Deventer

Deventer is one of the oldest cities in the Netherlands. It is on the river IJssel and was a member of the Hanseatic League. This town in the province of Overijssel offers a great collection of heritage. It is home to the country's oldest brick house, the oldest park and the oldest academic library. Today, the town is also known for its annual Dickens festival in December.

Understand

View of the city from the river side.

It is home to almost 100.000 people, and was first mentioned in documents of the 9th century. It is believed that it was the Anglo-Saxon missionary Lebuinus who established the settlement that became Deventer, by building a church there around 870. In the 11th and 12th century, Deventer was a very important and wealthy city. A member of the Hanseatic League, her wealth was mostly achieved by trading along the river IJssel. Many of the buildings erected in those profitable days still remain and the historic centre make Deventer an appealing town for visitors.

Get in

By air

Schiphol Airport (AMS ^IATA) near Amsterdam is the largest airport in the vicinity. From there, directly under the arrivals area, regular trains can be boarded that take about 1½ hours to reach Apeldoorn. By car, the journey takes fractionally longer and will involve navigating the ring roads around Amsterdam before hitting the A1.

Eindhoven Airport (EIN ^IATA) caters to low-cost airlines. The train journey to Deventer from Eindhoven takes about 2 hours, while the journey by car is less than 1½ hours.

By car

From Amsterdam, Deventer can be reached via the A1 motorway. The ride takes about 1 hour and 15 minutes, depending on traffic. Other important road connections into town are the N337, N344 and N348.

By train

Deventer has two train stations, of which Station Deventer is the main one and of most use to travellers. Regular trains connect the city to all major destinations in the Netherlands. The international train between Amsterdam and Hannover/Berlin also makes a stop at Deventer.

Direct intercity services connect Deventer to Amsterdam as well as Schiphol Airport. In both cases, the journey will take about 90 minutes. Other direct connections (typically running every half hour) include Zwolle, Arnhem, Enschede, Utrecht, Tilburg, 's Hertogenbosch and Rotterdam.

Get around

The historic city centre is small and most suited to explore on foot. The Waag is a good place to start, as it houses the Tourist Information Office and a museum. Themed walking routes can be obtained here. As in most Dutch cities, pedestrian road signs also give directions to the prime sights.

A small passenger ferry runs all through the day to bring pedestrians to the other side of the IJssel river, allowing for easy access to the Ossenwaard natural area, which offers lovely walks and (in summer) some pleasant river side beach areas. No bikes are allowed on the ferry, and a single/return ticket costs €1/1.40. The ferry ride offers some nice views over town and makes it possible to park without charge at the Worp (so on the other side of the river).

To see more of the city's natural surroundings, renting a bicycle is a good alternative. They're available from the VVV Tourist Office in the Waag building. When it's closed, on Sundays, try the Fletcher Gildehotel (Nieuwstraat) or the Sandton IJsselhotel (at the Worp, across the river).

See

Deventer Waag-VNP

The oldest part of the town, just south of the railway station, still contains many medieval buildings. Just walking around the compact center there will be plenty to look at. The Brink is the central square, and when the new city wall was constructed in 1350, it became an important trading quarter.

The Bergkwartier area is a small part of Deventer centered around the Bergkerk, a church placed on a hillock that came into being around the 12th century. The yearly markets ushered in a new age of prosperity for Deventer. Newcomers settled in the newest part of town, Bergkwartier. It is situated between the main marketplace (Brink) and the harbor. The prosperity ended in 1570, when Deventer became the focal point of various wars. New defensive works where created to protect those in the new part of town, which later helped to secure the city from unwanted company. This irrevocably meant the end of the expansion of the district, as tearing down the defense works to expand the city was forbidden. The traders that came until 1570 left leaving Bergkwartier and all the heritage that can be seen today.

Today, after many years of restoration, many old buildings have lost their function as warehouse and have become living quarters, shops, taverns, restaurants and offices. A lot of old sights were restored, as some were in decay or damaged by various wars. Now the Bergkwartier is one of the main tourist attractions in Deventer because of its rich history and very open character.

The Noordenbergkwarier is a very old quarter west of it.

• Saint Lebuinus Church, Grote Kerkhof 42. in Late Gothic style. 
• Waag, Brink 57. Deventer has its own Leaning Tower of Pisa, the 'Waag' (courthouse), that leans over quite a lot. 

Do

Actors on stilts during Deventer op Stelten.

• Go up the bell tower in the Lebinius-church for some amazing views as well as the bullet holes in the walls outside.
• See the bridge where the film "A Bridge Too Far" was shot (Arnhem was no longer in a similar historical state to the way it was during World War II).
• See the Motorcar museum.
• Take a walk on the river promenade, if it's not high tide.

Events

Deventer hosts a number of large events every year, attracting many thousands of domestic and international visitors. See also the bookmarket mentioned in the buy section.

• Dickens Festival. The last weekend before Christmas, the annual Charles Dickens festival brings some 140.000 visitors to Deventer's Bergkwartier. Local volunteers and business owners turn the city quarter into a 19th-century town by enacting famous scenes from Dickens' novels and dress up to be Oliver Twist, Scrooge and hundreds of other characters. The rest of the city joins in the celebrations with Christmas markets and other activities, providing a lively, overall buzz. Admission is free, but count on some queueing to enter. 
• Deventer op Stelten (Deventer on Stilts). July sees this weekend full of international theatre acts, including a good number on stilts. Most of the acts are performed free of charge and on stages throughout the city. 

