One day in Eindhoven (North Brabant - Netherlands)

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)!
 
What to do in Eindhoven - Street art
 
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.
Street art in Eindhoven - Things to do

Street art in Eindhoven - Things to do

Street art in Eindhoven - Things to do

Things to do in Eindhoven - Cycling

Stijp-S is a place which the local historians consider, is worthy of European Heritage Label! Well, its the site which proudly showcases the industrial heritage of Eindhoven. Guess what, the world famous brand, Philips was born in Eindhoven! The original office of Philips is now a museum (more about it later in this article), and this Strijp-S area was once the entire factory! It was a 'forbidden city' which was accessible only for Philips employees. Today, there is factory here and the old buildings have been transformed into shops, art galleries, cafe and more!
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.
Things to do in Eindhoven - Strijp S

Things to do in Eindhoven - Strijp S

Things to do in Eindhoven - Strijp S

Things to do in Eindhoven - Strijp S
 
T
here are quite a few amusing sites to see here like - 
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! 
 
Places to see in Eindhoven - Strijp S

Places to see in Eindhoven - Strijp S

Places to see in Eindhoven - Strijp S
 
From there our next stop was Philips Museum - one of the most important 
things to do in Eindhoven. Eindhoven trip cannot be complete without a visit here and it is one of the important attractions in Eindhoven. It is housed in the original building of Philips office! It was founded in 1891, by Gerard Philips and his father Frederik Philips and later joined Anton Philips, Gerard's brother. With the business acumen of Gerard and the technical knowledge and innovative ideas of Anton, the company is what we see today! Their initial product was only the carbon filament lamp.
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! 
 
Philips Museum Eindhoven

Philips Museum Eindhoven

Philips Museum Eindhoven
 
Further ahead was a room to depict how the factory set-up was ages ago. In course of time, Philips began innovating on a lot of aspects from cathode ray tube to MRI scanning machines to so many more. Infact they came up with the chest x-ray machine and had all their employees and their families tested during tubercolosis outbreak!
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!

Philips Museum Eindhoven

Philips Museum Eindhoven

Michael Jackson's LED gloves philips museum
 
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. 
  
Philips Museum Eindhoven
  
WHAT TO DO IN EINDHOVEN IN ONE DAY: Street Art, Strijp S, Philips Museum, PreHistorisch Dorp, St. Catherine's Church and DAF Museum.


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)
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.
 
Things to do in Eindhoven Pinterest One day in Eindhoven Pinterest
 
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.

Bhushavali

An ardent traveler by passion. Being an ex - Art History Teacher, my area of interest especially lies in Nature and Heritage. Visited 85 UNESCO World Heritage sites as of June 2022. I've been listed among the Top 7 Women Travel Bloggers of India, Top 50 in UK. I have been interviewed in a couple of TV Shows, Radio Channels and Events as well. Read more about me and read the testimonials of different brands

18 comments:

  1. 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!

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  2. I 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.

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  3. The wall graffitis are stunning...

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  4. I'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.

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  5. Oh 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. :)

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  6. Thanks 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!

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    1. Sorry I forgot to mention my name: Erik van Gerwen from Eindhoven365 :-)

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    2. Hi Erik!
      Thanks 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.

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  7. 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.

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  8. I'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!

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  9. You 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.

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  10. Art is literally everywhere in this city. The graffiti around the Philips Stadium looks really Instagramable. I feel posing for pictures around it.

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  11. I 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.

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  12. Good 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.

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  13. I 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 :)

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  14. Oh 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.

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  15. Ooh 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!

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  16. Terrific 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 !

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