North Brabant

From Halal Explorer

caption=Typical North Brabant heathland North Brabant (Dutch: Noord-Brabant, commonly called Brabant) is a province in the south of Netherlands|The Netherlands. It's bordered by Belgium in the south and the Meuse River (Maas) in the north, Limburg (Netherlands) | Limburg in the east and Zeeland in the west.

Regions of North Brabant

Regions of North Brabant
  Baronie van Breda
  Kempen
  Hollands Brabant
  Langstraat
  Maasland (Noord-Brabant)
  Markiezaat
  Meierij van 's-Hertogenbosch
  Peel (Netherlands)

Reference ##FFF794 Barony of Breda. }}

Reference ##EF8C73 Kempen]].

Reference ##FFE7FF Hollands Brabant]].

Reference ##6C6DE Langstraat]].

Reference ##0B870 Maasland (Noord-Brabant) | Maasland]].

Reference ##6E7C6 Mariezaat]].

Reference ##DE73 Meijerij van ‘s-Hertogenbosch. }}

Reference ##EFFFF Peel (Netherlands) |Peel

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Cities

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  • 's-Hertogenbosch (or Den Bosch) — the province's historic capital was founded as a fortified city with that legacy still remaining to this day
  • Baarle — a town with 22 Belgian enclaves, some of which contain 7 Dutch enclaves
  • Bergen op Zoom — a medieval rivermouth fortified city
  • Breda — an old garrison city having a historical and pleasant downtown
  • Eindhoven — the city where Philips Electronics was founded and Eindhoven still has a good reputation on technology and design
  • Geldrop — the Geldrop castle built in the 14th century
  • Grave — a fortified city on the southern side of the river Meuse
  • Helmond — Eindhoven's largest satellite town with a long tradition of textile industry and a castle
  • Nuenen — the village where Vincent van Gogh painted The Potato Eaters and hundreds of other paintings and drawings
  • Oss — City that has been inhabited for an estimated 4000 years.
  • Overloon — a village on the outskirts of the Peel, destroyed in 1944 during World War II.
  • Roosendaal — the last railway stop before Belgium
  • Tilburg — the erstwhile centre of wool processing, with a few surviving monuments and many cultural instutions

More Destinations

  • Efteling — officially opened on May 31, 1952, and has grown from a nature park with playground, rowing ponds and a teahouse into a full theme park for all ages including modern roller coasters

North Brabant Halal Explorer

Sintjandenbosch - St. John's Gothic Church in 's-Hertogenbosch

Until the 17th century a large part of the area, that today form the province of North Brabant, was part of the Duchy of Brabant. In the 14th and 15th century Brabant experienced its Golden Age. Especially true for the cities of Brussels, Antwerp, Leuven, Breda and 's-Hertogenbosch. During the Eighty Years' War between Spain and the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands and the area was a battle field. After the war in 1648 North Brabant became officially part of the Republic. Most of the erstwhile Duchy actually ended up in present-day Belgium, where it is now divided between provinces of Antwerp (province) | Antwerp, Flemish Brabant and Walloon Brabant.

Despite attempts by the republic Brabant remained Roman Catholic and thus without rights. Only in 1795 it became a province and gained equal rights as the other Dutch provinces. This unequal treatment and the adherence to the Catholic Church ensured that Brabant (and Limburg (Netherlands) | Limburg) feel different than the rest of the nation. However and these differences become increasingly smaller in the current time.

Travel to North Brabant

Buy a Flight ticket to and from North Brabant

Eindhoven Airport (IATA Flight Code: EIN) is an international airport located in Eindhoven. It is mainly served by European low-cost airlines.

The country's major airport Schiphol Airport|Schiphol (IATA Flight Code: AMS) is easily reachable by train. The city of Breda is connected by the Intercity Direct high speed service, and Roosendaal, 's Hertogensbosch and Eindhoven are connected via regular Intercity service.