Buy

Every first Sunday of the months, shops in the city centre open their doors between 12:00 and 17:00. Thursday evening they stay open late, until 21:00.

Deventer has a good variety of boutiques and stores, including all the common Dutch brand stores and dozens of small, individual shops and galleries. The large chain stores are mostly situated in the Smedenstraat, Lange Bisschopsstraat, Korte Bisschopstraat and the Engestraat. If you're more interested in the small scale businesses, make sure to stop by at the Tourist Information Office to pick up its free walking route along some 75 speciality stores and boutique shops. The Walstraat and the Bergkwartier are good places for antique shopping.

Deventer is moderately famous for its bookstores. Most will be in Dutch, but there might be a rare find somewhere. Every first Sunday of August, the city centre hosts the largest open-air bookmarket in western Europe. Some 6 km long, due to the 875 or so book stalls, this large market attracts up to 130,000 visitors.

Eat

The city's most famous foodstuff is "Deventer Koek", which can be bought in the Koekhuisje (Cookie House) at Brink 84.

• 🌍 Chez Antoinette (bar bodega Chez Antoinette), Roggestraat 10-12, 7411 EP Deventer (walk from Central Station, 5 minutes), ☎ [phone]. Portuguese restaurant, bar and bodega in the historic heart of Deventer. It is the town's evergreen—this place has been around for a long time and is rated high by the locals. Don't get fooled by its French name—this place serves truly authentic Portuguese drinks and dishes. There's a very nice bar which is open till late at night and things can get quite crowded or gezellig as the Dutch would call it. The restaurant definitely requires a booking if you want to be sure of a table. Just ring and make a reservation. 
• Le Thai Cuisine, Grote Overstraat 30, ☎ [phone]. Those with a taste for Asian food return time and again to this local favourite. It serves a range of Thai dishes in a cosy restaurant, situated in the arched vaults of a historic mansion. For groups of 4 to 8 people, there's a free taxi service if you're staying in or directly around the city. Mains from €16, surprise menu €32 p.p.. 
• ’t Arsenaal, Nieuwe Markt 33-34, ☎ [phone]. If the weather is nice, reserve a table on the charming inner courtyard, rather than the terrace in the front. The food is French/Mediterranean and of good quality. Service can be a bit hasty when it's busy, but is overall adequate. Good spot for a romantic dinner too. €34.95. 
• Theater Restaurant Bouwkunde, Klooster 2-4, ☎ [phone]. The floor above is a theatre, but the cozy downstairs restaurant serves non-theatre guests as well. High-quality produce and a love for food are their corner stones, but take into account that waiting times between courses can be on the long side. €32. 

Drink

There are countless establishments throughout the city centre. In summer, when the weather allows, the outdoor terraces at De Brink and the Grote Kerkhof are especially packed and buzzing with life.

• Bierencafe de Heks, Brink 63, 7411 BV Deventer (It's next to the Waag.), ☎ [phone]. M-Th 15:00-02:00, F 15:00-03:00, Sa 14:30-03:00, Su 15:00-02:00. A small pub that specialises on all kinds of beer. They have more than 70 different sorts of beer. 

Sleep

• 🌍 Hotel Gilde, Nieuwstraat 41, ☎ [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. Upper budget hotel in the historic center of Deventer. Some rooms have a balcony and view over the inner garden, but not all of them. Free Wi-Fi. €88. 
• Camp Site De Worp, Worp 12, ☎ [phone]. Right on the other side of the river, and easy to reach through the ferry, this quiet campsite is just a stone's throw from the city centre. It has 60 camp spots, including a number of tents ready for rent. €16.50 per night, incl. 2 people. 
• Hotel Hanzestadslogement De Leeuw, Nieuwstraat 25, ☎ [phone]. A small, quaint family-run hotel with an atmosphere quite like no other. It's situate in a historic building and a former bakery and houses a small museum collection on the Hanseatic League. Rooms come in different sizes and prices. The cheaper ones are a bit small but the exceptional charm and friendly owners get this place raving reviews nonetheless. €79-119. 
• Sandton Ijsselhotel, Worp 2, ☎ [phone]. On the other side of the IJssel river, the terraces and restaurant of this modern 29-room hotel offer some of the best views of the city around. Some of the rooms have those views too, but ask when booking. The small passenger ferry is right outside the hotel, making it an easy 5 minute trip to the centre. The ferry runs every few minutes until 23:00 and costs €1.50 for a return ticket. Use of the fitness area is free, the sauna costs €10. From €75 for a standard room. 

Camping

• 🌍 Stadscamping Deventer, De Worp 12, 7419 AD Deventer (On W bank of IJssel), ☎ [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. Showers €1. Foot ferry runs to town on opposite bank of river. They “always find space for cyclists”. No Wi-Fi. 1 person, 1 tent, no electricity, 1 night €10. (updated Aug 2018)

Go next

• A ten-minute drive from Deventer, Zutphen and Apeldoorn (home to a royal palace open for the public) both have pleasant historic centres too. Zwolle (30 min) and Arnhem (1h) are other options with the same kind of qualities.
• If you're rather looking for some nature, head to National Park The Veluwe.

Routes through Deventer

Amsterdam ← Apeldoorn ←

W  E

→ Enschede