Venray: Culture, History and Nature Trails

Venray offers a variety of ways to shape your stay, including museums, historic sites, memorials, and walking and cycling routes. When looking for a hotel, you can first consider whether cultural history, art or nature trails will be the main focus of your stay. The attractions and routes each offer something different.

Culture, Art and Architecture

The Museum of Psychiatry in Venray presents an interactive history of psychiatry, looking at the past, present and future. The Odapark offers a different way to experience art: its tea house and exhibition pavilion host contemporary art, inspiring talks, workshops and concerts. The park combines old deciduous and coniferous trees, woodland paths, flora and fauna with outdoor artworks.

Since May 2017, the Venray Museum has been located on the ground floor of De Borggraaf, by the town park, opposite the historic Sint Petrus' Banden Kerk, also known as the Grote Kerk. The Grote Kerk is a Gothic church dating from the 15th century. The tower features an informative presentation and the film “In hemelsnaam” about the war damage to the church and its restoration.

Other historic landmarks include the Sint Petrusmolen and Klooster Jerusalem. The mill, formerly also known as Molen van Gitzels, was built in 1855/1856; volunteers keep it operating regularly. Klooster Jerusalem was founded in 1467 under the influence of the Modern Devotion movement. The Peace Church was built in 1964 as a church for all denominations, with peace at its heart. The former church was designated a municipal monument.

Walking and Cycling Routes

Both the distance and route of the Venray-Merselo walking route are specified: it covers 14.7 km, with shorter options of 6 and 8 km. It passes through the Vlakwater nature reserve to Sint-Odapark and then through the Loobeekdal along the Loobeek. The Boschhuizen nature walk covers 3.2 to 4.0 km; it starts in Venray near Hotel Asteria. Boschhuizen therefore offers the shorter route, while Venray-Merselo can also be chosen in shorter versions.

The Culttours are walking routes of about 3.5 km that connect sights related to psychiatry, religion and education. You can follow them with a walking guide or an app. For a cycling trip, the 29 km Archeologische fietsroute Westlus passes two Archeo-Route Limburg locations. There, the app tells the story behind the archaeological finds. The walking options differ both in subject matter and stated distances; the Westlus is a separate, longer option by bike.

Places of Remembrance

Several places in Venray commemorate the Second World War. The Wehrmacht house at Overloonseweg 28 is one of three such houses in Venray and is considered a special reminder of the war. The Norfolk Monument honours the 1st Battalion of the Royal Norfolk Regiment. A total of 692 soldiers who died between October 1944 and March 1945 are buried at Venray War Cemetery.

An audio spot on the Liberation Route Europe also tells a personal wartime story: Spot 202, “The Watchman over the Peel,” is located at Monseigneur Goumansplein 3. You can listen to the story on the Liberation Route Europe website. Together with the presentation and film in the Grote Kerk tower, this subject offers several ways to remember—from a film and an audio spot to the memorial sites mentioned above.

Getting There

Venray can be reached via the Maaslijn. Buses 80 and 87 connect Venray railway station with the town centre. This means your travel planning can take into account both a rail connection and specific bus routes between the station and the centre.

Discover more destinations: Veulen, Smakt, Wanssum, Geijsteren, Blitterswijck, Merselo, Oostrum, Ysselsteyn

For the broader travel overview: Venray.