Valkenburg Castle Ruins — Attraction in Valkenburg aan de Geul

Beautiful site with great views on valkenburg and surroundings. However, the castle, and also information signs and castle models are not what they could be. It does not look like the ruin is being preserved, plants are growing into the stones which could destroy what remains of the old walls. Next to that, signs and models are faded by the sun. All of this while an apparently large sum of money is spent on the presentation of the castle to attract new customers (for instance the large modern glass entrance and restaurant). It would be nice to see more money put into the preservation and presentation of the castle itself. To end on a positive note: it is still a very interesting site to visit and I would...

Valkenburg was a beautiful, and very touristy, little town and I wish we'd spent longer there but poor research on the part of our travel planner meant we couldn't! The town was so touristy that the car park was full so we had to sit and wait at the barrier until someone came out. We visited the castle which looked like it was magnificent at one time and certainly covered a large area but was slighted in the 17th century and then steadily plundered for stone by house builders in the town. Now it was a hugely popular family destination and when we visited there was some living history displays as well as archery and some games. We bought a combined ticket with the...

I was very unhappy with whoever ruined this castle, until I learned that it was actually the owner and was done to prevent it from falling into enemy hands. I think it would be nice if some of the proceeds could be used to restore the ruins to their former glory - a small amount of restoration work has been done which is a nice start. Also, when you visit please join me in a moment of silent appreciation to remember every person who did NOT deface the stones - let's forget those who selfishly thought to be memorialized by such means. NB: Maps failed to show me all the photos for the album I created to share here so I will try to repost the review...