Top Sights in Tilburg

I’ve written so many travel blogs with top sights from all over the world, but I didn’t have one yet from my own hometown Tilburg. I’ve shared many blogs on Tilburg before, from my favorite food spots in Tilburg to a list of restaurants that have opened up in Tilburg in 2019. But apart from the food related blogs, I didn’t write a blog yet with the top sights in Tilburg. This page is especially handy when you’re visiting Tilburg for the first time. But it’s also a nice checklist if you’ve visited more often or even if you live there, to check if you’ve seen all the highlights!

Spoorzone

The Spoorzone in Tilburg is the area right behind the central train station that has been useless for years but is now hot and happening! It’s a n industrial area that still has the look of the train repair center that it once was but it also has beautiful new buildings. The Lochal is a beautiful building that used to be the hall were the locomotives were repaired and now houses the public library, a cafe and several other initiatives. It won several architectural and design awards so it’s worth to take a look. Another building where you can still see it’s origin but has been given a make-over is Restaurant Eve, that used to be a train repair hall as well. My favorite restaurant in the Spoorzone is De Houtloods. And as you can see on the picture, there’s also a lot of street-art in this area. Great for your Instagram pictures.

Speaking of Instagram. Click here for the most Instagrammable spots in Tilburg.

Spoorpark

It might sound as if the Spoorpark is in the Spoorzone but it isn’t. It’s not that far away though and also located next to the train tracks. The area wasn’t used for several years and a group of Tilburgers decided that it would be the perfect location for a big park. It’s a great spot where the locals love to hang out. There’s grass where you can relax or have a picnic, there’s water where kids can play and there’s a nice restaurant called T-Huis. There’s also an observation tower from which you can look all over the city.

Piushaven

The Piushaven is one of the fastest developing areas in Tilburg. 10 Years ago you’d find hardly any restaurants here and now it’s a lively area with food options for any time of the day and for any mood.
You also see more and more people chilling by the water side, or even on the water in inflatable boats. You can hire sup-boards at Movonne and order a Persian ice cream at the food truck of Vittorio.
Click here for a list of all restaurants at the Piushaven.

Dwaalgebied

The ‘Dwaalgebied’ (wander area) is located right next to the big shoppingstreet. Here you’ll find all kind of independent stores. From record shop Sounds to spirtual shop Pleiade. You can start at the end of the Heuvelstraat and walk up the Nieuwlandstraat. You’ll see the Vijfsprong where 5 streets come together in one crossing and from there you can wander around as the name of the area suggests. Don’t forget to look up as you’ll find some of the nicest facades of Tilburg here.

Musea

There are several nice museums in Tilburg. De Pont is very well known all over the country for its modern art. Tip: entrance to De Pont is for free on Thursday evenings. The Textiel Museum is great for textile lovers and shows the history of the city, as we used to have many textile factories. The Natuurmuseum Brabant is great for kids. They’ll learn about all kinds of aspects of flora and fauna.

Trappistenklooster

The Trappistenklooster (the Trappist Monastery) Koningshoeven is located just outside the city of Tilburg. It’s only a 10 minute bike ride or a 30-40 minute walk. The trappist monastery is one of the few places in the world where they brew trappistbeer. It’s called LaTrappe and they’ve got several varieties (from Blonde to Trippel). You can do a tour at the monastery, but be aware that it’s probably in Dutch if you’re joining a group. The monastery also has a cafe where you can have a nice lunch or something to snack and there’s a shop where you can buy bread, cheese and beer from the monastery.
Tip: right before the monastery there’s a goat farm that has a food wall where you can buy all kinds of goat cheese from an automatic machine.

Got hungry from seeing all the top sights in Tilburg? Click here for all my favorite food spots of Tilburg.