Utrecht Hills route by car
A loop over the Utrechtse Heuvelrug past the highest density of castles and country estates in the Netherlands, with woods, the Grebbeberg and the Kromme Rijn. For convertible, touring car, motorbike and camper.
Google Maps starts from your own location. For Garmin, Komoot or TomTom: download the GPX.
Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Kasteel Amerongen by Kasteel Amerongen (CC BY 4.0), Pyramid of Austerlitz by G. Lanting (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Castles on the ridge
The Utrechtse Heuvelrug is a long moraine of woods and heath between the Randstad and the rivers, and nowhere in the Netherlands do so many castles and estates lie so close together. Wealthy Amsterdam and Utrecht families built their country houses here among the woods, with lanes, parks and tea pavilions. This route strings together the finest, over the ridge and along the Kromme Rijn, from castle to estate. About 90 kilometres in all, a full day with a castle visit and a forest walk.
You start at Bunnik and drive a loop past the villa villages of Zeist and Doorn, the castles of Amerongen and the Langbroekerwetering, up to the Grebbeberg at Rhenen and back via the old town of Wijk bij Duurstede on the Lek. Along the way dense woods, wide heath and stately drives alternate. No motorway, just the leafy lanes where touring is calm.
The route on the map
A schematic overview by Touren.app, not a navigation map. The exact route opens under “Drive this route” or in Google Maps. Map orientation: north is up.
Soon: your time and starting point
The places along the route
1. Bunnik
Bunnik lies at the foot of the ridge, on the Kromme Rijn, and is the quiet starting point of the loop. From here you are soon on the woods and the lanes, with the first estates already along the road. A good place to start before the castles follow one another.
Practical: park in the village; the estates along the Kromme Rijn lie close by.
2. Zeist
Zeist is the great villa village of the ridge, with Slot Zeist as its showpiece: a symmetrical baroque castle with gardens, once built by the counts of Nassau. Around it lie woods and the stately drives of the nineteenth-century estates. A good first stop.
Practical: park at Slot Zeist; the castle and gardens can be visited.
3. Doorn
Doorn is known for Huis Doorn, the country house where the German emperor Wilhelm II lived and died in exile after the First World War. The house is now a museum, with the interior still exactly as the emperor left it. Around it lies a fine park with old trees.
Practical: park at Huis Doorn; allow an hour and a half for the museum and the park.
4. Amerongen
Kasteel Amerongen is the highlight of the route: a stately moated castle with formal gardens and a fully furnished interior, one of the few castles on the ridge you actually go inside. Emperor Wilhelm II in fact spent his first years here before moving to Doorn.
Practical: park at the castle; allow two hours for the castle and the gardens.
5. Leersum
Leersum lies against the southern flank of the ridge, with the special Leersumse Plassen and the heath and drifting sands behind them. Away from the castles for a moment, this part shows the natural face of the ridge: wood, pool and open sand. A fine place for a short walk.
Practical: park by the nature areas; short walks along the pools and the heath.
6. Rhenen
Rhenen lies where the ridge descends to the Lower Rhine, with the Cunera tower above the roofs and the Grebbeberg just east: one of the few real hills with a view over the river, and at the same time a charged place from the May days of 1940. From the top you look far over the river country.
Practical: park in Rhenen or at the Grebbeberg; the view and the war cemetery are within walking distance.
7. Wijk bij Duurstede
Wijk bij Duurstede is a well-preserved old town on the Lek, once the most important trading place of the Low Countries (the Dorestad of the Viking age). Now it is a quiet town with a mill on the city gate, a castle park and terraces by the water. The turning point before you drive back up the ridge.
Practical: park on the edge of the centre; the Rijn en Lek mill stands right on the through road.
8. Langbroek
Along the Langbroekerwetering near Langbroek lie most of the fortified manors of the region in a row: Sterkenburg, Walenburg, Sandenburg, Lunenburg and more, hidden behind moats and old trees. They are privately lived in, but the little road along the watercourse is one of the loveliest castle lanes in the Netherlands.
Practical: drive gently along the watercourse; you admire the castles from the public road.
Practical: for convertible, motorbike and camper
From which town: the route starts in Bunnik, but you need not start there. Enter your own address in the planner, choose your time, and Touren.app rebuilds the same loop from Utrecht, Zeist, Doorn or wherever you are staying.
For which vehicle: the ridge is rolling and wooded, with leafy lanes, pleasant as a scenic drive. It drives well with a camper too; only the narrow castle lane along the Langbroekerwetering calls for gentle driving.
Honest about the castles: Slot Zeist, Huis Doorn and Kasteel Amerongen you can actually visit. The fortified manors along the Langbroekerwetering are privately lived in and admired from the public road. So you know in advance where you can go inside and where not.
Best season: lovely all year, with the fresh green of spring, the blooming castle gardens in summer and the forest paths in autumn colours as highlights. On fine summer days the castles and the heath are busiest.
More castles: this route belongs to our castle routes. The Eight Castles route Vorden in the Achterhoek and the castle route South Limburg pass very different castles.
Reviews from drivers
Reviews appear here with vehicle, experience and month of the drive. A score cannot be bought here, and this stays empty until someone has really driven it.
Share this route or save it
Share this drive with whoever should ride it
Or mail it to yourself, for the road
Mail this route to yourselfFrequently asked questions
Which castles are on the route?
Among others Slot Zeist, Huis Doorn (where emperor Wilhelm II lived in exile), Kasteel Amerongen and the fortified manors along the Langbroekerwetering (Sterkenburg, Walenburg, Sandenburg). The first three you can visit; the manors you admire from the road.
How long is the route by car?
About 90 kilometres, with some 1 hour and 55 minutes of pure driving, measured via Google Maps with motorways avoided. With a castle visit and a forest walk it is a full day.
Why does the Utrechtse Heuvelrug have so many castles?
The high, dry moraine between the Randstad and the rivers was ideal for country estates: wealthy families from Amsterdam and Utrecht built their houses here in the woods. That gives the region the highest density of castles and estates in the Netherlands.
Is the route suitable for convertible, motorbike and camper?
Yes. The ridge is rolling and wooded, pleasant for any vehicle. With a camper, mind the narrow castle lane along the Langbroekerwetering.
Are the exports really free?
Yes, free with a Touren.app credit on them. You never pay us for exports; those who want to drive ad-free and offline choose Plus.
Keep exploring
Fancy this loop, but from your own front door?
Touren.app rebuilds the same castle loop over the Utrechtse Heuvelrug from any starting point, within the time you have. Choose your vehicle, slide your time, and drive.
Generate your version of this route