THINGS TO DO IN EINDHOVEN IN ONE DAY
As I mentioned earlier in the blogpost about Glow light festival, we visited Eindhoven because our friend recently relocated there.
Our plan was to visit Baarle-hertog on Saturday morning, then head to Eindhoven for the Glow light festival by evening. We had the whole of Sunday with us to explore Eindhoven and we did just that in 5 bikes!!! Yeah, our friends (a couple) and their pre-schooler in their 3 bikes and us in our 2 bikes (1 with a child seat)!
Our first destination was Strijp S, but on the way we stopped at a gazillion street art, one of the most important things to see in Eindhoven! We stayed very close to the railway station, so our first stops for street-art were close to it. The first one we spotted was the 'Flying Pins', an installation created by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. Its pretty apt in the location where the intercity & international bus stop of the city in located.
Every tunnel and every cycle-stand here, has an extensive graffiti! One of the primary places for extensive graffiti is the walls of Philips Stadium. The theme was around the various events that take place in the Philips stadium, right from football to concerts to more! All these street-art are so gorgeous that a walking tour of these is a Eindhoven must-see.
They have their original factory set-up undisturbed, but the new amenities for the various shops & cafes, built around it! For eg., one of the cafe here, Pastry Club, has the entire ceiling filled with iron rods & pipes that were once used by the Philips factory! Its so unique to sit here and sip a cup of coffee without thinking how different the place would have been 3 decades ago.
1. the street Machinekamer, near Area 51 (a skating park) is filled with iron pipes atop that are re-purposed as plant holders! The graffiti here is fantastic as well;
2. the tiny lane that connects Machinekamer and Veemstraat has a viewpoint, well, technically it was the staircase that took employees to the first floor of the factory, but today its a view point;
3. the street between MU Art gallery and Yksi Expo has the iron rods of the factory connecting the 2 buildings,
4. a pedestrian path that connects the buildings on either sides of the road near MU Art gallery, that originally was used by the employees!
The 19th C is the age of innovation with industrial revolution paving way for the first modern car, incandescent lamp, building of Eiffel Tower & more. The museum begins, ofcourse with the filament bulb, but even before that there is a small throwback into the era before the bulbs - depicted with another son of the soil - Vincent Van Gogh (born in the same province) - with one of his famous paintings Potato Eaters - in a dark room with a single lamp!
They innovated with the styling of the good-old lamps to suit the style of the era, as time went by. Today, in display are TV, Radio, Cassette players, Vacuum cleaners, Video cameras, Electric cookers, Iron boxes, Shavers and other personal care gadgets and more. Apart from the products on display, with augmented reality imaging using their ipad, it is possible to learn a lot more and some indepth details about some of the products.
One of the most amusing products was an 'emotion container' in which you can store a photo, a sound and a scent! I really wonder, why isn't it a more commonly available/used item today! Another interesting product in display was lights embedded on clothing, with a special focus on Michael Jackson's gloves!
A special mention has to be done about Louis Kalff, who was the person behind the marketing material including posters, creative product designs and even the logo improvization of Philips. The very simple and minimalistic but effective poster for Philips Duplo is a masterpiece.
Also a special mention has to be done about Jan Zwartendijk, who was posted in Lithuania when WWII erupted. The embassy was abandoned and he took it over and wrote transit visa to whoever, esp., Jewish refugees who wanted to escape from Latvia to any Dutch colony incl Suriname, Curaçao etc. Doing this he saved more than 3000 lives. He has since been called the 'The Angel of Curaçao'. Today the offsprings of those 3000 people are more than a hundred thousand and the represent them, a monument with 100,000 lights have been put together to create a monument for Jan Zwartendijk in Kaunas in Lithuania. 
WHAT TO DO IN EINDHOVEN IN ONE DAY: Street Art, Strijp S, Philips Museum, PreHistorisch Dorp, St. Catherine's Church and DAF Museum.
DAY TRIPS FROM EINDHOVEN: Baarle Hertog-Nassau, Kinderdijk, Rotterdam, Antwerp, Efteling Theme park
On Google Maps: Bike Rental (This is Eindhoven shop), PSV-Laan (Philips Stadium wall of Street Art), Philips Museum, Strijp S - Pastry Club, View point, Area 51, Machinekamer street graffiti, Pedestrian bridge, Street between MU Art Gallery and Yksi Expo.
Where to see Street Art in Eindhoven: While there is no dedicated street art map, the app Street-Art Cities has quite an extensive map of the street-art of Eindhoven. It is yet to show up on their app, but its available on their website.
Strijp-S Map: The map is available with the tourism department that works with Augmented Reality when used with This is Eindhoven app (Google Play, Apple Store)!
ENTRY TICKETS & TIMINGS
Street Art & Strijp S - Free, 24 x 7
Philips Museum Tickets: €9; (+ €2.5 for Design tour via augmented reality with ipad)
ENTRY TICKETS & TIMINGS
Street Art & Strijp S - Free, 24 x 7
Philips Museum Tickets: €9; (+ €2.5 for Design tour via augmented reality with ipad)
Philips Museum Hours: 11:00AM to 5:00PM
Bike Rental in Eindhoven: €12 per day (€50 deposit); Rental & returning is possible only during working hours of the tourist office.
