Utrecht

The Dom Tower at dawn, the Rietveld Schröder House by afternoon

Book the first Dom Tower tour of the day in Utrecht, when the stairs are quiet and the light is low, and allow about an hour for the climb. Afterwards, go below the Domplein on the DOMunder tour and stroll the Oudegracht wharves. On day two, cycle east to the Rietveld Schröder House for a booked slot.

Afterwards, go below the Domplein on the DOMunder tour, where a torch shows you Roman foundations and the outline of the collapsed nave. Rest in the Pandhof cloister garden next to the church, and on a Saturday morning the carillon will play while you sit. Walk the Oudegracht south from there, dropping down the stone steps to eat at water level on the wharf. Spend the afternoon at Museum Speelklok in the Buurkerk, where the guides set the organs going. Evening is for the terraces on Neude or a concert at TivoliVredenburg.

On day two, cycle east to the Rietveld Schröder House for your booked slot and see how the upstairs walls slide away into one open room. Ride back through the Museumkwartier to the Centraal Museum, which holds a large collection of Rietveld furniture and centuries of Utrecht painting. Families can swap that for the Railway Museum and its old locomotives. End with an evening canal boat, or a house-brewed beer at Stadskasteel Oudaen with the canal right outside.

Wharf cellars on the Oudegracht and cheap student pitas

Eat on the Oudegracht, where the old merchants' cellars under the street now hold restaurants and cafés with tables on the wharves in summer. The streets around the station and the university quarter are full of cheap places, and evenings centre on the bars of Neude, Janskerkhof and Mariaplaats.

The best setting is the Oudegracht itself: the old merchants' cellars under the street now hold restaurants and cafes, and in summer their tables spill out onto the wharves, a metre or two above the water. Lunch here is the city's signature meal, so arrive before noon in fine weather or you will wait. Quality varies a lot from cellar to cellar, so ask a local for the current favourite before taking the first free table.

For something cheaper, the streets around the station and the university quarter are full of sandwich bars, Greek pita shops and noodle counters that cater to students. On Saturdays the Janskerkhof turns into a flower market, the Breedstraat hosts a long-running fabric market, and the general market on Vredenburg has cheese, fish and stroopwafels made to order.

Drinking is where the city really comes alive. Neude, Janskerkhof, Mariaplaats and the Ledig Erf are the main terrace squares, each with a slightly different crowd: Ledig Erf is calmer and older, Neude is loud and young. Stadskasteel Oudaen brews its own beer inside a 13th-century town castle on the Oudegracht. On match nights, FC Utrecht supporters fill the bars nearer Stadion Galgenwaard, 2 km south-east of the centre.

King's Night, early music and Le Guess Who? in inland Utrecht

Utrecht sits inland, a degree or two warmer than the coast in summer, with July and August highs near 23°C and January around 6°C. Its festival year has a musical streak, from King's Night on the eve of King's Day to Le Guess Who? at TivoliVredenburg in November.

July and August highs reach about 23C; January sits around 6C by day and 1C at night. April is the driest month at about 41 mm, while July is the wettest at around 85 mm, mostly in short heavy showers. Spring and early autumn are the best compromise for long days on foot and on the wharves.

King's Night, the evening before King's Day on 27 April, is famous across the country, with stages and parties all over the centre. Late August into early September brings Festival Oude Muziek, which puts medieval and baroque music into the Dom and the city's other churches. In late September and early October, the Netherlands Film Festival takes over the cinemas and gives out the Dutch film awards.

November belongs to Le Guess Who?, an adventurous music festival based at TivoliVredenburg, the concert complex beside the station. Through the dark months, Trajectum Lumen, a permanent trail of light artworks along the canals and bridges, gives you a reason to walk the centre after sunset. In December the Dom area fills with Christmas markets, and the wharf cellars become warm refuges from the damp.