Area-tip: Downtown

With sixty (!) Dutch Design Week projects, Eindhoven’s city center is one of the largest areas to explore. From furniture design to jewellery by master's students from Germany, it’s best to set aside two days for the city center area. A bonus: from here, the entire Dutch Design Week is within easy reach.

Where?

We can't sum up the city center with just one street name - it’s pretty large. Our tip: start at Eindhoven Central Station.

Need a ticket?

Yes, you need one to make sure you don't miss a thing. You can get one here.

How to get there?

Are you traveling by train? At Eindhoven Central Station, you'll step right out into the heart of the action. From here, you can easily bike or walk your way to all the DDW hotspots.

Why do you want to go there?

As mentioned before, the city center of Eindhoven has almost sixty exhibitions. And yes, they’re all worth visiting. Feeling a little overwhelmed? No worries, we’ll share some must-visit spots for you.

Highlight locations

• At Markt: Step into the Spreekkamer van de Toekomst (Consultation Room of the Future). Just look for the egg with a chicken on top – you can't miss it!
• Van Abbemuseum: Discover the new exhibition Museum as Sundial. The museum's director created it together with many Eindhoven makers, like Kiki & Joost and EDHV.
• Kazerne: Once the base for the military police, now it's all about design. This year, 40 designers are taking part in the exhibition, so there's plenty to see!
• Schellensfabriek: At the exhibition something.beyond, you'll spot jewelry made of metal, glass and stone, and even pieces you can listen to. Students from Pforzheim University in Germany are behind the show.
• Dynamo: What's on young people's minds? At Head of a Young Mind, they use light, sound, and photography to show which topics matter to them.
• Fuutlaan: This year, Design Perron showcases graduate work across multiple locations, with a focus on themes such as light, textiles, and bio design. In short: Fuutlaan is the place you don’t want to miss during DDW.

Our recommendations

• We Were Giants: Feel like a kid again. Things that seemed huge back then have shrunk (maybe because you were smaller). But we've lost a bit of the wonder and magic of being a child. When was the last time you built a fort out of cardboard boxes? We Were Giants brings that feeling back.
• Hip, hip, hooray: TAC is open again! After a big renovation, the team is now adding the finishing touches. But during Dutch Design Week, you can spend nine days wandering between exhibitions, open studios and the restaurant.
• Reflecting Wildness: How do we deal with wild nature and biodiversity? An installation of 5,000 handmade mirrored bees looks magical, but it also reveals an urgent reality.
• Blaupause: Take a break at Markt on the bright blue street furniture by Kollektiv Plus X. It all started with a playful idea: creating something out of building blocks.

More DDW nearby

Now that you've tasted it, let's take it up a notch. Hanging around the Station Area? A visit to the Graduation Show of Design Academy Eindhoven at Microstad is a must. In the old KPN phone exchange, 200 bachelor's and master's students are showing off their final projects. What's in store? Well, that's a surprise for us too. But one thing's for sure - it will be mind-blowing. Trust us, we've been there, done that!

Other fun things to do nearby

There’s no shortage of food and drinks in the center of Eindhoven. Thank goodness, because all that wandering around makes us hangry, uh, hungry! There’s something for every foodie to enjoy. But the big question is: what are you in the mood for? Whether you're looking for coffee spots, lunch places, or cocktail bars, we've got some great tips for you. Or check out our food and drink page for all our tips!