Schlösser und Festungsstädte in Utrecht-West

The area surrounding the city of Utrecht boasts some of the oldest castles in the Netherlands. This route alternates between Utrecht’s urban and rural environments, taking you through green and spacious polders as well as picturesque villages. The cycle route passes five wonderful historical locations: Zuylen Castle, De Haar Castle, the castle tower in IJsselstein, Montfoort Castle and the Centraal Museum in Utrecht. This route follows the cycle junction network. You’ll need to deviate slightly from the route to see or visit some of the locations listed above. 

Starting point and shortening the route
You can start this route from one of the two TOPs that it runs past: TOP Oud-Zuilen (between cycle junctions 45 and 53) or TOP Marnemoende in IJsselstein (junction 79). Marnemoende has the benefit of ample parking and good transport links. TOP Oud-Zuilen is closer to Utrecht, but has fewer parking spaces. The length of the full route is 53 km, but this can be shortened to 43 km by deviating at junction 79 and continuing on to junctions 77–76–21–19–15– 53.

TOP (Tourist Transfer Point)
A Tourist Transfer Point (TOP) is a starting point where you can leave your car and continue on foot, by bike or by boat. TOPs are easily reached by car and offer ample parking space. A large number of them are located near a hotel, restaurant and/or cafe and some of them have charging points for e-bikes. If you are coming by train, you can also start the route at trainstation Driebergen-Zeist.