Visiting Utrecht for the day from Amsterdam

Getting from Amsterdam to Utrecht

Trains between Amsterdam Centraal and Utrecht Centraal run directly and often, roughly every 15 minutes through the day, and the journey takes about half an hour. Utrecht Centraal is one of the busiest stations in the country and a hub for buses and bikes, so arriving there puts you in the right place for both the house and the old city.

If you are coming from another part of Amsterdam, allow for the trip to Centraal, or check whether a direct train runs from a station nearer to you. Either way, budget roughly an hour from your hotel door to the house, a little more at busy times.

From Utrecht Centraal to the house

The house is in Utrecht East, near the Wilhelminapark, on a quiet residential street called Prins Hendriklaan. The museum gives two simple routes.

By bus, take line 8 from Utrecht Centraal towards Wilhelminapark and get off at the De Hoogstraat stop. From there it is about a five-minute walk to the house.

By bike, it is about 15 minutes from the station, and there are bike racks near the entrance. Utrecht is a city built for cycling, and riding out through the streets east of the centre is a pleasant way to arrive.

When you get there, don't go to the front door of the house. The Ticket Office, the shop and the entrance are to the left of it, at Prins Hendriklaan 50a. Plan to check in about ten minutes before your slot, or twenty if you want to watch the short documentary that plays there.

Choosing your slot for a day trip

Slots start at 11:00, 11:20, 11:40, 12:00 and 12:20, and again at 14:00, 14:20, 14:40, 15:00 and 15:20, from Tuesday to Sunday. The house closes for lunch between 13:00 and 14:00.

For a relaxed day from Amsterdam, a late-morning slot between 11:40 and 12:20 works well. You can take a mid-morning train, ride out to the house, finish your visit by early afternoon and spend the rest of the day in the old centre. An afternoon slot from 14:00 to 14:40 suits people who would rather see the city first and the house second.

The earliest 11:00 slot is possible from Amsterdam, but it means an early start and leaves no slack for a delayed train. The last slots of the day, at 15:00 and 15:20, are fine if you are staying on in Utrecht for dinner. Whatever you choose, remember the visit itself takes 30 to 40 minutes, plus check-in.

The one thing not to do is leave booking until you arrive. Each slot holds just eight people and the next week or two often sells out, so book the house first and plan the rest of the day around it.

What a visit to the house is like

The visit is self-guided with a multimedia tour in Dutch, English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Mandarin or Dutch Sign Language. It begins outside with the façades and the street, then moves inside, where you pull protective slippers over your shoes. You explore the ground floor at your own pace; upstairs a member of staff shows how the sliding walls and the corner window work.

Bags go in free lockers at the Ticket Office, and nothing in the house may be touched apart from the stair banister. Personal photos are fine without flash. Afterwards there is a small museum shop and, in the garden behind the house, a coffee bar called Ukiyo Coffee, a good place to sit before heading back into town.

The old centre: the Dom Tower

Head back towards the centre and you cannot miss the Dom Tower. At 112 metres it is the tallest church tower in the Netherlands and the symbol of Utrecht. It was built between 1321 and 1382 as part of St Martin's Cathedral, which was never fully finished for lack of money. In 1674 the unfinished nave collapsed, and since then the tower has stood on its own. It stands on the spot where the city began almost 2,000 years ago.

The Oudegracht and its wharves

The Oudegracht, the old canal, runs through the heart of the city, and it looks quite unlike the canals of Amsterdam. Once the city's system of locks fixed the water level in the thirteenth century, it became possible to build cellars and quays at water level, below the street. Those wharves, with their old warehouses, now hold restaurants and cafés with terraces right beside the water. Walking along the street level above and then dropping down to the wharves is the classic Utrecht stroll, and it is an easy place to find lunch or dinner.

The Centraal Museum and the Rietveld collection

If the house leaves you wanting more Rietveld, the Centraal Museum is the obvious next stop. It stands at Agnietenstraat 1 in the old centre and is open Tuesday to Sunday from 11:00 to 17:00. The museum holds the largest Rietveld collection in the world, more than 250 pieces of furniture and other objects, including mock-ups and scale models, and its permanent collection always includes chairs, drawings and models by Rietveld, along with material from the Rietveld Schröder archive.

The same museum foundation also runs the Miffy Museum, across the street, devoted to Dick Bruna and his rabbit; worth knowing if you are travelling with small children. Both need their own tickets, separate from the house.

Utrecht's other World Heritage

The Rietveld Schröder House is one of thirteen World Heritage Sites in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and it is not the only one around Utrecht. The museum points out two others in the region: the Dutch Water Defence Lines and the Lower Germanic Limes, the line of the old Roman frontier. Neither fits easily into the same day as the house, but they are a reason to come back.

A sample day

Here is one way to put it together. Take a mid-morning train from Amsterdam Centraal. At Utrecht Centraal, pick up bus 8 or a bike and head east to Prins Hendriklaan for a slot around noon. After your visit, have a coffee in the garden, then return to the centre. Walk to the Dom Tower and along the Oudegracht, stopping for lunch on one of the wharves. Spend the afternoon at the Centraal Museum with Rietveld's chairs and models, and take an early-evening train back to Amsterdam.

If you would rather see the city first, flip it: morning in the centre and at the Centraal Museum, an afternoon slot at the house, then coffee in the garden before the ride back to the station.

Practical notes

Travel light. Bags have to go in a locker at the house, and there is no room for pushchairs inside. The upper floor is reached by a steep staircase of ten steps, and the house cannot be adapted for wheelchairs or rollators, so check the accessibility notes before you book if anyone in your party has limited mobility.

Remember that the house is closed every Monday, and on New Year's Day, King's Day and Christmas Day. The Centraal Museum is also closed on Mondays, so a Utrecht day trip is best planned for Tuesday to Sunday.

Travelling with children

Utrecht works well for families, but the house needs a little thought. Every child needs a ticket for the slot, whatever their age, and children must visit with a parent or guardian. There is no room for pushchairs inside, the upper floor is reached by a steep staircase of ten steps, and nothing may be touched apart from the stair banister. School-age children who enjoy looking closely usually do well; very small children who need carrying up steep stairs are the main thing to plan around.

The museum offers a phone version of the multimedia tour via a QR code at the Ticket Office, and every clip is also available as text, which can help older children follow along at their own pace. Afterwards, the garden coffee bar is a calm place to regroup, and back in the centre the Miffy Museum, run by the same museum foundation as the Centraal Museum, is aimed at much younger visitors.

Getting back to Amsterdam

Trains back to Amsterdam Centraal leave Utrecht Centraal roughly every 15 minutes through the day and take about half an hour, so there is no need to plan your return around a particular train. If you are heading back straight from the house, allow for the bus or bike ride to the station first. If you have dinner on the Oudegracht, the walk from the wharves to Utrecht Centraal is a short one through the centre.