Things to do in Eindhoven: a one-day plan from the airport or the station
· by Robin Lenskens · Updated
The best things to do in Eindhoven fit into one day: the glass Blob on 18 Septemberplein, the Philips Museum in the factory where Philips began in 1891, the former Philips works at Strijp-S, the Sint-Catharinakerk and the Van Abbemuseum on the river Dommel. Come Tuesday to Sunday. On a Monday all four museums in this guide are closed outside Dutch school holidays, and the two paid museums in the main plan cost €13.50 and €16 for an adult. From Eindhoven Airport, bus 400 reaches Eindhoven Centraal in about 20 minutes, so a morning flight still leaves you a full day.
This guide is for travellers who land on a budget flight and have a day before moving on, and for anyone staying a night in Eindhoven on the way through the south of the country. The plan below starts at the station and follows the order in which the city works best on foot.
How is Eindhoven different from Amsterdam or Delft?
Eindhoven is not a canal city, and it is better to know that before you arrive. It was a cluster of villages until Gerard Philips started making light bulbs here in 1891, and it grew into a company town around the Philips works. In the Second World War the factories were a target: the RAF bombed them on 6 December 1942, and on 19 September 1944, the day after the city was liberated, a German air raid killed 227 people. What you see today is largely post-war and modern.
So the reasons to come are different: industrial buildings turned into studios and food halls, the story of one company that shaped a whole city, contemporary art and design, and a centre where you can walk from the station to every sight in the main plan except Strijp-S. If you want gabled houses on canals, add Den Bosch, 20 minutes away by train (see below).
How do you get from Eindhoven Airport to the city centre?
Take bus 400 or 401 from the airport to Eindhoven Centraal, the main station, next to the city centre. According to Hermes, the operator, bus 400 runs every 15 minutes, makes one intermediate stop (Woensel XL) and takes about 20 minutes. Bus 401 runs every 10 minutes and serves more stops on the way. Both end at Eindhoven Centraal.
Paying: you can check in and out on the bus with a contactless debit card, credit card or the payment app on your phone (OVpay). Hermes also sells an Eindhoven Airport Express e-ticket, from €5.15 single and €10.30 return, valid on lines 20, 400 and 401, and NS sells a combined train and bus ticket if you are going on by train: choose “Eindhoven Airport” at the ticket machine. The drivers do not take cash. There is no train to the airport.
Eindhoven Airport is used mainly by budget and holiday airlines: Ryanair, Wizz Air, Transavia and TUI all fly here, and the airport lists more than 80 destinations. If you are going on to Amsterdam, direct Intercity trains from Eindhoven Centraal take about 1 hour 20 minutes. Our guide to Dutch trains, trams and buses explains checking in and out if you have not used Dutch transport before.
Luggage. Eindhoven Centraal has NS lockers: €9 for a small and €14 for a large locker for the first 24 hours, for at most three days, according to the NS luggage page.
Sources: Hermes Airport Shuttle Eindhoven, Eindhoven Airport, NS journey planner.
What are the best things to do in Eindhoven in one day?
In order of priority, if you only see five things:
- The Philips Museum at Emmasingel 31, in the old lamp factory where Philips started. The story of the company is the story of the city. Adults €13.50 with audio tour, children 4 to 17 €7.
- Strijp-S, the former Philips factory district west of the centre, now studios, venues, food halls and homes on more than 27 hectares. Free to walk around, one stop by train.
- The Van Abbemuseum at Stratumsedijk 2, by the Dommel, for modern and contemporary art. Adults €16, under-13s free.
- 18 Septemberplein and the Blob, the glass and steel building by the architects Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas outside the station, next to the Lichttoren, a former Philips factory building. The square is named after the liberation on 18 September 1944.
- The Sint-Catharinakerk on the Catharinaplein, a neo-Gothic basilica with two towers built from 1860 to 1867 to a design by P.J.H. Cuypers, the architect of the Rijksmuseum. Open Tuesday to Saturday 10:00 to 16:30 and Sunday from the 09:15 mass to 16:30.
