Discover Helmond: castle, museums and cycling routes

The Zuid-Willemsvaart runs through Helmond, dividing the city centre into eastern and western parts. The city offers a range of ways to plan your stay, including medieval architecture, museums, cycling routes and green spaces. Whether culture, cycling or nature shapes your itinerary, you can also take this into account when looking for a hotel in Helmond.

Castle, museums and stories of the city

Kasteel Helmond is a medieval castle in the city centre. Built in 1325, it is considered the largest water castle in the Netherlands and is open to the public. The Kasteeltuin, a varied sculpture garden, is right next to the castle and is open daily with free admission. As access conditions may change, we recommend checking the latest information before your visit.

Every year, Helmond hosts activities as part of the Open Monumentendagen. Monuments, museums and organisations then open their doors free of charge and offer guided tours and activities for different age groups. The local programme varies from year to year. There are also seasonal events in the castle garden in summer: every Friday in July and August it becomes a dance floor, while bands perform each week on two stages on either side of the castle. Check the latest dates for your trip.

At the HomeComputerMuseum, an interactive journey through time traces the history of home computers back to their beginnings in the 1970s. The collection includes more than 900 unique computer models and over 15,000 objects; these figures may change as the collection grows. Visitors can try out almost all of the working computers themselves. This makes a visit both a look at the history of technology and an opportunity to experience the devices firsthand.

The Industrieel Atrium is a knowledge centre for Helmond's industrial heritage and the history of its core industries: textiles, metal, energy and printing. In the distinctive station district, Loods20 houses the EDAH Museum, the Draaiorgelmuseum and a special accordion collection. The EDAH Museum shows how food distribution and production have developed from earlier times to the modern supermarket. At Museum Helmond, the Kunsthal presents contemporary photography and art. The Jan Visser Museum focuses on agricultural history before mechanisation and displays objects from traditional crafts.

A guided street-art tour offers a different perspective: an experienced guide leads you past murals and explains the artists, how the works were created and the stories behind them. As tours and murals may change, it is worth checking the latest information.

Discover Helmond by bike

The Historisch Fietsrondje passes notable historical sites and shares insights about the city and its historical highlights. Rondje Helmond, by contrast, is a signposted cycling route of approximately 50 kilometres through the whole of Helmond. The two routes combine cycling with different points of focus: one centres on history and information, while the other takes you across the entire urban area. Signposting and routes may change, so check the latest details before setting off.

Other routes have specific distances to suit different itineraries. An approximately 10-kilometre mountain-bike route runs through the Bakelsbos. The 46-kilometre Brabantse Kastelenroute connects the medieval castles of Helmond, Geldrop and Heeze; check the route before setting off. Another cycling route in Helmond runs for 25 kilometres past memorial monuments and sites commemorating the Second World War. The distances provided can help you choose routes to match the length of ride you have in mind.

Green spaces and trails

The Stiphoutse Bossen is a 525-hectare nature area on the borders of the municipalities of Helmond, Laarbeek and Nuenen, Gerwen en Nederwetten. De Bundertjes, an approximately 100-hectare green zone, lies north of the centre and east of the old Zuid-Willemsvaart. Its landscape includes swamp forest, willow scrub, meadows, reed beds, old stream courses, an ice rink and allotment gardens.

A walking trail in De Bundertjes leads along paths and bridges through flower-rich grasslands, wetlands, open water and alder woods. As trail conditions may change seasonally, check the route conditions in advance. Berkendonk adds another option: a publicly accessible recreational area on the eastern side of Helmond.

Getting here and finding your way around

Helmond is served by four railway stations: Helmond, Helmond Brouwhuis, Helmond 't Hout and Helmond Brandevoort. From the stations, you can continue by bus, OV-fiets or on foot. Transport connections may change, so check the latest options for your journey.

For help finding your way around, VVV Helmond offers visitor information, city walks, city maps, and walking and cycling routes. Gift vouchers are also available; services and opening hours may change. The Helmond Centrum weekly market takes place every Saturday and offers fresh products such as fruit, vegetables and dairy at nearly a hundred stalls. At Brandevoortse Hoeve, freshly prepared lunches or high tea are made using home-grown vegetables and fruit and served on the farm's terrace; the menu and availability may change.

When choosing a hotel, you can weigh up your planned day trips and travel arrangements together.

Discover more destinations: Helmond, ’S-Hertogenbosch, Baarle-Nassau, Geertruidenberg, Drimmelen, Bladel, Son En Breugel, Heusden.

For the regional travel overview: North Brabant.