Wijk bij Duurstede

At the junction of Oeverstraat and Molenstraat, where the old Leuterpoort gate stands. The mill body sits on top of the gate arch and the public road runs through it — walk under, then climb the dyke behind for the classic view over the Lek. The mill is worked by volunteers and open some Saturdays.

Muntstraat 8, two minutes from the Markt. One well-curated building on the Viking-age trading port: coins struck here, imported Rhineland pottery, timber from the quays, and a clear account of why the town died. Around €7, closed Mondays, and worth an hour before you walk the excavated river bank.

Kasteel Duurstede park, entered from the Langs de Wal on the north-east edge of the centre. A round brick donjon of about 1270 and a later residential wing stand roofless in a landscaped park with a moat and a walled kitchen garden. The grounds are free and open daily; the tower opens for events and a summer café.

The veerpont leaves from the foot of the dyke below the mill and crosses to Rijswijk on the Gelderland bank in about five minutes. Roughly €1.50 with a bicycle, a few euro for a car, cash or card at the ramp. On the far side you are straight into the Amerongse Bovenpolder, a river floodplain grazed by Konik horses.

Twenty minutes' walk east along the Lekdijk, where the Amsterdam-Rijnkanaal meets the river. Three parallel chambers handle the heaviest inland shipping in the country; there is a public viewing bank and a bicycle bridge over the lock heads. Best in the late afternoon when the loaded barges queue for the downstream chamber.

Pick up the signed route at the Rijn en Lek mill and follow the old river north-west through Cothen, Werkhoven and Odijk to Bunnik and Amelisweerd, about 25 km on near-continuous asphalt cycle path. Orchards, tower houses and one ferry-free stretch of water the Romans used as their frontier.

There is no railway. From Schiphol, take a train to Utrecht Centraal, about 35 minutes, then bus 41 from the station bus deck: it runs via Bunnik, Odijk, Werkhoven and Cothen and reaches the Wijk bij Duurstede bus station in 45 to 55 minutes, roughly twice an hour on weekdays and hourly on Sundays. The last useful departure back to Utrecht is in the mid-evening, so plan dinner accordingly. By car, leave the A12 at Bunnik or Driebergen and take the N229 south, about 30 minutes from central Utrecht; there is free parking on the Singel ring and paid spaces nearer the Markt. Inside the walls nothing is more than a six-minute walk, and every hotel can point you at a rental bike.

No. The town has never had a passenger railway and the nearest stations are Houten Castellum and Driebergen-Zeist, each about fifteen kilometres away. Bus 41 from Utrecht Centraal is the practical link, taking 45 to 55 minutes and running roughly half-hourly on weekdays. If you are arriving late in the evening, budget €45 to €55 for a taxi from Utrecht.

The veerpont runs from the ramp below the windmill to Rijswijk on the south bank, taking about five minutes and leaving whenever it has a load. It carries cars, bikes and foot passengers; expect around €1.50 with a bicycle and a few euro for a car, paid on board. It runs daily from early morning to evening, but stops in high water or heavy ice, so check before planning a loop that depends on it.

Not standing above ground, no. The settlement was excavated in the 1960s and 1970s and the finds are in Museum Dorestad on the Muntstraat, which is a good hour and honest about what is left. Markers along the old river channel show where the quays ran. If you want reconstructions rather than context, this is not the place.

It is one of the better ones in the province. The Kromme Rijn route runs 25 km to Utrecht on almost unbroken cycle path, the Lekdijk gives you flat river riding east toward Amerongen and west toward Vianen, and the ferry opens the Betuwe orchards on the far bank. Bike hire in town runs about €12 to €15 a day, e-bikes closer to €30.