The best bicycle routes with fantastic Brabant Bicycle Cafés

The Biesbosch National Park lies between South Holland and North Brabant. It is home to brooding white-tailed eagles. And it is this area that, during the Second World War, was crossed toward free territory countless times by a resistance group in canoes. The past and the future of the nature reserve meet in an interesting exposition at the Biesbosch Museum Island Gateway. Combine your visit with a cup of coffee or lunch – the Biesbosch Museum Island is not only a museum but also a hospitable Brabant Bicycle Café. And it is the ideal starting location for the Biesbosch TOP Scenic Route (23 km long).

In the sixteenth century, the Brabant region De Kempen was plagued by Zwarte Kaat (Black Kate), who, together with her henchmen, made the area unsafe. During the 36-kilometre-long Black Kaat bicycle route, you will learn more about her history and how she lives on in De Kempen’s local stories. You are safe in Taverne d'n Ouwe Brandtoren in Reusel, where the ‘Witch of Hellenende’, as she is also called, cannot touch you.

The most famous Brabant inhabitant ever never lived in Helvoirt. And yet, Vincent van Gogh came here regularly to visit family members. The Van Gogh bicycle route in Helvoirt (21 km long) takes you past several Van Gogh Monuments and through the typical Brabant landscape that Van Gogh loved so very much. The Brabant bicycle café Guldenberg Hotel & Brasserie is an ideal location to begin your trip or to relax after you have completed it.

Good places to stay are in the East Brabant municipalities Schijndel, Sint-Oedenrode and Veghel, as well as the municipality Meierijstad. The bicycle route ‘Food experience from quay to kitchen' (40 km long) begins with the cultural hotspot of the region: the Noordkade. From there, the route takes you past fields and hospitable gastronomic locations. Tip: take a minor detour and visit the At the Baroness in the coach house of the top monument the Heeswijk Castle Gateway. Enjoy everything that this noble lady has set on her table in beautiful historical surroundings.

Keep your hands on your handlebars while cycling in the Maashorst nature reserve. You might need to brake suddenly for a European bison, an aurochs (wild cattle) or an Exmoor pony. The Maashorst is Brabant’s primeval area. The Maashorst TOP Scenic Route (45 km long) takes you through the magnificent nature and along the so-called royal grave of Oss, which goes back to the Bronze Age, and an old gravemound. Tip: take a minor detour to visit the Oijen Brewery in Oijen – a very pleasant location and a Brabant Bicycle Café! Or stop at the Brabant Bicycle Café Charme Campsite Hartje Groen & De Boshut (Green Heart & Forest Cabin), both located in Schaijk.

It was in Tilburg that the world-famous painter Vincent van Gogh first wielded a paintbrush. His first real drawing lesson took place at the Rijks-HBS (secondary school) in the City Palace. The Van Gogh bicycle route also starts here in Tilburg. During Vincent’s stay in this textile city, he was very impressed by the weavers who worked at home – so much so that he painted them often later. A must: start your trip at the Brabant Bicycle Cafe Mercure Hotel in Tilburg’s centre, a stone’s throw from the Rijks-HBS of yesteryear.

If you cycle along the Brabant Liberation Route, you will enter the story of the liberation. Ordinary Brabant residents will tell you what the Second World War meant for them. Military airports, crashed fighter planes and Operation Market Garden form a connecting thread for the bicycle route in Landerd (45 km long). If you should want to take a break during this trip, Charme Campsite Hartje Groen and De Boshut (Green Heart & Forest Cabin) will welcome you with open arms.

The Brabant Liberation Route takes you to many places in Brabant that focus on the occupation during the Second World War and the liberation. Cycle around Bergeijk, following the trail of the English troops who plodded through De Kempen in an attempt to beat the enemy. When you come back to the present, De Hofkaemer has scrumptious local products and ninety different types of beer waiting for you.

There are Brabant Bicycle Cafés along the bicycle routes listed above, but there are also many more throughout the province. They are close to the bicycle junctions. If you would like to plan a bicycle route from (or going past) a Brabant Bicycle Café, go to the bicycle route planner and tick the box ‘Drinks and Food' by the Bicycle cafés. The locations will become visible on the map. Map out your route, starting at your favourite Brabant Bicycle Café, and enjoy your trip!