Utrecht and the surrounding area :- Part 8

Bar, Cafes, Nightlife and shopping

’t Oude Pothuys is a typical brown café. It is located in a darkened, barrel-vaulted medieval cellar. It has a cosy pub feel and also has nightly music. These range from jam sessions by emerging bands to funk, blues and electro by established acts. If you want you can also enjoy your drinks on the canal side pier.

Café Ledig Erf is a bar that overlooks a confluence of canals at the southern tip of town, the terrace here is also as good as the beer list. Do try to come in the autumn as the autumn bock beer fest is the place to be.

Kafé België is a very lively bar and is an absolute must for beer-lovers. It has 20 Benelux brews on tap and cheap food to help you cope with them. There are a couple of canal-side tables, just be careful not to fall in after trying all the beers.

The Village is the place to go if you are a coffee addict. This place lives only for coffee. It is the place to discuss the difference between a flat white and a latte, wonder about the relative merits of French press versus AeroPress or find out the advantages of pour over brewing. It also doubles as a live music venue so make sure you ask about any upcoming events during your stay.

Cafe Derat is a cosy corner pub that has a lot of soul. However, it also has an intriguing selection of craft brews on tap at €3. 50 each. You should most defiantly sample the lambieks and krieks. Lambic beers originate from Belgium and Sweden. This type of beer is noteworthy as they are spontaneously fermented with the yeast and bacteria that live in the brewing components. This seems to result in a unique and increasingly sought after taste by fans of this style of brewing.

Cafe Kalff is a narrow canal side pub that is a focus the local gay and lesbian social life in Utrecht. If this is not something that you want then you should avoid this area.

Shopping

The Hoog Catharijne shopping centre acts as a large buffer zone between the train station and city centre. Between this area and the town hall, you will find lots of pedestrian streets with both chain stores and mainstream shops. If you want some more interesting choices then wander down Voorstraat and especially Twijnstraat, the southern extension of the Oudegracht' s east bank.
There are also huge outdoor markets take place on Vredenburg on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. One of the more unusual, however, is the Saturday fabric market on Breedstraat.

Continued in part 9