Eat:
BELUGA NEXT DOOR
The two-Michelin-starred Beluga offers “an incredible gourmet experience” in the old-fashioned sense, says Hugo Nathan, the president of Dickinson Roundell, in New York. It’s always booked solid, and luckily there’s the no-reservations Beluga Next Door, offering casual versions of such Beluga dishes as sweetbreads and summer truffles with Muenster and local apples.
12 Centre Céramique Plein 1992
31-43/321-3364
CAFÉ SJIEK
This restaurant is a favorite for its “local beer and flowing atmosphere,” says William Noortman. Come for traditional Maastrict dishes like zuurvlees, a sour stew cooked with vinegar, onions and gingerbread.
13 Sint Pieterstr.
31-43/321-0158
IL GIARDINO
This casual pizzeria is a favorite with fairgoers looking for a simple and relaxing meal at the end of a long day. “We all like it, and it’s packed every night” says the New York prints and drawings dealer David Tunick.
15 Onze Lieve Vrouweplein
31-43/325-6229
LE SALONARD
With only six tables and a set menu of French farmhouse cuisine that changes nightly, le Salonard is David Leiber’s favorite restaurant. “It’s a long, drawn-out meal, with fabulous food and incredible wines,” he says. Also check out their bakery across the street.
76 Hoogbrugstr.
31-43/351-0525
MOLO 5
The city’s trendiest upscale Italian restaurant is located in a cellar sunk beneath the Bassin, Maastricht’s small central harbor. Many people order the four-course menu, which changes frequently, but as at most restaurants, there will be a special TEFAF menu on offer.
5 Bassinkade
31-43/327-0033
RESTAURANT
ROZEMARIJN
The sleek gray-and-brown Rozemarijn has an exclusive, cozy feel. “One of my favorites for wonderful local food,” says the art consultant and TEFAF board member Michel Witmer. You can talk comfortably over such dishes as coquilles with wild spinach, couscous and caramelized chicory.
19 Havenstr.
31-43/450-6505
TOINE HERMSEN
An open kitchen, candles and wood floors lend warmth and conviviality, but fans like Simon Dickinson return here for the serious seasonal cuisine, such as grilled langoustine with lobster risotto.
2–4 Sint Bernardusstr.
31-43/325-8400
WITLOOF
Losing sight of your meal is easy in Witloof’s riot of patterned ceramic tiles and wallpaper—the space won a national award for the up-and-coming designer Maurice Mentjens. Delicious Belgian dishes—mussels and fries; pepper steak—are served unceremoniously.
12 Sint Bernardusstraat
31-43/323-3538
See:
BONNEFANTEN MUSEUM
Designed by the late Italian post modernist architect Aldo Rossi, this unusual institution exhibits both Old Masters and contemporary work, as well as ancient artifacts from southern Holland that remind you, says Johnny Van Haeften, that “Maastricht was once Roman.” For the institution’s 125th-anniversary, exhibitions of early Italian art and the work of the Flemish painter Jacob Jordaens (1593–1678) open in March.
250 Ave. Céramique
31-43/329-0190
bonnefanten.nl
HEDGE HOUSE
Get inspired at this open-air sculpture gallery, housed in a small private castle 15 minutes outside town, which features works by the master Minimalist Donald Judd, among others. The grounds, designed by the architect Wiel Arets, are open to visitors most Thursdays and Fridays.
1 Kasteel Wijlreweg
31-43/450-2616
hedgehouse.nl
SUERMONDT-LUDWIG-MUSEUM
Located just across the German border, this museum features “a fantastic collection of early Netherlandish wood sculptures,” says Michel Witmer.
18 Wilhelmstr.
Aachen, Germany
49-24/147-9800
suermondt-ludwig-museum.de
Play:
BOEKHANDEL SELEXYZ DOMINICANEN
The Dutch architectural firm Merkx+Girod’s update of an 800-year-old Dominican church houses a beautiful bookstore and the Coffee Lovers café. The Rijksmuseum director Wim Pijbes comes here to browse “the good art books” and admire the “very well-done architecture,” he says.
1 Dominikaner-
Kerkstr.
31-43/321-0825
CLASS
In the past 15 years, Stokstraat has gone from a gritty red-light district to the city’s most exclusive shopping street, a place to find “great men’s stores and great shoes,” says Acquavella Galleries director Esperanza Sobrino. Dandies love Class for menswear from avant-garde designers like Dirk Bikkembergs.
17 Stokstr.
31-43/325-5831
Save to Del.icio.us
Digg this