Welcome. The city has 2 names: ‘s-Hertogenbosch and Den Bosch.

All shopping is mostly concentrated together in group Shopping Centers and businesses are mostly grouped together in Industry Areas. Jumbo and Albert Heijn are biggest supermarkets, but cheaper ones are Dirk and Coop, also NETTORAMA (The nicest cheap supermarket. It’s next to AMAZING ORIENTAL (LINK HERE). ACTION is for cheap household things, they are always nearby in every shopping center.

Downtown is nice for slow clothes-shopping and other typical fun-shopping with drinks, cake and watching people.

Easy shopping in small but cozy shopping-centers: Helftheuvelpassage (West) or Rompertpassage, Winkelcentrum Maaspoort (both North).

In SCHIJNDEL, a 20 minute drive, is Van CRANENBROEK store. Cheap-cheap and they have MANY-MANY things, (for garden, bicycles, work-clothes, and more, but NO foods), it’s very famous with the Local people, go drive there to learn about it.

It’s famous for Burgundian Lifestyle, so there’s no mini-foods, big (food)portions is good to enjoy.

There are several times a year big FESTIVALS / ACTIVITIES downtown, and

KINGSDAY is for selling your old books and clothes and other “junk” in the street, there are many Thousands of People walking in the streets.

Same happens during 2 day-festival “Jazz in Duketown”, and FOUTE PARTY is famous fun at Brabanthallen, or maybe you like the Soul Live Festival at Pettelaarseplas (South beach)

Best Restaurant and Foods: De Stip > Order the Spareribs (complete meal) after you enjoyed that, you leave and go get Ice-cream from FREZZO in the same street on the corner, for ice-cream best is summertime.

Den Bosch is famous for “Bossche Bol” by Jan De Groot, it’s on the LEFT SIDE in front of Trainstation, just join the long outside Waiting Line, they sell about 5,000 Bossche Bollen every day. You must eat the very sweet big-chocolate-cake for your introduction to this city, and when you have visitors, then you also buy Bossche Bollen for your visitor-guests.

Saturday is a Big Market with many different foodstands and much more in Downtown > When you’re downtown shopping > then you go to the Fish-mobile-stand VISHANDEL HUISKES across from the store ASPACT at the address: Markt 9. VISHANDEL HUISKES is the best place > he bakes the best most delicious LEKKERBEKJES or KIBBELING, and you order 1 portion including the Garlic-sauce when they ask you (Knoflooksaus).

Famous Saint John church (Sint Jans Kerk) is downtown at Kerkstraat (Church street). Free entrance. Inside; You walk around from Left to right > at the Left side of the entrance there’s a place for lighting candles to remember Loved Ones or for a good study result.

Christmas-time the Church has very famous Jesus scenes, there are big rows of crowds of people waiting in Line to see it.

You can buy a boat-tour under the Den Bosch city, there’s many waterways and they will tell you the old-time stories, it’s nice. But you must buy the Tickets before in advance !

Carnaval is Nice, in February, but also a bit on November 11th, the city name changes to OETELDONK. Always check the AGENDA > 4 days of drunk people in Funny clothes outfits in Downtown area, there’s 2 days of a long Parade show: “Intocht” and “Carnavalsoptocht”. (Carnaval takes place in the Southern cities and towns of the country only). There’s even a Children’s Parade show, so it’s fun for children too, and there’s also “Keinderkupkesfeest” > it’s 1 special day for the kids > ‘knutselen’-activity that lasts 3 hours from morning to afternoon > children can make nice creations, there’s a small fee to join it.

Den Bosch has many SPORTS CLUBS you can join, but you have to join a yearly subscription, like for Basketball it’s EUR 415,00 per year.

MAASPOORTHAL in North Den Bosch has the HEROES basketball-team, it’s fun to go to watch their Match/Game, they are always TOP 3 best in the country.

FC Den Bosch is Soccer Club, Hans’ IFM company sponsors there, fun to watch a Soccer Game sometimes if you are a fan of sports watching.

Kermis (YOUTUBE VIDEO) is great, it’s sometime around August, it’s at the Brabanthallen (Exhibition and Events place not far from Trainstation back side)

Bike Riding is very good Summertime, you can take a blanket and some foods and drinks to make it a bicycle Picnick ! There are bicycle Trails that you can take, like for 25 Kilometers (Like This one), you just follow the Brown bicycle ROUTE signs. it’s a great day out for family biking.

Den Bosch has a few more nice Churches, and also some Museums, those are nice to visit, discover when it’s a rainy day and you want to be outside.

The VERKADEFABRIEK is a nice place for ‘middle-age family-people to have a drink there, they also show some movies, but the 2 big movie-theatres are: VUE (downtown, 2-minute walk from McDonalds) and KINEPOLIS (Behind Trainstation to the LEFT, a 3 minute-walk).

Near Den Bosch: 15 minute drive > Efteling – a very good famous Amusement Park, so easy to go there.

15 minute drive > Heusden (the special place is: Heusden-Vesting) – old-time Fortress city; good to walk around it on the city walls at summer days, and downtown can eat Pancakes and ice-creams on the town-square.

SUMMERTIME is great to go to the BEACH, choose from these > Oosterplas, Zuiderplas (Pettelaarseplas), Engelermeer, those are most famous beaches for Local People, they bicycle there with their bikini and towels and some snacks/foods. Only Engelermeer has 2 sections, 1 beach for dressed, and 1 part of their beach is for Nudists (Naked People).

Den Bosch also has the fun/strange events, like the: rubber boats party, fun to see or DO, around 10 July.

20 minute drive > Heeswijk-Dinther – seriously most beautiful Castle. You can walk in the first door and look around and take photos there.

10 minute drive > Kasteel Maurick – Nice Castle in Vught to take some nice photos.

ROERMOND is about 50 minutes by car to the South > OUTLET SHOPPING is famous for Germans, people from Belgium and also many Asians living in NL, because there’s only Big Brandname shops there and they DUMP their clothes there at LOW PRICES. The OUTLET SHOPPING is very international and luxury there.

Amsterdam is 1 hour by train or by car

Rotterdam is 1 hour by train or by car

Go to Antwerpen (1 hour 29 minutes drive), it’s also fun shopping in Downtown there.

IKEA is in Eindhoven, 22 minutes drive, there’s many other big Furniture-stores there to spend nice time there walking around, even a beautiful Lighting Store.

ALWAYS ~ TIPS:

Lock your house door and your bicycles VERY GOOD with a BIG LOCK in the streets ! LOCK the car too and DO NOT leave any bags or anything inside the car. Car must look EMPTY or they will break in the Car-Window.

ASK for directions, people always friendly help you to find it.

ALWAYS pay very good for PARKING !!! Police checks every time a lot, and you get a BIG FINE if you are too late or too less paid. BE WARNED.

At most shopping-center places Parking is FREE, BUT…….. you MUST use a blue Parking-card with the TIME you arrived on it:

Do NOT give your ID or Bank information to anybody, not online, not outside. NOWHERE, Keep it hidden, only YOU use it.