Travel back in time, into the period of knights’ fights, by experiencing theatre and music performances, traditional fairs with jugglers, magicians and handcraft shows, and an evening parade of ghosts. While learning more, and fundamentally, about the days back then, you will also experience a lot of fun.

The Fremont Street Experience is a highly successful attempt to draw the millions of visitors back to the downtown area. The domed-canopy 90 feet (27,5 meters) above the street was constructed along five city blocks, lined with some of the oldest casinos in Las Vegas. Every evening from sundown to midnight, the canopy becomes a giant screen showing high resolution images accompanied by concert-quality sound. At the top of each hour, visitors pour into the streets, looking skyward in anticipation of one of the six different shows lasting six to nine minutes.

‘This is where the cultural, creative, and enterprising urban district Sphinx will arise.’ So reads the ambition behind the plans for the development of the Sphinx area. Plans focus on the place where Maastricht’s industrial revolution began. It was here that Petrus Regout built his ‘Sphinx Factory,’ the start of what grew into an enormous industry, producing bathroom fixtures, tiles, and the products that made Maastricht great. The factory operated until 2006, and since then efforts have been under way to redevelop this area as a district that fits in with the city, but as something Maastricht does not already have. That’s why this district is being designed to attract creative types, young residents, national and international students, and expatriates. It will be internationally oriented, with room for flexible space and temporary functions. Where this area is going is becoming clearer and clearer, in things like the arrival of the pop music stage in a former sawmill, and the newly opened Brandweer(kantine), with workspaces and meeting places for creative entrepreneurs. But not everything in this part of the city is new and different. The historic and picturesque river harbour ‘t Bassin, adjacent to the Sphinx area, makes a perfect buffer for the transition from the more familiar and better known Maastricht to this new part of town.