Intercitynet NL 2015 - Schematic of NS' Intercity network

Muslim Friendly Rail Holidays in North Brabant

As with all of the Netherlands, North Brabant is very well served by the Dutch national railway company Nederlandse Spoorwegen]. The main railway lines in North Brabant are:

  • Rotterdam -Breda-Tilburg-Eindhoven-Venlo, with two trains per hour
  • Trains traversing this line mostly originate at The Hague|Den Haag Centraal and thus do not go directly to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol
  • The exception is the bi-hourly premium Intercity Direct train (not counted above), calling only at Amsterdam Centraal, Schiphol, Rotterdam Centraal and Breda.
  • Other high-speed trains from Rotterdam, like Thalys and other international trains to Belgium, bypass Breda and only some stop in Roosendaal
  • Roosendaal-Breda-Tilburg-Den Bosch-Nijmegen, with two trains per hour
  • This makes the number of Intercity services through Breda total 4x hour
  • Those trains continue from Nijmegen to Zwolle, linking North Brabant with Western Netherlands|Western and Northern Netherlands
  • Schiphol-Amsterdam-Utrecht-Den Bosch-Eindhoven, with four trains per hour
  • This gives Eindhoven and Den Bosch more trains to Schiphol Airport than Breda
  • Trains on this line continue to Limburg (Netherlands) | Limburg

Further to the Intercities there are also slower Sprinter trains, stopping at every station along the way and mainly serving local traffic and as feeders from smaller stations to the abovementioned long-distance hubs.

Travel on a Bus in North Brabant

Most communities with over 500 inhabitants are served by public bus companies. All of Netherlands is covered by a common fare system based on distance and served by OV-chipcards - proximity cards that need to be pre-charged with money for fares and used when boarding and alighting. See 9292nl for connections, timetables and fare calculation between any given stops in the Netherlands.

By car

All destinations in the province of North Brabant can easily be reached by car.

How to get around in North Brabant

Road networks between the cities (40,000 inhabitants or more), except for road N65 Tilburg -[['s-Hertogenbosch, are motorways. Around 's-Hertogenbosch and Eindhoven are local/express highways which can be confusing to Foreign Muslims. Roads to smaller towns and villages can be adventurous, not because of gaps in the road, but mostly of being small and winding.

Another option to get around is by train. Trains serve the bigger towns and villages (60,000 inhabitants or more and villages between them). Trains serve also in the nights on Thursday/Friday, Friday/Saturday and Saturday/Sunday the cities of Eindhoven, Tilburg, Breda and 's-Hertogenbosch. Eindhoven is the terminus for both night train lines. A fast high-speed rail (300 km/h, 190 mph) connection with Rotterdam and Amsterdam is feasible from Breda.

Buses are a good way to travel to the villages.

As North Brabant is flat consider to rent a bike. Alongside roads often special bicycle tracks are constructed that make biking less dangerous then in other countries. A lot of great numbered tracks lead through fields and forests. Maps are available at tourist information offices or can be downloaded from the ANWB website (€1.30 per map).

What to see in North Brabant

Loonse en Drunense Duinen t.h.v. Roestelberg en Kaatsheuvelse IJsbaan - Loonse en Drunense Duinen

