Have you ever heard of Zutphen before? Because I hadn’t. So how do you decide to visit this city if you don’t even know it? You let yourself drift on Airbnb and randomly click through beautiful vacation rentals in the Netherlands. And when you’ve found a particularly beautiful accommodation that fits your budget, you research information about the town in which it is located. That’s how I ended up spending five days in Zutphen this November – a little gem in the Dutch province of Gelderland that hasn’t been overrun by tourists yet.

Mode of travel

I was planning this trip on a budget because I had just moved apartments a couple of months before, so I looked for cheap train tickets. Zutphen has its own train station and the regional train running between Arnhem and Amsterdam stops there. I have the Deutschland Ticket, a public transport ticket for all of Germany, that includes regional trains. As I live close to the Dutch border, my train ride from Düsseldorf to Emmerich (a border town) was covered by my Deutschland Ticket. The rest of the route from Zevenaar to Zutphen cost me merely 6.70 €. It took me about two hours to get there. I think it’s similar when you go by car, maybe the drive is even a bit shorter.

Accommodation

As mentioned above, I found my accommodation by chance via Airbnb. Sometimes I just browse the different categories regardless of location. The accommodation in Zutphen was assigned to the “Tiny Houses” category. I’m not sure if this converted chicken coop officially qualifies as a tiny house, but it was definitely very small and cosy. I didn’t take any photos of the outside, otherwise you would see the owners’ house, which is right next door. But you can get more impressions from their Airbnb listing. Perfect for 1-2 people and the price is fair (I was there alone and paid roughly 400€ for five nights during off-season). Attention: I chose this place because I wanted peace and quiet but the location might not be for everyone! The cottage is located outside the city of Zutphen on the other side of the river in the district of De Hoven and there are hardly any buses. There is no supermarket, pharmacy etc. within walking distance. So you have to plan a 20-minute walk over the bridge into town and back for everything (or rent a bicycle somewhere).

The river Ijssel

The view from the bank of the river across to the city is beautiful both by day and by night. The short walk across the bridge also offers great photo opportunities. What’s particularly cool is that the bridge is a modern version of a drawbridge. However, when a ship wants to pass through, the two sides are not folded up, but a section of the bridge is raised in the middle.
Around the bridge and the river, the riverbank offers lush green nature for walking and cycling, for example the area of Tichelbeeksewaard.

Bibliotheek (Library)

No, I don’t want you to join the library – but I encourage you to step inside Zutphen’s library and have a look around because it’s pretty cool! It’s located in a former church (former Broederenkerk) and the architecture is simply amazing! If I was a student in Zutphen, I’d probably spend all of my time studying there. A very unusual place where you can take some great photos.

De Pelikaan specialty coffee and tea

I absolutely love old-timey specialty stores, so I was super excited to find this beautiful gem of a store in the heart of Zutphen! Can you believe De Pelikaan have been making and selling specialty coffee and tea since 1816? They even have been bearing the Royal Supplier designation since the early 1990s. I could have spent hours there browsing the coffes, teas, sweets and gifts – stepping into this place is like travelling back in time. I actually ended up getting most of my souvenirs from there – a delicious loose leaf tea called “Stormy Night”, scrumptious tomato chutney, a tote bag with their pelican logo, butterwaffle flavoured boiled candies etc. They have a tea room and café too, where you can enjoy their products as well as sandwiches and cakes.

All the Medieval buildings

And believe me, there are heaps! 🙂 But first a bit of history:

“Zutphen is one of the oldest cities in the Netherlands. It started as a fortified settlement in the fourth century AD. The Vikings looted the place in 882, after which a large circular fortification was built. This fortified place with the count’s court and a parish church became the blueprint of what would later become Zutphen. Zutphen developed from an important center of power around 1100 into a successful trading town around 1300. The city received city rights in 1194 or 1195 and joined the Hanseatic League early on.”

hanse.org/en/hanse/zutphen

Due to the rich history, there are still lots of beautiful historical buildings from different times left. Some of them you shouldn’t miss are Walburgiskerk (St. Walburga’s Church), Het Bolwerck (a former dwelling house from 1549, now an art museum/workshop), Berkelpoort (a water gate and part of Zutphen’s old city wall) and Drogenapstoren (built in 1444-1446 as the city gate).

Musea Zutphen

At the Musea Zutphen you will find two museums under the same roof: the cultural-historical museum Stedelijk Museum and Museum Henriette Polak, a museum for modern art. Both museums are located in another beautiful historical building, namely the 17th-century city palace Hof van Heeckeren. I spent a rainy afternoon there to learn more about the history of the city as well as Dutch figurative art.

Food in Zutphen

I love the variety of different food and cuisines you can get in the Netherlands even in a smaller city! Here are some places I liked in Zutphen.

Uffie’s Eetcafé is the best place to have a coffee or a beer on a rainy afternoon. The atmosphere there is so cosy and reminds me a lot of the rustic pubs in the UK. They serve delicious down-to-earth pub food, such as sandwiches and burgers. It’s great for people-watching or just relaxing. And I struck up a conversation with the people at the next table because the vibe was so relaxed and informal. Lovely place, I’m a big fan!

Roxo Lunchcafé is a great eatery for healthnuts and vegans (but of course for everyone else too): They offer plant-based breakfast and lunch. I had the “Groenten Omelet”, which was yummy. My highlight though was trying Gazoz, a handmade non-alcoholic fizzy, sweet and refreshing old-school Israeli soda. I love trying new things and will definitely try to find Gazoz here at home in Düsseldorf now.

For smooth coffee head to Van Rossum’s Koffie. The specialty coffees they serve are all direct imports and roasted in-house. Their café is a great place for a short coffee break while shopping.

Authentic Dutch treats can be found all over Zutphen. I had the famous Dutch Dudok apple pie at Bryan’s Brasserie and a classic Dutch apple pancake at Grandcafé Picknick. Both were really good.

Other things to see and do

Usually I list a few other things to see and do at the end of every article but in this case I honestly don’t have tips left because Zutphen is small and in my five days there I pretty much ticked of all the sights. The only thing missing was a Fluisterboot (“Whisperboat”) Tour, which I would have loved to do but they were already closed for winter season. The new season starts in April 2024.

If you plan to stay longer or want to visit the surrounding area, you can go to the neighbouring cities of Deventer or Apeldoorn, which are only a short train ride away.

That’s my plan for next time honestly because I’d love to explore the Netherlands’ other Hanseatic Cities (one of them being Deventer) and I also haven’t been to Apeldoorn yet. As I live so close to the Dutch border and love the Netherlands so much (I’m German but a quarter Dutch actually), I know I’ll be back to this lovely country very soon.