Things to Do in Amersfoort: Gates, Walls and a Tower That Survived

The Koppelpoort is the reason most people come. Built around 1425, it is a combined land and water gate — the road passes through one side, the river Eem through the other — and it is one of the best preserved of its kind in the country. The water doors were raised by men walking inside large wooden wheels. Stand underneath it and look up before you photograph it from the bridge; the underside is the interesting part.

The Onze-Lieve-Vrouwetoren, known as Lange Jan, is one of the tallest church towers in the Netherlands. The church it belonged to is gone: in 1787 gunpowder stored inside it exploded and took the whole building with it, leaving the tower standing. The outline of the vanished nave is marked in the paving of the square, so you can walk the footprint of a church that no longer exists.

The tower also happens to be the origin point of the Dutch national survey grid — every official coordinate in the country is measured from here.

When Amersfoort outgrew its first city wall, it did not demolish it. Houses were built directly on the old foundations, and the result is Muurhuizen: a street that follows the exact line of the vanished wall in a complete ring around the medieval core. Walk it in one go and you are tracing a thirteenth-century defence in the form of front doors and gable stones.

Piet Mondriaan was born here in 1872, and the house he was born in is now a museum about his work and the road he took to it. It is small and best visited with time to read rather than time to tick off.

On the Varkensmarkt sits a large glacial boulder. In 1661 the people of Amersfoort dragged it into the city as the result of a bet, and the city has been nicknamed after boulder-pullers ever since. It is not much to look at. The story is the point.

The National Military Museum is not in Amersfoort itself but in Soesterberg, a short drive away on a former airbase — worth knowing before you plan a walking day around it. Amersfoort Zoo is closer in and easy to combine with a morning in the old town.

Amersfoort is a place where the layout is the attraction, and a layout is easy to miss. A city game gives you a route with puzzles that runs from the Koppelpoort along the Muurhuizen to the tower, explaining each stop as you reach it. Children get a reason to keep walking; adults get the history without a guided tour.

New to it? Read how to play before you book.

A day is comfortable: the Koppelpoort, the Muurhuizen ring, the tower square and one museum. Two days if you want the zoo or Soesterberg as well.

Very. The historic centre is compact, flat and mostly car-free, and it is a ten-minute walk from the station.

The tower can be climbed on guided tours, which run on set days and fill up. Check availability before you travel rather than turning up hoping.

Yes. The gates and the water make the centre easy to explain to children, and the zoo is a short ride away for an afternoon.

It does — the centre is small enough that a group stays together and there are plenty of terraces to finish on. See the options for companies and groups.

Start at the Koppelpoort, follow the Muurhuizen round, and finish under the tower on the square where the church used to be. Want help picking the right game for your group? Get in touch. Adding more Dutch cities to the trip? Our guide to things to do in Deventer is a good next stop.