Tweet08-08-2009 om 09:04 by Stafford Wadsworth

One of the delights of this region is its villages... In the valley of the Meuse, Eijsden, with its cobbled streets and white-washed houses, with its avenues of red beeches and an XVIIth century chateau with elegant gardens and a curious maze, is emblematic of that Europe that we all love. The high street, known as the Deep street, is thronged with pavement cafés and also some excellent restaurants.

The village is also home to the Netherlands’ champion sausage-maker and a prizewinner from the European Fine Food Fair. You can sit on the banks of the river Meuse and enjoy a quiet glass of beer or something stronger. There is even a little ferry boat to carry you across the broad river Meuse to the Belgian Village of Lanaye.

Eijsden, in the valley of the Meuse, is a village of some 12,000 souls. It is at the heart of the European cross-border region, known as Meuse-Rhine, where Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany meet. On the streets and in the cafes you are just as likely to hear French as Dutch or even German and also the local dialect, which is an excellent passport for crossing borders.

If you want to explore, you can walk in the nearby hills or go to a little beach just outside the village, which provides canoes, sand for the children; and, apparently; an area for those visitors who wish to sun in the altogether. There is also mooring if you come by boat.

You don’t have to amuse yourself though. Throughout the year there are festivals, processions, concerts and fairs. March has processions; April the famous cycle race: ‘Mergelland hell’; in May, there is a fair and the famous Bronck processions; parades and concerts in June; fairs again in August and fairs and music in September. What more could you want?

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