9 cultural opportunities at museums in North Brabant
Stroll past Vincent van Gogh originals, royal objects, historic castle rooms or 13,000 pairs of shoes. In North Brabant, everyone can spend a day at the museum. Because there are several top Dutch museums here, you can choose which one you want to visit. Are you having trouble choosing? In North Brabant, everything is close by. This means you can combine several museums, monuments and heritage sites during a day or weekend in North Brabant.
1. Het Noordbrabants Museum, 's-Hertogenbosch
Admire original works by Van Gogh
Admire original works by Van Gogh
In the centre of ‘s-Hertogenbosch, admire original works by Brabant masters like Vincent van Gogh, Jan Sluijters and Jheronimus Bosch – all under one roof. Het Noordbrabants Museum is also the museum for those who love classic art. In addition to international top artists, there is also room for talented up-and-coming artists.
Combine your visit with a day of culture in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. The Design Museum is located under the same roof and the impressive St. John's Cathedral is just a stone’s throw away. And don’t miss the attractive district of Uilenburg, where you can get on a boat for a round trip on the Binnendieze underground river.
2. Van GoghHuis Zundert
Did you know that Vincent van Gogh was born in North Brabant? In Zundert in West Brabant, to be precise. The rectory in which he was born in 1853 and lived until he was 16 now contains the Vincent van GoghHuis. With its permanent exhibition ‘The roots of a master’, the museum zooms in on Vincent’s youth and provides unique insight into his personality and artistic skill.
“Follow the trail of Vincent van Gogh through North Brabant via the Van Gogh cycle route. Ten bicycle loops,four of which are in the town of Zundert and the nearby village of Etten-Leur, take you past heritage sites and through the Brabant countryside to which he lost his heart.”
3. Van Gogh Village Museum, Nuenen
You get even closer to Van Gogh during a visit to Nuenen. This picturesque village, close to Eindhoven, inspired the painter to create the majority of his oeuvre, including his first masterpiece The Potato Eaters. In the Van Gogh Village Museum, you journey through his life, from his very first sketches through to his breakthrough as an artist. In the Lichtlab or Light Lab, you can play with light and colour like Vincent did – great fun for young and old!
Afterwards, take a stroll through Van Gogh Village Nuenen, with dozens of heritage sites linked to Van Gogh. The Van Gogh cycle route Nuenen not only takes you through the village but also the landscape with characteristic Van Gogh locations, such as the The Opwetten Watermill.
4. TextielMuseum, Tilburg
Explore the history of textile
Explore the history of textile
The roots of Tilburg lie deep in the textile industry. It made the city great and still shapes the raw and experimental city of Tilburg today. In the TextielMuseum, located in an old textile factory, you dive into the world of textile and the history of Tilburg. In the impressive building, the stories of Tilburg textile labourers come to life on the audio tour. Be sure to stop in the TextielLab, where artists and students experiment and innovate with textile.
If you love modern art, combine your visit with Museum De Pont; the two museums are less than a ten-minute walk from each other.
5. Stedelijk Museum Breda
For a day of culture in North Brabant, Breda is the place to be. In the medieval city centre, you are surrounded by heritage – with touch a royalty! In the 15th and 16th century, the family of Orange-Nassau resided here. You uncover their story, and that of Breda throughout the centuries, during a visit to the Stedelijk Museum Breda. The new permanent exhibition ‘De Nassaus van Breda – Kasteel, stad en land’ (The Nassaus of Breda – Castle, city and country) introduces you to the intriguing family history, and you learn why Breda was one of the first Dutch cities where the Italian renaissance became visible.
The royal allure of Breda is still fully visible in the city centre in, for example, the Grote Kerk (Church of Our Lady), Breda Castle and the picturesque Begijnhof. Make it a weekend in Breda and stay overnight in style at Hotel Nassau!
“The changing exhibitions make each visit interesting and surprising.”
6. Schoenenkwartier, Waalwijk
Waalwijk has a museum outing suitable for all ages, focussing on trade, fashion, awareness and design. In the shoe and leather city of the Netherlands, the shoe museum in Waalwijk gives you an interactive look into the entire process of creation, from tanning the hide into supple leather up to the moment that the shoes are shipped. Don‘t miss the Maaklab (manufacturing lab), where you can get to work yourself on something nice to take home.
7. Museum Helmond
Unique combination of the present and the past
Unique combination of the present and the past
Art and culture enthusiasts come from far to see the Boscotondo complex in the centre of Helmond; the building alone is an architectonic work of art! In Kunsthal Helmond, a modern art hall, changing exhibitions of art and photography guarantee that your museum visit will be interesting. Museum Helmond consists of two locations. The art hall is only a few minutes’ walk to Helmond Castle, the largest moated castle and one of the best-preserved castles in the Netherlands. Within the castle walls, you will encounter fascinating tales that reveal 700 years of castle history.
8. Camp Vught National Memorial
On the site of the only former SS concentration camp in the Netherlands lies the Camp Vught National Memorial. By means of an audio tour, the museum gives a penetrating look at what took place here during the Second World War. After a visit to the museum of Camp Vught, you can visit the exhibition ‘If walls could talk’ just down the road. The exhibition tells the tale of the post-war history and is located in the last authentic camp barracks in the Netherlands, ‘Barracks 1B’.
Camp Vught National Memorial lies on one of the cycle routes of Liberation Route Brabant. The 30-kilometre route in and around Vught reminds us of life-changing events during the Second World War.
Would you like to learn more about the Second World War in North Brabant?
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Liberation route Vught
Liberation route Vught
2 hour 30 minutes 30.0 km
9. Museum Bevrijdende Vleugels (Wings of Liberation), Best
In the woods of Best, near Eindhoven, the Museum Bevrijdende Vleugels (Wings of Liberation) tells an important war story. Operation Market Garden is one of the most important military events in Dutch history. In September 1944, the Allies used ‘gliders’ to land men and material at the site that is now right next to the museum. This is where you can follow the footsteps of the 101st Airborne Division and relive the story that ultimately led to the liberation of South Netherland.
