The Maas between Maasmechelen and Maastricht

You cycle from Maasmechelen to Maastricht. Maastricht is located at the foot of the Sint-Pietersberg, with the city center about 50 meters above sea level. In the city's protected cityscape you will find no fewer than 1,677 national monuments. Traces of Maastricht as a Roman fortress, religious center, garrison town and early industrial city can still be found in the streets. You can marvel endlessly at historic city gates, bridges, churches, chapels and castles. In addition, it is of course the city par excellence for Burgundian enjoyment and endless shopping. You drive through the heart of the city and cycle over the Servaas Bridge to the eastern bank of the Maas.

Borgharen is located between the Juliana Canal and the Maas River where it forms the border between the Netherlands and Belgium. The village has been in the news a few times due to the flooding of the Maas. After the last flood, in 1995, dikes were built around the village.

The medieval Borgharen castle originated from a keep: a square, fortified tower. That tower was probably built in the 9th century, the time of the Viking raids. Anyone who visits the castle today will find a 17th-century complex in Baroque style with two square towers, surrounded by a moat. The beautiful interior is in the style of Louis XIV. The castle includes a castle farm from the late 17th century, a neo-Gothic gatehouse and gardens in the English landscape style.

You cross the Juliana Canal twice and continue cycling past Geulle Castle. This moated, white-plastered house with courtyard is the outer bailey of the 17th-century castle that stood here until 1847. A gatehouse and an arched bridge take you over the moat to the castle. There is still an embrasure in the west facade: the rest of those holes disappeared when windows were added in 1865.