotel Holland Lodge | 3.1 km | |
| Hotel Mitland | 1.8 km | |
| Hotel Museumkwartier Utrecht | 0.9 km | |
| Hotel Oorsprongpark | 1.3 km | |
| Hotel-Chao NL | 1.5 km | |
| Ibis Utrecht | 2.5 km | |
| Inntel Hotels Utrecht Centre | 0.8 km | |
| Logement Petit Beijers | 0.1 km | |
| Mother Goose Hotel | 0.2 km | |
| Muze Hotel Utrecht | 1.0 km | |
| NH Centre Utrecht | 0.2 km | |
| NH Utrecht | 1.1 km | |
| Park Plaza Utrecht | 1.0 km | |
| The Anthony Hotel | 1.7 km | |
| The Hunfeld | 0.3 km | |
| The Nox Utrecht | 0.2 km | |
| Van der Valk Hotel Utrecht | 3.5 km |
When to go
The best time to visit Utrecht
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Utrecht are May to July and September. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 23 °C; December is the wettest, with about 86 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Utrecht: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS), about 34 km from the city centre in a straight line; Rotterdam The Hague Airport (RTM, 49 km) and Eindhoven Airport (EIN, 73 km) are also within reach.
Getting around
Walking or using a bike is the easiest way to travel in the city of Utrecht. To use public transportation, it is no longer necessary (but still possible) to buy an OV-chipkaart. Simply check in and out at the beginning and end of your journey with a credit or debit card. Some buses may still accept cash or card payment with the driver, but will charge you a higher fare for this. Using a bike is the easiest way to travel in the city centre if the weather is on your side. There are many bicycle shops near the train station where you can rent bikes.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
AMS · Amsterdam Airport Schiphol
RTM · Rotterdam The Hague Airport
EIN · Eindhoven Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Utrecht
Eat
Many restaurants can be found in the city center. Especially near the canals there is a huge choice of places to eat, each with their own style of kitchen, like Italian, Thai, and American. Ask the locals for which places are recommended as not every restaurant offers the same quality.
Drink
As the population of Utrecht contains a lot of students, naturally there are a lot of places where you can spend the day or night having some drinks and a dance. Most are in the city center. Main hubs for drinks are Neude, Janskerkhof, Mariaplaats and Ledig Erf.
Stay safe
Utrecht as a student city is quite safe, although there are some neighbourhoods in the outskirts that you probably don't want to visit. As always, don’t flash your wallet at markets and have a natural caution for pickpockets in the city centre. Unfortunately, bike thefts are a common nuisance, so if you travel by bike, make sure you have good locks and park your bike at a bike parking spots. Parking your bike in the city centre is easy as Utrecht has it own bike parking route. Parking lots for bikes are located under the Vredenburg (entrance between Zara and The Sting), the Neude (Neudeflat), Zadelstraat, under the City Hall, under the stairs at the Stationsplein West or the Jaarbeursplein.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Good to know
Accessibility, parking and families in Utrecht
How many places to stay in this guide offer each, in their operators' own words.
of 3 places
of 3 places
of 3 places
of 3 places
of 3 places
of 3 places
Questions
Utrecht: questions travellers ask
What are the best-rated hotels in Utrecht?
By published guest score: Leonardo Hotel Utrecht City Center (74 / 100 · 4,272 reviews · www.leonardo-hotels.com (operator's own guest score)).
When is the best time to visit Utrecht?
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Utrecht are May to July and September. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 23 °C; December is the wettest, with about 86 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Utrecht?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS), about 34 km from the city centre in a straight line; Rotterdam The Hague Airport (RTM, 49 km) and Eindhoven Airport (EIN, 73 km) are also within reach.
What currency is used in Utrecht?
euro (EUR).
Nearby
Destinations near Utrecht
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.