You would almost miss them. Almost. Because as soon as you pass the entryway to the St. Servaas Basilica, you’ll figure out that it’s worth walking on. You’ll see for yourself that Maastricht doesn’t end at the Vrijthof. Sometimes you just have to take those few extra steps. That’s when Maastricht will surprise you with just how surprising the city centre really is. The Vrijthof has a number of little streets leading into it from all directions. They include Brusselsestraat, Grote Gracht, and De Kommel. Unlike the more idyllic boulevards in most of the rest of the city, these streets evoke a feeling of the urban, the artistic, the unknown. Here, students and locals come and go: artists, designers, professionals. It’s an area that’s moving fast: new shops, start-ups, young businesses, surprising concepts. Yet at the same time, it’s bursting with historic buildings, and is still very much a place where locals want to live. In truth, you can’t really describe the streets around the Vrijthof in a few words. It’s where local, university, business, authentic, forward-looking, and surprising Maastricht all come together.

Built in Baroque and Louis Seize style, the church was elevated to cathedral rank by Pope John Paul II in 1993. A certified replica of the Turin Shroud has been on display in the building since 2011. 2015 has been designated as Catholic Memorial Year, to mark the tercentenary of the movement started to reorganize practices and activities of the Catholic faithful in Debrecen.

You’ll feel like you’ve crossed the border, but you’re not quite there yet. Of course, you’re aware that Maastricht’s central location in the Euregio means you can be in Belgium very quickly. But you don’t really feel it until you see how the city, and the countryside around it, is layered with a unique mix of foreign influences. With the Sint Pietersberg hill, the historic caves, the vineyards, Fort Sint Pieter, and Château Neercanne as backdrop, this part of the city has everything you need to capture that holiday feeling. Sint Pieter was its own municipality until 1920. This part of the city was always outside the city walls (and so had it the toughest in times of war). Then, it was mainly farmers who lived here; now, it’s mostly families, epicureans, and a few descendants of the inhabitants of that old Sint Pieter. Today, Sint Pieter is Maastricht’s most popular residential district, not just for its beautiful houses but because of its ideal location between city and green. And it still feels like its own town, with its own social life, and charm, even though it’s just a stone’s throw away from the city park. In fact, it has the best of both worlds: village and city. Nature and culture.

To learn more about Boracay's culture and traditions, visit the Motag Living Museum. Many of the exhibits are interactive, which means you'll be able to plant rice and try other activities performed by local farmers. Visits are by appointment, so make sure you book at least one day in advance. There are also food and drinks during the tour.