2026 Deventer Travel Guide: must-see attractions, popular food, hotels, transport & travel experiences (updated in February)

Quick hop to Deventer, one of the Netherlands’ best-kept secrets—and trust me, it’s totally worth your radar! 🌧️⛪️ Rain or shine, this city has serious charm thanks to its moody skies, historic squares, and a chilled-out vibe that makes for a dreamy day trip. Top Spots to Visit: 1. Brink Square – The heart of Deventer’s old town. Even on a cloudy day, the Western-style architecture and open square in front of the Lebuïnuskerk (Grote Kerkhof 38, Deventer, open 10:00–17:00) set the scene for your Insta shots. All outdoors, so bring an umbrella just in case! 2. Lebuïnuskerk – Step inside this landmark gothic church for a peaceful moment and epic interior architecture. The square outside can be fairly quiet in off-hours, adding to its mellow old-town appeal. 3. Deventer Bookstore (Waag 1, Brink) – Perfect pit stop for any bookworm, inside a centuries-old weighing house right by the main square. 4. Riverside strolls – Head to the IJssel riverbanks for open-air views and a breath of fresh Dutch air—Deventer is made for wandering! Pro tips: - Deventer is highly walkable. Most places in the center are within 10 minutes on foot, and the main train station is just a quick walk to the old town. - If it rains, don’t worry: the dramatic skies make the centuries-old buildings pop for photos! - Grab coffee at one of the cute cafes hugging Brink Square or try Dutch apple cake from local bakeries. Getting there: Trains from major Dutch cities (like Amsterdam or Utrecht) run directly to Deventer station, super easy with trip.com. Hashtags: #DeventerGems #HiddenNetherlands #EuropeanSquares #RainyDayWander #TripDotCom

Recently visited Deventer. This small town makes for an excellent day trip away from the business of Amsterdam. Here you can enjoy a stroll along the cobble streets that leads to many restaurants, antique shops, and even a museum dedicated to Charles Dickens. We dined and sipped tea at the British themed restarant TeaRose and enjoyed a gelato at Gio’s. There are a few gelato shops but this one had a line so we knew that the ice cream must be good! (And it was.) #netherlands #Deventer

Deventer in central Netherlands is an old medieval city, and the city hall (stadhuis van Deventer) is located in the city center. Next to the Saint Lebuïnus Church, there is a large cemetery where the church, with a history of more than a thousand years, used to have a cemetery that no longer has visible tombstones. The Dafen Tel City Hall is composed of buildings and architectural components from different eras, which means that the city hall has various architectural styles. It now looks a bit of a mishmash, with the most traditional facade bearing the mark of 1632.

Dickens Festijn arranged for a weekend before Christmas and also included the theme of Christmas. On the festival website, you can see that the entire city center is almost a venue for festivals. The gate of Deventer has been opened, but there are a few stern soldiers guarding outside the city gate, only a part of the tourists can be released at a time, and the person who is at the forefront of each batch of tourists is also required. You can enter by answering the questions raised by the soldiers first. Through the gates of the city, as soon as you walk into the center of the city, it is like crossing a time-space tunnel. The old narrow streets have completely become the appearance of Dickens's novels, returning to Britain in the 19th century. People dressed up as more than 900 characters in Dickens's writings, recreating Victorian social scenes on ancient streets. Children as young as five or six years old, as old as seven or eighty years old, play their own roles from clothing to demeanor. Some of the children are dressed in ragged clothes, with coal ash on their faces, dressed as "Little Orphans in the Mist" and thieves running around, or sitting in the corner and sitting The hat is placed at the foot and the passerby is allowed to give. Some are carrying small needle baskets and selling their own small handkerchiefs and decorations. Some gentlemen with high hats, everybody greets them with a hand-held hat, and squats slightly, using the standard London sound to say "Merry Christmas." Of course, more improvisations from extras. Visitors seem to be in the streets of the town described by Dickens a hundred years ago, and they can see their familiar novels and lively stories.