Zutphen
From World travel guide
Zutphen (pop. 40,000) is an historic city in the center-eastern part of the Netherlands. The city has existed since Roman times and received its city rights in 1190, making it one of the oldest medieval cities in the Netherlands.
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Understand
Zutphen is located in a river valley at the river IJssel. The small river Berkel (no shipping possible) as well as the major Twenthe-kanaal (channel) end at Zutphen.
Get in
- Accessibility from Amsterdam, using public transportation.
By train
It is easily accessible by train from most major cities.
There is an hourly connection between Amsterdam and Zutphen which takes about 1 hour and 20 minutes, though you will have to change once in Apeldoorn. Take the Intercity to Enschede every hour at --:06 until Apeldoorn where you'll arrive one hour later, and on the other side of the platform you'll see a small local train connecting Apeldoorn to Zutphen in just under 20 minutes.
For the return trip, take the train from Zutphen to Apeldoorn every hour at --:06, and in Apeldoorn wait for the Intercity to Amsterdam which leaves from (usually) the opposite side of the platform at --:28. The last connection back to Amsterdam leaves Zutphen at 23:06
Get around
The best way to discover the surrounding area is definitely by bicycle. You can rent bicycles at the railway station's bicycle depot, which is not very expensive and offers excellent bicycles.
See
Its Dutch tourist promotion slogan, "Torenstad", means "Tower-city", which refers to the large number of towers. The largest is the Walburgkerk (officially it's called "St. Walburgiskerk", but the locals say "Walburgkerk"), located at the square where the city originated.
Do
Buy
Groceries
A few supermarkets are located in the center of the city. Just opposite the railway station (across from ING Bank, on the eastern side) you will find a C1000 supermarket. On Polsbroek shopping center there is a very large Albert Heijn (AH) supermarket.
Clothing
Zutphen is famous for its many small clothing stores. You can find them in all categories and in all price classes.
Eat
There are many restaurants in Zutphen in all price classes, ranging from fast-food restaurants (MacDonalds) to expensive Italian restaurants. There are Turkish, Italian and Greek restaurants in the city.
- The Italian restaurant in the Wijnhuistoren (Whine-house Tower) on the market square was awarded a Michelin star of excellence.
Drink
Sleep
There are several hotels in Zutphen, mainly *** and **** stars.
- You can also stay at Huis 't Velde ("House of the Field"), a small 16th-century castle. It is owned and used by the National Police Training Institute and is used as the main conference center of Dutch police, and also houses the European Association of Police Academies. It offers luxurous rooms, primarily for high-ranking police officers visiting for seminars, but available for outside guests as well. See http://www.politieacademie.nl/conferentiecentrum/ (Dutch only) for contact information and photo. The House is located just outside of Warnsveld, a few kilometers from Zutphen, in a beautiful landscape, directly next to the Berkel river.
Health Care
The local hospital is known as "Spittaal," and is located in the southeastern part of the city. It can be reached using public transportation: busses 80 and 82 will take you here (83 also, takes a while longer) in about 15 to 20 minutes from the railway station. The hospital offers all regular specialties (no neurosurgery or cardiothoracic surgery) and has an Emergency Department which is opened 24/7. All Dutch physicians speak English. For regular medical care which is not an emergency, you can also contact a regular family phyisician (GP); there are numerous in Zutphen. Ask for phone numbers at your hotel or pension.
Get out
The area around the city is highly varied.
In Eefde, a town next to Zutphen, you will find one of the largest inland stews in the country. Toward the north, in the direction of Deventer, you will find small towns, roads, forests and some farming. Toward the east you will find a highly varied landscape consisting of agricultural ground, farming, more small towns, and more small roads. To the south lies Doetinchem, a small town with which Zutphen shares a center-function for the surrounding villages, and to the west you will find the huge Veluwe National Park, consisting of a large forest spanning tens of kilometers in width (W-E) and circa one hundred kilometers in length (N-S).
Other towns and cities nearby, with distances:
- Arnhem and Nijmegen are 30 kilometers and 50 kilometers, respectively, to the south-west (4 trains every hour in both directions).
- Deventer is 15 kilometers to the north (2 trains every hour in both directions).
- Apeldoorn is 20 kilometers to the north-west (2 trains every hour in both directions).
- Hengelo is 40 kilometers to the north-east (2 trains every hour in both directions).
- Doetinchem is 20 kilometers to the south (difficult to reach with public transportation).
Summary of the train schedule from and to Zutphen Trains arrive and depart around the whole and half hours in five directions. Only the main stations have been listed here; especially the local trains stop at more stations.
- --:58 Fast Train (Sneltrein) to Dieren, Arnhem, Elst, Nijmegen, 's Hertogenbosch, Tilburg, Breda, Roosendaal (with connections to Antwerp, Brussels, Middelburg, Vlissingen)
- --:04 Local Train (Stoptrein) to Vorden, Ruurlo, Lichtenvoorde-Groenlo (Lievelde), Winterswijk
- --:04 Fast Train (Sneltrein) to Deventer, Zwolle (with connections to Leeuwarden, Groningen)
- --:05 Local Train (Stoptrein) to Brummen, Dieren, Rheden, Velp, Arnhem, Elst, Nijmegen
- --:06 Local Train (Stoptrein) to Klarenbeek, Apeldoorn (with connections to Amersfoort, Amsterdam, Schiphol)
- --:06 Local Train (Stoptrein) to Lochem, Goor, Delden, Hengelo, Oldenzaal (with connections in Hengelo to Enschede and Almelo)
- The same trains leave in the same directions 30 minutes later again, with one exception: the Local Train to Apeldoorn leaving at at --:06 connects to a direct Intercity to Amsterdam and Schiphol, while the Local Train to Apeldoorn leaving at --:37 goes one minute later and connects to a direct Intercity to Amersfoort, Utrecht, The Hague and Rotterdam. Note that some trains go less frequently on Sunday mornings and on weekday and weekend nights; they leave only every 60 minutes then, instead of every 30 minutes.
- When using the Intercity services to and from Apeldoorn, note that these trains are split into two parts in Amersfoort or Utrecht.
- The trains leaving Apeldoorn at --:28 go to Amsterdam and Schiphol and usually consist of 3 trainsets of 3 or 4 cars each. This train is split up in Amersfoort (halfway). The two trainsets in front will go directly to Amsterdam Central Station. The trainset in the back will go to Duivendrecht, Amsterdam Zuid-WTC and Schiphol Airport. Be sure to be in the right part of the train! Ask the conductor or a fellow traveller if you're not sure.
- The trains leaving Apeldoorn at --:58 go to Rotterdam and The Hague and usually consist of 3 or 4 trainsets of 3 or 4 cars each. The front part goes to Amersfoort, Utrecht, Rotterdam Alexander and Rotterdam Central Station; the last part goes to Amersfoort, Utrecht, Voorburg, and The Hague Central Station. Again, be sure to be in the right part of the train! Ask the conductor or a fellow traveller if you're not sure.
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