Tourism and leisure activities

South Limburg's enchanting landscape with such features as the Vaalserberg, the highest point in the Netherlands at 321 metres, the green Meuse valley in Central Limburg interspersed with numerous lakes, the De Peel region and the extensive wood and heathland characteristic of North Limburg, all contribute to the wide variety of landscape types unique in the Netherlands, rendering Limburg ideal for tourism and leisure activities.
Valkenburg aan de Geul, dotted with numerous marlstone caves and famous for its small-scale "mountainous" landscape, is the oldest tourist centre in the Netherlands. Singularly peaceful areas are the nature reserves known as Meinweg. De Groote Peel and De Hamert. The majority of the 15 to 20 million overnight stars registered in Limburg each year, are concentrated in several large, long-stay holidaycentres (bungalow parks) in North and Central Limburg. The Meuse lakes near Roermond, encompassing more than 2500 hectares, are the most important locations for day tourism. The Meuse and its tributaries provide the province with numerous water sports facilities, and marinas have been constructed at various locations.
The Castle Gardens at Arcen are an attraction with a very special ambience. Laid out in ancient parkland, they constitute one of the largest permanent exhibitions of flowers and shrubs in the Netherlands. Further tourist and leisure facilities in Limburg include ten golf courses and two thermal baths, at Valkenburg and at Arcen. Last but not least, Limburg's culinary reputation is one in which typical regional dishes and haute cuisine go hand-in-hand. The extensive choice offered by restaurant menus bears witness to Limburg as the home of asparagus and mushroom cultivation in the Netherlands. Guests can even order a glass of genuine Limburg wine from, say, the slopes of Maastricht's St. Pietersberg.