Van Gogh route by car through Brabant
Retrace the Brabant years of Vincent van Gogh, from his birthplace in Zundert via Tilburg and Den Bosch to Van Gogh Village Nuenen. 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: Van Gogh House Zundert by G.Lanting (CC BY-SA 4.0), De Roosdonck windmill Nuenen by Wammes Waggel (CC BY-SA 3.0).
The Brabant years of Vincent van Gogh
Before Vincent van Gogh set out for Paris and Provence, he was a boy from Brabant. He was born in Zundert, went to school in Tilburg and, in Nuenen, painted his first great work, The Potato Eaters. This route strings together the Brabant places of his life, over quiet back roads through the soft sandy landscape you see again in his early work: the farmhouses, the mills, the poplars along the road. About 127 kilometres in all, a fine day trip from southwest to northeast.
You start at his birthplace in Zundert and finish in Nuenen, where his Brabant period reached its peak. In between lie Etten-Leur, where the minister's family lived, the school in Tilburg where he had his first drawing lessons, and grand Brabant cities like Breda and Den Bosch that make the way worthwhile. This is not a museum route but a landscape route: you drive through the Brabant that shaped Van Gogh.
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. Zundert
Vincent van Gogh was born in Zundert in 1853, the son of the minister. On the site of his birth house now stands the Vincent van Gogh House, a small museum about his Brabant roots. Opposite the church where his father preached lies the grave of his stillborn brother, also named Vincent, a year before him. Zundert is still a flower-growing village and holds its famous flower parade each autumn.
Practical: park in the centre; the Vincent van Gogh House and the church are on the main street.
2. Etten-Leur
The Van Gogh family moved to Etten (now Etten-Leur) in 1875, when father Theodorus became minister there. Vincent lived here with his parents for a time in 1881 and made his first serious drawings of peasants and weavers in and around the vicarage. The old church and the Van Gogh church path recall that time.
Practical: park by the centre; the Van Gogh monument and the church stand by the market.
3. Breda
Breda is the first big town along the way, the old town of the House of Nassau with a castle (now the military academy), the imposing Grote Kerk and a charming Begijnhof. The Van Gogh link is a sad footnote: when his mother moved to Breda after his father died, a crate of Vincent's early drawings ended up with a dealer, who sold them for next to nothing. The town itself is a fine walking and coffee stop.
Practical: car parks around the centre; the Grote Kerk and the Begijnhof are within walking distance.
4. Tilburg
In Tilburg the young Vincent attended secondary school from 1866 to 1868, housed in the Paleis-Raadhuis on the Markt. Here he had his first real drawing lessons, from the noted teacher Constant Huijsmans. The preserved classroom can be visited as Vincent's Drawing Classroom. Tilburg is otherwise a city of textile history, with the TextielMuseum in an old factory.
Practical: park in the centre; Vincent's Drawing Classroom can be visited by arrangement.
5. Helvoirt
Helvoirt is a small Brabant village where father Van Gogh became minister again after Etten and the family lived for a time. It is a short, quiet stop between the cities: a village church, a green and the soft landscape of the Loonse en Drunense Duinen not far off. Exactly the kind of Brabant that echoes in Vincent's letters.
Practical: a short stop; park by the church, stretch your legs in the village.
6. 's-Hertogenbosch
's-Hertogenbosch (Den Bosch) is the splendid highlight halfway: St John's Cathedral, with its hundreds of statues, is the finest gothic church in the Netherlands, and on the water of the Binnendieze you sail right under the city. Den Bosch is the city of another painter, Hieronymus Bosch, celebrated in the Jheronimus Bosch Art Center. A big, lively stop to lunch and wander.
Practical: car parks around the fortress; the St John and the market are central, Binnendieze boat trips near the Molenstraat.
7. Eindhoven
Eindhoven is the modern counterpoint to the old villages: the city of Philips and Design, with the Van Abbemuseum for modern art and the redeveloped Strijp-S factory grounds. For Van Gogh it was the nearest city during his Nuenen years: here he bought paint and gave drawing lessons. From here it is a quarter of an hour to the last, finest stop.
Practical: car parks in the centre; Strijp-S and the Van Abbemuseum are worth it if you have the time.
8. Nuenen
Nuenen is the highlight of the route: here Van Gogh lived with his parents from 1883 to 1885 and made almost five hundred works, including his first masterpiece The Potato Eaters. The village is now Van Gogh Village, with the Vincentre experience museum, the vicarage, the church he painted and, on the edge, De Roosdonck windmill that he drew. You drive past the very places he immortalised.
Practical: park in the centre; the Vincentre and the outdoor sites are within walking and cycling distance, De Roosdonck windmill on the north edge.
Practical: for convertible, motorbike and camper
From which town: the route starts in Zundert, but you need not start there. Enter your own address or hotel in the planner, choose your time, and Touren.app rebuilds the same Van Gogh route from Breda, Tilburg, Eindhoven or wherever you are staying.
For which vehicle: Brabant is gently rolling and green, with quiet back roads past farms, woods and sandy tracks, ideal as a scenic drive. It drives well with a camper too; only the historic centres of Breda and Den Bosch are low-traffic, so park on the edge there.
Museums and opening times: the two anchors are the Vincent van Gogh House in Zundert and Van Gogh Village Nuenen (the Vincentre). Both are worth it, but not open every day; check the opening times before you set off, especially out of season. The outdoor sites in Nuenen, such as De Roosdonck windmill and the church, can always be seen.
Honest about the places: Zundert, Etten-Leur, Tilburg, Helvoirt and Nuenen have a real Van Gogh connection. Breda, Den Bosch and Eindhoven we include because they lie on the way and are beautiful in their own right, not because Van Gogh left much trace there. That way you know where you come for the painter and where for the city.
Best season: all year, but the Brabant landscape is at its most Van Gogh in spring (blossom and fresh green) and autumn (the poplars and fields in colour). In September Zundert also blazes with its flower parade.
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Mail this route to yourselfFrequently asked questions
How long is the Van Gogh route through Brabant by car?
About 127 kilometres, with some 2 hours and 40 minutes of pure driving, measured via Google Maps with motorways avoided. With the two museums and a lunch stop in Den Bosch it is a full, beautiful day.
Which Van Gogh places are on the route?
His birthplace in Zundert (Vincent van Gogh House), the vicarage in Etten-Leur, his school in Tilburg (Vincent's Drawing Classroom), Helvoirt and, as the highlight, Van Gogh Village Nuenen, where he painted The Potato Eaters. Breda, Den Bosch and Eindhoven lie on the way as fine cities.
Is the route suitable for convertible, motorbike and camper?
Yes. Brabant is gently rolling with quiet back roads, pleasant for any vehicle. With a camper, mind the low-traffic centres of Breda and Den Bosch and park on the edge.
Can I visit the museums along the way?
Yes, the Vincent van Gogh House in Zundert and the Vincentre in Nuenen are the two main museums. They are not open every day, so check the opening times in advance. The outdoor sites in Nuenen, such as De Roosdonck windmill, can always be seen.
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.
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