Bike Rental in Eindhoven: €12 per day (€50 deposit); Rental & returning is possible only during working hours of the tourist office.
P.S: I was invited to the Philips Museum & given the bikes for the day, by This is Eindhoven to experience the city for review purposes, however the opinions are my own and this post does not to advertise the product/service.
Fantastic street art - looks like you could spend the whole day just cycling around the streets checking it out! I had no idea that Eindhoven was the birthplace of Philips - I think almost every home must have at least one product made by Philips. It must be fascinating to tour the museum and identify all the products you've either owned or seen by Philips!
ReplyDeleteI am glad you liked Eindhoven and saw some amazing street art. However for me I didn't really feel anything for the city, it's too industrialised for me and I am still not sure why I went there for a day trip. However once out of the city with a bicycle the countryside is great.
ReplyDeleteThe wall graffitis are stunning...
ReplyDeleteI've never been to Eindhoven and, to tell the truth, I even once considered going to the city break, but I gave up. I have no idea why. Now I see that it was a mistake because there are a lot of nice things to do. I would love to visit the Philips Museum, it looks very interesting.
ReplyDeleteOh wow, the Philips museum looks like a blast from the past! And how cool to get to explore the once Forbidden City like the Philips employees once did. I can't believe how much street art you were able to see! I'm amazed you were able to bike anywhere with all the stops to admire the art. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for your interest in Eindhoven! A true "of the beaten track" city that shows the innovative and creative side of the Netherlands. We call that the #NewDutch, as an (attractive) alternative to the #OldDutch (windmills, canals, clocks, tulips, etc.). Come back soon to discover Van Gogh's homeland. Van Gogh painted 25% of his painting in the immediate vicinity of Eindhoven (Nuenen). Looking forward to welcome you then!
ReplyDeleteSorry I forgot to mention my name: Erik van Gerwen from Eindhoven365 :-)
DeleteHi Erik!
DeleteThanks for taking the time to comment! Ofcourse we would definitely do another weekend at Eindhoven and cycle around your city as well as for Prehistorisch dorp! Let's plan around spring or summer.
I was thinking if there is anything to do in Eindhoven as there is cheap airlines airport and thank to you I have an answer. It looks like a cool place to stop before the flight and get some good beer in the evening too. Thanks for showing the industrial part of Eindhoven, it kind of reminded me of Copenhagen.
ReplyDeleteI'm actually hoping to catch the tulips in Netherlands this year and have been researching what else there is to do so perfect timing that I stumbled across this! Will definitely have to keep Philips Stadium and Machinekamer in mind because I love murals. Stijp-S sounds like quite the gem too. You had me at art galleries and cafe! Love a quirky cafe that you can just sit at for hours!
ReplyDeleteYou have worderfully captured the city of Eindhoven. Netherlands have always intrigued me and have always wanted to visit it during the Tulips bloom. That would be a great thing to witness.
ReplyDeleteArt is literally everywhere in this city. The graffiti around the Philips Stadium looks really Instagramable. I feel posing for pictures around it.
ReplyDeleteI love how you travel to offbeat places like Strijp S and find some very unique features there. Your stop at a gazillion street art is lovely and I love such street art. Your first one the 'Flying Pins', an installation created by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen looks amazing. Philips museum visit too is interesting as from childhood I have heard lots about Philips in terms of electronics items instead of other exisiting brands in present days.
ReplyDeleteGood to know about the birthplace of the brand that lights up our houses! Eindhoven looks like a cool place to visit. The street arts sound so interesting and so are the few places you have mentioned. The Phillips Museum interests me the most. It was such good work by the owners to get their employees tested for TB. Well, how can you actually store a sound and smell? It is intriguing.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that the city of Eindhoven shared a history with Philips! That is very cool that they have a museum there and that the original factory is still standing. The area looks very industrial, but all the street art gives it an undeniably modern flare. What a fun way to spend a day, and I am so intrigued by the 'emotion container'! I definitely need to go to the museum and check that out :)
ReplyDeleteOh la la ...that very brand that most of us have at home. I found the Philips museum quite interesting. To know the products that have long phased out. I love the street art that you have captured along the way. And yes, Pastry street does seem like a unique place to eat - like you, I too would be imagining its original owners/ business.
ReplyDeleteOoh la la! I am always on the prowl to find the latest and greatest graffiti. My favorite place I've found it yet has been australia but it looks vibrant and pretty here too! Looks like such a neat lesser known destination!
ReplyDeleteTerrific blog on Eindhoven! We have been to Eindhoven for almost 2 months and enjoyed the place a lot! Thanks!you have refreshed my memories of the place!Pl go through my blog on Eindhoven whenever you find time and comment! I will appreciate it !
ReplyDelete