Top 5 Things to do Good for a Rainy Day in Heerlen, Limburg Province

Reviewed By JFH202

I live in the USA, but have family in Heerlen, and have been back there several times in the last 3 years. I cannot believe we did not enter this unprepossessing building, The Thermenmuseum/ Roman Baths on our first visit! The second year, second visit we went because it was raining and I was DUMBFOUNDED. There is an intact archaeological site covered lightly by a building skin. You walk on the bridge across it; there are interactive digital station overlays with laser beams where particular parts of the Thermae are (e.g. Caldarium) lit up; then they give you a full 3-d digital work up on a screen of what it might have looked like. This truly transports you back in time so you can visualize what it looked like. They do an excellent job describing the underfloor heating system, or hypocausts. Once you complete the walkway, you enter into an area of Museum exhibits... or Museum Treasures!! Unlike the nearby city of Tongeren, in Belgium that has a very lovely archaeological museum built to showcase its Roman past... ALL of the artifacts on display in Heerlen... were dug up in Heerlen. It is mindboggling how rich the site is with stunning pottery--- especially the vase with the love inscription--- and the beautiful jewelry. They also have exhibits on Roman footwear (how the Roman soles were created looks super uncomfortable)... and they took a cast of the actual Roman road. There is also a burial sarcophagus, with beautiful carvings on the interior on display. School children visit this site... so there are interactive bits: on the exhibit about growing food and cooking, you can grind your own wheat, for example. In addition, as others have noted, there are leaflets in English, and a 15 minute film they can play in English, French or German (...maar ook Nederlands) for you. There is also a back room, with changing exhibits (behind where restrooms are, not in the main Thermen part). When I was there in June it was about making Roman clothing and weaving fabric. There is a Roman Festival (first ever! ) in Heerlen on Sunday, 13 August. It will be in the surrounding streets of the Thermenmuseum. They are also unveiling a new exhibit: about bathing culture and who used the baths and what role bathing played in Roman daily culture. The museum is also trying to locate the original spring that fed the Thermen.( Maybe that is why you see architectural excavation taking place?). Last year, 2016, the city of Heerlen uncovered pottery baking ovens while doing street work in Heerlen. One of the ovens was carefully dug up and transported to the museum. You can see it standing in the courtyard. So, If you are in Maastricht for several days, I would DEFINITELY make time for a daytrip to visit the museum. If you are a person who always visits Roman sites, I would definitely make time for this: you will come away thinking what a LOVELY unknown jewel of a place this is. For those who pass through quickly--- you can see everything in an hour. For those who study Roman culture and history, you can be kept busy here the whole day!!! You can visit other Roman sites in Aachen, Germany (half hour by car, train or bus), Maastricht (half hour by train or car), Tongeren, Belgium (car 45 min); Valkenburg (the grotto caves, car half hour. In my opinion, the Heerlen site takes the cake over all those, but if you are looking to do more Roman site visiting in the area, I mention them as a trip planning courtesy. Also... there is an app you can download called Via Belgica--- I tried to make it work on my 2015 visit, but I was not so handy... maybe get your kids to download it to your phones BEFORE you go to the museum. Then when you see the special digital character on The Thermen Museum exhibits, you can get extra information.