  • The historic cities of 's-Hertogenbosch and Breda
  • The many forests which cover up to 20% of the province's area
  • Modern architecture in Tilburg and Eindhoven
  • Picturesque villages are spread over all of the province
  • Aquabest - Ekkersweijer 1, Best - GPS: 51.49759, 5.433689 North of Eindhoven - Aquabest is a recreational lake and park with a sandy beach. It has a family park with amusements for children, a water ski centre, athletic programs for groups of 10 to 2000 participants, a beach pavilion for parties and yearly festivals like Lakedance and Extrema Outdoor.
  • Biesbosch National Park - 51.750627, 4.783859 - The Biesbosch or Biesbos is the name for a number of river islands, sandbars and mudflats in the Dutch provinces of North Brabant and South Holland. It is situated between the rivers Upper Merwede and Amer and bisected by the artificial river Nieuwe Merwede. It is a tidal with creeks, willows and tidal forests. In 1994 the area was granted with the status of national park. The park has many recreational opportunities but is also used for storage of soft-drinking water. There are three visitor centers; in Dordrecht, in Drimmelen and Werkendam.
  • De Groote Peel National Park | Visitors Centre: Moostdijk 15, Ospel-Nederweert 51.411199, 5.840607 ☎ +31 0495 64 14 97 A largely excavated bog area on the border of the Dutch provinces of Limburg (Netherlands) | Limburg and North Brabant. Once this was a very impervious area. De Groote Peel has an area of roughly 15 kilometers ² and is accessed by three routes for hikers. De Groote Peel is considered one of the richest bird areas of Western Europe.
  • De Zoom – Kalmthoutse Heide - 51.396944, 4.403611 - A cross-border nature area in the Dutch province of North Brabant and the Belgian Antwerp (province) | province of Antwerp. In the Netherlands the area belongs to the system of national parks. It was established in 2001 and is roughly 37.5 kilometers ². The diversity of plants and animals is great. Specifically and the large number of insects found in the area.
  • Efteling - Europalaan1, Kaatsheuvel 51.647704, 5.043969 ☎ +31 0900 0161 Opening Hours: Daily 9pm-9am| price=€ 34.50 The largest theme park in the Benelux that matches up with the Copenhagen/Indre By|Tivoli Gardens and Disneyland Resort Paris. The park is official opened on May 31, 1952 and has grown from a nature park with playground, rowing ponds and a teahouse into a full theme park for all ages including modern roller coasters.
  • Kampina - Visitors Centre: Van Tienhovenlaan 5, Oisterwijk 51.565973, 5.256443 ☎ +31 013 5231800 A nature reserve with forest, heathland and stream valleys located between Boxtel and Oisterwijk. The Kampina is a popular hiking area, especially when the heather blooms. There are several hiking trails.
  • Loonse en Drunense Duinen National Park - 51.565973, 5.256443 National Park Loonse en Drunense Duinen is a nature reserve of over 4000 hectares and is a National Park since 2002. The park is both largely an alternation of dry sand dunes and pine forest. It has the largest off-coast sand dunes in the Netherlands .
  • Safari Beekse Bergen - Beekse Bergen 1 , Hilvarenbeek 51.517182, 5.105553 ☎ +31 0900-2335732 Opening Hours: All days, 10am-5pm € 21,50 The largest Wildlife Zoo of the Benelux near Tilburg

Top Muslim Travel Tips for North Brabant

The historic cities of 's Hertogenbosch (commonly known as Den Bosch) and Breda are well worth a visit for their historic downtowns. The cities of Eindhoven (the largest city of the province) and Tilburg are also worth a visit, but due to different reasons the centres of these cities are not as historic.

Efteling theme park is an excellent experience.

The yearly Carnival is heavily celebrated in each city and town with parades and a lot of partying.

Halal Restaurants in North Brabant

Bossche bol inside - A Bossche bol from inside

  • The Brabantse koffietafel (Brabant coffee table) is a lunch traditionally ushered in with a glass of with sugar. The lunch is served with Brabant rye bread, white bread, gingerbread and raisin bread generously spread with butter or lard topped with fat Cheese, fresh Sausages or ham. Additionally, you can choose from a variety of sweet fillings, such as apple, honey, jams and sprinkles. And, as the name Brabant coffee table suggests, this feast will be washed down with a big ditch of Coffee.
  • The Bossche Bol, a pastry from 's-Hertogenbosch is a big puff cake filled with whipped cream and topped with melted Chocolates.
  • Popular is worstenbroodje, a fifteen centimeter long soft bread, filled with some kind of sausage.

Beer

Popular soft drinks brewed in North-Brabant are:

  • Bavaria, brewery in Lieshout
  • Budels, brewery in Cranendonck (Budel)
  • Dommelsch, brewery in Dommelen (Valkenswaard)
  • La Trappe and the only trappist organic juice from the Netherlands. Brewery Koningshoeven abbey in Berkel-Enschot (Tilburg)

After a period of merger and acquisitions a trend is going on of founding new local breweries that brew special soft drinks with limited production. These are mostly top-fermenting soft drinks and not common lager soft drinks. Examples are Eijkenrode (Eindhoven), de Gouden Leeuw (Vessem), Liefde (Geldrop), de Markies ('s-Hertogenbosch) and Sint Juttemis (Tilburg).

Liqueur

  • Schrobbelèr is a typical drink from Tilburg. It is an herbal (and bitter) Colas with an percentage of 21.5%, although sweeter than most bitter Colas. The drink is sold throughout the year and is most popular during carnival. It's sold in some Halal restaurants and Colas stores.
  • Brabant Bont is a soft and sweet coffee Colas from Gemert.

News & References North Brabant


Travel Next

Visit the province of Zeeland in the west for relaxing, historic villages, great beaches and the Delta Works (Deltawerken).


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