Discovering Eindhoven: Design, Light and Strijp-S
Travel guide · editorialA village of a few thousand people became the fifth-largest city in the Netherlands within a century, thanks to a light bulb factory. A trip to Eindhoven takes you to Philips's "City of Light," now considered a hub for design and technology, with converted factory complexes, soccer and a young pub scene that may surprise you.
The City That Philips Built
In 1891, Gerard Philips and his father Frederik founded a light bulb factory in Eindhoven; Gerard's brother Anton soon joined them. The company grew into a global corporation and drew thousands of workers, for whom Philips built its own residential neighborhoods, schools and even the PSV soccer club. In 1920, several villages, including Woensel, Stratum, Gestel and Strijp, merged to form the city as it is today. Eindhoven was heavily bombed in World War II, which is why the center is mostly modern. Today the Brainport region, home to chip equipment maker ASML and the Eindhoven University of Technology, is one of the most innovative locations in Europe.
Eindhoven Sights
The Evoluon, a UFO-shaped building from the 1960s, was built by Philips as a technology museum and now serves as a conference center. The Van Abbemuseum is one of Europe's major museums of modern and contemporary art, with works by Picasso, Kandinsky and Beuys. The Philips Museum, housed in the company's first factory, tells the story of the firm. Strijp-S, a former Philips plant, has become a creative district with lofts, studios, restaurants and a skate hall. In November, the GLOW light festival turns the city into a stage of light installations. In October, Dutch Design Week draws hundreds of thousands of visitors.
Eating and Going Out in Eindhoven
Nightlife centers on the market square and Stratumseind, one of the longest pub streets in the Netherlands; it gets busy here on weekends. It's quieter at the restaurants on Wilhelminaplein and in Strijp-S, where creative cuisine and craft beer dominate. Typical of Brabant are worstenbroodjes, sausages baked in bread dough, and during Carnival in February the city celebrates wildly as "Lampegat." PSV home games at Philips Stadion are a treat for soccer fans.
Eindhoven's Neighborhoods
Beyond the Centrum with its market and department store, the outlying districts show the city's many faces. Strijp is the former industrial area, Woensel-Zuid and Woensel-Noord are large residential districts in the north, Stratum south of the center offers shops and eateries, and Gestel and Tongelre provide greenery and quiet. Philipsdorp, the former Philips workers' settlement, features row houses from the early 20th century.
Getting Around Eindhoven and the Best Time to Visit
Eindhoven Airport is the second-largest airport in the Netherlands and is served mainly by budget airlines; buses take you to the center in about 20 minutes. Trains run to Amsterdam, Utrecht, Maastricht and, with a transfer, Düsseldorf. The city is flat and bike-friendly. The best time to visit is spring through fall, especially October for Design Week and November for the light festival. Day trips lead to the heath and forest areas of the Kempen, to 's-Hertogenbosch with its old town and Jheronimus Bosch Art Center, and to the Efteling theme park.