If you like cars and lorries, swap the Van Abbemuseum for the DAF Museum at Tongelresestraat 27, about fifteen minutes on foot from the station: Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 17:00, adults €14.50, children 5 to 15 €7. With children, consider Museumpark VONK (the former preHistorisch Dorp and Eindhoven Museum) on the edge of the Genneper Parken, where historical residents show daily life in the past: Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 17:00, €16.50 for everyone aged 4 and over. A walk in the Genneper Parken takes you to the Genneper watermill that Vincent van Gogh painted.
The Museumkaart gives free entry to the Philips Museum, the Van Abbemuseum, the DAF Museum and VONK. Whether it pays off depends on the rest of your trip; our post on the Museumkaart does the sums.
A one-day Eindhoven itinerary, from 09:30 to 18:00
Times assume a Tuesday to Saturday and that you arrive at Eindhoven Centraal at about 09:30, by airport bus or by train, and walk.
| Time | What | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 09:30 | Eindhoven Centraal | Leave your bag in a locker, then walk out to 18 Septemberplein. |
| 09:40 | The Blob and the Lichttoren | The Blob sits over the entrance to the underground bicycle park; the Lichttoren beside it is a former Philips factory building. |
| 10:00 | Markt and the Sint-Catharinakerk | The church opens at 10:00. The statue of Frits Philips stands on the Markt. |
| 11:00 | Philips Museum | Emmasingel 31, opens at 11:00. Allow about 90 minutes with the audio tour. |
| 12:30 | Lunch | In the centre between the Markt and the Stratumseind, or save it for a food hall at Strijp-S. |
| 13:30 | Strijp-S | Sprinter train from Eindhoven Centraal to Eindhoven Strijp-S, 3 to 4 minutes, about every 15 minutes. Walk the industrial halls and the Ketelhuisplein. |
| 15:00 | Back to the centre | Same train back, or the bus. |
| 15:30 | Van Abbemuseum | Stratumsedijk 2, open to 17:00. On Tuesdays entry is free from 15:00 to 17:00. |
| 17:00 | The Dommel | Walk along the river back towards the centre. |
| 18:00 | Dinner | Stratumseind, the street of bars and cafés that starts by the Catharinakerk, and the streets around it. |
A Tuesday has an advantage: the Van Abbemuseum is free from 15:00 to 17:00, and the Philips Museum is free from 15:30 to 17:00 except in Dutch school holidays. If you are in town on a Tuesday afternoon, you can see both for nothing by swapping the museum blocks around.
Our private walking tour of Eindhoven takes 1.5 hours and starts at the Frits Philips statue on the Markt, so it slots into the 10:00 block. You choose the route: the post-war centre with the Blob and the Philips story, or Strijp-S. With a guide the morning gives you the context, and the afternoon is free for the museums.
What if you only have a few hours between flights?
Three to four hours in Eindhoven is enough for the centre, as long as you count the bus both ways and arrive at the airport in time for your flight.
- 0:00 to 0:20: Bus 400 from the airport to Eindhoven Centraal.
- 0:20 to 0:40: 18 Septemberplein, the Blob and the Lichttoren.
- 0:40 to 2:10: The Philips Museum (from 11:00), or the Sint-Catharinakerk and the Markt if the museum is closed.
- 2:10 to 2:40: Coffee or lunch in the centre.
- 2:40 to 3:00: Bus back to the airport.
Skip Strijp-S and the Van Abbemuseum on a short stop: the extra travel and the time inside each one leave too little margin.
What is open in Eindhoven on a Monday or a Sunday?
Monday is the weak day. The Philips Museum and VONK are closed on Mondays except in Dutch school holidays (VONK follows the southern region’s holidays), and the Van Abbemuseum, the DAF Museum and the Sint-Catharinakerk are closed every Monday. What still works: the Blob and 18 Septemberplein, Strijp-S, the Dommel and the Genneper Parken. If Monday is your only day, plan the walk and Strijp-S, or take the train to Den Bosch.
Sunday works well. All four museums open (the Philips Museum and the Van Abbemuseum from 11:00, the DAF Museum and VONK from 10:00), and the Sint-Catharinakerk is open after the 09:15 mass until 16:30.
