Utrecht
BeenNetherlandsCfa
📷 Wil Leeuwis· CC0Hart van Nederland | Heart of the Netherlands
About
Utrecht is the fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the province of Utrecht. The municipality of Utrecht is located in the eastern part of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Netherlands, and includes Haarzuilens, Vleuten and De Meern. It has a population of 378,140 as of January 2026.
Wikipedia →Summary excerpted from the Wikipedia article Utrecht, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Text may be clipped or paraphrased to fit this page.
Why visit
Visit Utrecht for music, theater, and performance, literature, bookshops, and universities, markets, streets, food, and public squares. For Utrecht, the useful material is practical and visible: museums, streets, religious buildings, markets, performance spaces, food, and nearby landscapes. A good itinerary should stay selective. For Utrecht, choose the anchor first; the cafe, market, church, gallery, or evening event should follow from that location. That keeps the visit to Utrecht legible and leaves time for ordinary streets to do their work. When Utrecht opens onto beaches, hills, rivers, gardens, or nearby towns, add them only when they sharpen the trip.
When to avoid
Visiting Utrecht during the peak holiday season of July and August may not be the most ideal time due to the high influx of tourists and crowded attractions. During this time, temperatures can soar, leading to uncomfortable conditions for outdoor activities. Additionally, prices for accommodations and activities tend to be at their highest, potentially straining the travel budget. Considering these factors, visitors may find it more enjoyable to explore Utrecht during the shoulder seasons of spring or autumn when the weather is milder and the crowds are thinner.
Summer (June-August)
June through August are the period when heat, daylight, crowds, or humidity most affect a visit to Utrecht. Summer in Utrecht can be warm, humid, stormy, and tiring after midday. In Utrecht, heat management is part of cultural planning: walk early, pause indoors, and return outside when the light softens. Use this season in Utrecht when the extra light or landscape access is part of the reason to go. The calendar matters in Utrecht, especially when festivals, holidays, and reduced performance seasons overlap.
Winter (Dec-Feb)
December through February are the cooler or wetter period in Utrecht. For Utrecht, cooler months can suit concerts, museums, and slower walks better than exposed summer routes. In Utrecht, rain, wind, cold, snow, daylight, and service reductions can matter more than the average high. Use this period in Utrecht for close looking indoors, then add outdoor sections when weather and daylight cooperate. Keep Utrecht compact in this season: fewer outdoor sections, better hour checks, and practical rides when conditions make transit awkward.
The next week in Utrecht
7-day forecast from Open-Meteo. UV badges flag days when sun protection matters (3 and above is moderate; 8 and above is risk territory for unprotected fair skin within 30 minutes).
Today
Rain
12° / 6°
6.2 mm
UV Moderate
Sat
Drizzle
13° / 6°
1.1 mm
UV Moderate
Sun
Rain
16° / 6°
3.2 mm
UV Moderate
Mon
Rain
15° / 8°
5.9 mm
UV Moderate
Tue
Drizzle
15° / 8°
2.1 mm
Wed
Drizzle
16° / 12°
5.7 mm
UV Moderate
In May 16
JFMAMJJASOND
Air quality
No monitoring station within 25 km.
Weather
29° / 1°
Typical high / low
2 mm rainfall this month
Daylight
15.6h
05:46 – 21:24local
Year-round climate
Monthly highs, lows, and rainfall (long-term averages, NASA POWER).
Airports near Utrecht
4 commercial airports within 100 km. Closest is Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) at 34 km.
Getting around Utrecht
Public-transit operators within 8 km of the city center. Click through to each operator’s site for routes, fares, and tickets.
Local transit operators
FlixBus-euErfurter Verkehrsbetriebe AGSNCBDB Fernverkehr AGBravo (Arriva)TransdevNeckar-DonauEurostar Red (Thalys)BlaBlaCar BusArrivaFlixbusRRReisSchweizerische Bundesbahnen SBBFlixBus-deFlixBus-deDänische Staatsbahnen800640 SÜWEXB MetroEu SleeperNS Int
Operators and modes aggregated by TransitLand from individual transit-agency GTFS feeds. Route classifications (subway / tram / rail / bus / etc) come from each feed’s GTFS route_type codes.
Sister cities
Sources
This page blends public reference data, climate/elevation services, and personal notes. Travel requirements can change, so visa and entry details should be checked again before booking.
- Wikipedia →
Summary, canonical article, and some image fallbacks.
- Wikidata →
Population, area, image, coordinates, and linked identifiers where available.
- NASA POWER →
Monthly temperature and rainfall climatology.
- Open-Meteo historical weather →
1991-2020 temperature and precipitation cross-check for compact climate fields.
- Open-Elevation →
Coordinate-based elevation backfill.
- tz database →
Coordinate-based IANA timezone lookup.
- City flag source →
Public domain, Siebrand.
- Site credits →
Global source notes, map tiles, flags, licenses, and attribution policy.