If you go to the province Limburg, you may think its not part of Holland. Indeed, the people there tend to accept they belong to the Netherlands, but they definitely do not consider being in Holland.
Where is it?
The map shows Limburg is the most southern province. The southern part has borders with both Belgium and Germany.
Landscape
The southern part also has the most interesting landscape. It is rather popular for holidays. On the west side, near the Belgian border, you find the river Maas, one of the three large rivers forming the Dutch delta area. On the very south, the very old town Maastricht was founded by the Romans at the border of the Maas. A bit more to the east, you find the famous hills (see also Mountains). These hills, the city Maastricht and the not very dutch atmosphere form the attractions of the province. The northern part is less interesting. It is more flat, contains woods, moors and industrial areas. Till the sixties of the 20th century, Limburg was characterised by the charcoal mines. Now only some chemical industry and the sometimes grey industry towns remind to that period.
Using the steam train of the ZLSM, you get a very nice impression of the landscape. The best start location is Simpelveld.
Urban area
- Maastricht is worth visiting. It is excellent for shopping or for just drinking a beer in one of the many pubs.
- Valkenburg is the touristic heart of South Limburg. Not a very large town, but it has a beautiful railway station and a mine museum.
For the rest, you will find lots of small nice villages spread over the country.
Aachen is not in Limburg, but just over the German border. Due to the international character of the province, it almost belongs to it.