Events. Dutch Design Week fills the city every October (the 2026 edition ran from 17 to 25 October), and the GLOW light festival takes over the streets in November: 7 to 14 November in 2026, according to GLOW Eindhoven. Both make hotels scarce, so book early or plan around them.
Sources: Philips Museum, Van Abbemuseum, DAF Museum, Museumpark VONK, Parish Sint Joris.
What is 20 to 30 minutes away for a second half-day?
Den Bosch (‘s-Hertogenbosch) is the obvious choice, and the contrast with Eindhoven is the point: a medieval centre, a Gothic cathedral and a river that runs under the houses. Intercity trains from Eindhoven Centraal to ‘s-Hertogenbosch take 20 minutes and run every ten minutes during the day, according to the NS journey planner. The Markt and the cathedral are about 10 to 15 minutes on foot from the station.
For a half day in Den Bosch:
- The Sint-Janskathedraal, open daily until 17:00, with its buttresses full of carved figures.
- The Binnendieze, the river that runs under the houses. Boat trips of about 50 minutes run from 1 April to 31 October only, €13 for adults, guided in Dutch with an English summary.
- Het Noordbrabants Museum, Tuesday to Sunday 11:00 to 17:00, with Brabant painters including Van Gogh.
- A Bossche bol, the city’s chocolate-covered cream pastry, with a coffee on the Markt.
Our self-guided audio tour of Den Bosch (1.5 hours, €8.99) covers the old centre at your own pace, and the Den Bosch destination page has more. If you are travelling on through the south, our guide to one day in Maastricht picks up where this one ends, and how many days you need in the Netherlands helps you fit Eindhoven into a longer route.
Sources: NS journey planner, Sint-Janskathedraal, DagjeDenBosch, Het Noordbrabants Museum.
Frequently asked questions
Is Eindhoven worth visiting for a day?
Yes, if you come for design, technology and the Philips story rather than canals. The Philips Museum, Strijp-S and the Van Abbemuseum fill a day well, and the centre is compact enough to walk. If you want a historic Dutch townscape as well, add a half day in Den Bosch, 20 minutes away by train.
How long does the bus from Eindhoven Airport to the centre take?
About 20 minutes on bus 400, which runs every 15 minutes with one stop on the way. Bus 401 runs every 10 minutes and makes more stops. Both go to Eindhoven Centraal, and you can pay by checking in with a contactless bank card or buy an Airport Express ticket from €5.15.
Can I visit Eindhoven on a layover?
With three to four hours between flights, yes: the bus, 18 Septemberplein and the Blob, the Philips Museum or the Sint-Catharinakerk, and a coffee. Leave your luggage in a locker at Eindhoven Centraal and keep a margin for the bus back and airport security.
What is Strijp-S?
The former Philips factory district west of the centre, more than 27 hectares of industrial buildings now used as studios, venues, food halls and homes. It is free to walk around. The Sprinter train from Eindhoven Centraal to Eindhoven Strijp-S takes 3 to 4 minutes.
Which Eindhoven museums are free with the Museumkaart?
The Philips Museum, the Van Abbemuseum, the DAF Museum and Museumpark VONK all give free entry with the Museumkaart. The Philips Museum does not sell the card itself. On Tuesday afternoons the Van Abbemuseum and the Philips Museum are free for everyone at set times.
Is Eindhoven or Den Bosch better for a day trip?
They answer different wishes. Eindhoven is modern, about design and industry; Den Bosch has a medieval centre, a cathedral and boat trips under the houses (April to October). With one day in the area, spend the morning in Eindhoven and take the 20-minute train to Den Bosch for the afternoon.
See Eindhoven with a private guide
Our 1.5-hour private walking tour of Eindhoven starts at the Frits Philips statue on the Markt at a time that suits your flight or train, from €199 per group of up to 20, through the centre or Strijp-S, with guides in English, Dutch, German, French, Spanish or Italian. Prefer to explore alone? The self-guided audio tour of Eindhoven takes about an hour and costs €10.99. The Eindhoven destination page has more on the city, its events and how to get there.
