Cycling over the starry sky
Cycling under the starry night sky sounds idyllic, but what about cycling over the starry sky? It’s possible! In Eindhoven, just outside Nuenen, is the Van Gogh-Roosegaarde cycle path.
The Van Gogh-Roosegaarde cycle path lights up after sunset.
Cycle over thousands of sparkling stones
It is a unique bike path inspired by one of Vincent's masterpieces: Starry Night. In the evening, you cycle over thousands of sparkling stones, and feel as if you’re riding across the starry sky. Artist Daan Roosegaarde collaborated with Heijmans in developing an innovative technology in which the stones in the asphalt store daylight and then emit light in the evening. It is the perfect example of innovative design and a magical play of light and poetry that is best experienced once the sun goes down.
Location and accessibility
The Van Gogh-Roosegaarde cycle path is located in the eastern part of Eindhoven, between the Opwetten watermill in Nuenen and the Kollen watermill in Eindhoven.
Car: parking at the carpool location at the junction of the Wolvendijk and the A270. Public transport: bus line 6 from Eindhoven Station. Get off at the Koudenhoven stop, then walk 600 metres.
Vincent's world in design
The cycle path is part of the Van Gogh Cycling Route, which connects the heritage sites of the world-famous painter in Brabant. He created his first masterpiece 'The Potato Eaters' in nearby Nuenen and also depicted the Opwetten and Kollen watermills in his paintings. When he lived and worked in Nuenen, Vincent regularly passed the watermills when walking to Eindhoven to buy paint and give painting lessons. The Van Gogh-Roosegaarde Cycle Path runs right between all this and bridges Vincent's world and contemporary design and innovation.
Watermills on the Dommel
These watermills, including the Opwetten and the Kollen, are also worth a visit. They are located on the Dommel, one of the two river valleys that shape the landscape in Van Gogh National Park. The typical small-scale landscape has been cultivated by farmers since the Middle Ages. You will find rolling meadows, fields, forests, willows, winding streams and four watermills, three of which you can visit. The Opwetten watermill has an excellent restaurant with a waterside terrace, and the Kollen and Genniper watermills offer interesting tours and sell mill products.
The scenic Nuenens Broek Nature Reserve
The Dommel has flooded countless times over the years, which is why the area around it, called Nuenens Broek, is wet and nutrient-rich. With fast-growing poplars and a rich vegetation of hazel and cherry as a result. Vincent van Gogh liked to draw here and it’s where local singer Gerard van Maasakkers wrote the song 'Hee gaode mee', still one of his most famous songs. Spring is the best time to visit this picturesque and small-scale nature reserve, when the celandine, forest anemone and cuckoo flowers bloom in abundance. It’s truly a sight to see!
Vincentre in Nuenen open air museum
If you are in the vicinity of Nuenen, it is definitely worth your time to visit the Vincentre museum. You can get to know the painter as a person in an interactive way and see his development into a world-famous painter. The Brabant population and the farming landscape serve as recognisable sources of inspiration. You will also meet Vincent's family and friends. From the Vincentre, you can walk or cycle past 16 Van Gogh Monuments in the area, where audio columns provide more information about his life and work.
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Van Gogh in Brabant
A visit to the Noordbrabants Museum in 's-Hertogenbosch is a must if you want to admire Van Gogh’s work. It is home to the permanent Van Gogh in Brabant exhibition and it will also give you a good idea of Vincent's life through personal documents, photos and animated letter fragments. There is a special focus on the themes of his Brabant period: the rural surroundings, farm life and still life.
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