Brussels ↔ Maastricht
TEFAF, a congress at MECC, a university appointment or Saturday shopping: travel to Maastricht in a chauffeur-driven car at a fixed price. Book your ride.
Maastricht with a private driver
Every March, the halls of MECC in the Randwyck district host TEFAF, the fine art and antiques fair that brings together dealers, collectors and museum curators from around the world. For the rest of the year, the same venue stages a steady succession of medical congresses, trade fairs and conventions, right next to the university's health campus and the university hospital. From Brussels, the drive takes about an hour and forty minutes via Leuven and Belgian Limburg: no change in Liège, no bus from the station, simply an arrival at the MECC entrance, Forum 100, just as the doors open.
Maastricht University is one of the most international in the Netherlands, and more than half of its students come from abroad. Law, economics and the social sciences occupy historic buildings in the city centre; medicine, psychology and the sciences are grouped together at Randwyck, on the other bank of the Meuse. A PhD defence, an examination board, a symposium or a first campus visit with a prospective student: your driver can take you between the two sites during the day if your programme requires it, then heads back to Belgium in the late afternoon.
On Saturdays, the city draws a different crowd. People come for the shops of the Grote Staat and the Stokstraat quarter, for the Dominicanen bookshop set inside a Gothic church, then for a café terrace on the Vrijthof, facing the Basilica of Saint Servatius. The Bonnefanten, a museum of old and contemporary art in the Céramique district, rounds off the day nicely. Leaving in the morning and returning after dinner is enough for a cultural day out, with no car to park and no last train to watch out for; if you stay an extra night, simply book the return for the following day.
- Arrival outside MECC for TEFAF, a congress or a trade fair, and pick-up when the halls close.
- Same-day link between the historic centre and the Randwyck campus for an appointment at Maastricht University or the university hospital.
- Van Business for a gallery's dealers or a small group of collectors, with room for catalogues and documentation.
- A Saturday between the Grote Staat, the Stokstraat and the Dominicanen bookshop, with the return to Brussels timed around dinner.
- Connections with Maastricht Aachen Airport, in Beek, for visitors arriving or leaving by air.
Brussels – Maastricht: your questions
During TEFAF, when should I book the journey to MECC?+
As soon as your dates are fixed, especially if you are invited to the preview days before the public opening. A request is still possible up to three hours before departure, but booking early gives you more choice of vehicle. For several days at the fair, a daily return trip from Brussels saves you looking for accommodation locally; keeping the driver in Maastricht for your entire visit can be arranged on quotation.
Which route does the driver take to Maastricht?+
There are two equally good routes. The shorter one follows the E40 as far as Leuven, then the E314 and the E313 across Belgian Limburg, crossing the border after Bilzen. The other follows the E40 to Liège, then runs north along the Meuse. Without traffic, the drive takes around a hundred minutes; the driver chooses according to conditions at the time, particularly at busy periods around Leuven or Liège.
Can you drop me in the shopping area, near the Vrijthof?+
The Grote Staat and several shopping streets in the heart of the city are pedestrianised. The driver therefore stops at the best-placed spot where stopping is allowed, on the edge of this area, then meets you at the same place for the return, or outside your hotel if you are staying the night. When you book, give the exact location of your first appointment, whether it is a shop, a restaurant or a university building.
Can Maastricht be combined with the caves of Valkenburg?+
Yes, but that is a different programme. This page covers transfers to Maastricht for a meeting, a trade fair or a weekend in the city. For a day combining the old town with the underground galleries of Valkenburg, some fifteen kilometres to the east, see our Maastricht and Valkenburg day trip, designed as a complete tour with a driver and offered on quotation.
A ride to Maastricht?
Book online, by phone or on WhatsApp — fixed price confirmed before departure.