Street Art Utrecht: larger than life and small works
It’s so much fun and a great surprise when you turn a corner and there’s a beautiful or funny mural on a wall. Whether it’s a small cute one or a larger than life one. Lately, I’ve been exploring the street art of Utrecht, my hometown. A city in the middle of The Netherlands. There are more than I expected there to be. Let’s dive into street art Utrecht, area by area.
Street Art Utrecht
Northwest
Books: On Amsterdamsestraatweg is this famous piece from JanIsDeMan. It’s 3 book shelfs with books that are favorites of the people in the neighbourhood. The mural went viral after being finished.
Otter: A mural of an otter at the entrance of the Otterstraat, made by De Verfdokter. A famous Dutch street artist.
Map of Utrecht: On 1e Daalsedijk is a mural on the side of a house. A street map of Utrecht is painted on it.
Daalsepark: The street name sign is painted on a wall in this park.
Trains: In Goudsbloemstraat and other streets in the Tweede Daalsebuurt, trains have been painted by De Verfdokter. In these small houses the train employees used to live here.
A fairytale: A writer lives in this house on Lagenoord. The mural is inspired by one of her tales.
Saying from Albert Einstein: Look up on the Boorstraat and see this saying by Albert Einstein.
Utrecht: On Monicahof JanIsDeMan has painted the word Utrecht in a cool perspective.
Concrete sheep: In the Daalsepark are some really cute sheep painted on concrete bumps.
Ice Bear: An ice bear on the Aardbeistraat (strawberry street).
Kids drawings: JanIsDeMan painted on the side of a house in the Esdoornstraat. He’s used drawings from kids in the neighbourhood. JanIsDeMan has already provided a lot of beautiful street art in Utrecht. In a lot of them he incorporates the neighbourhood.
Welcome to the straatweg: On the side of the house number 59, on Amsterdamsestraatweg, by JanIsDeMan. Several familiar and historical facades. Among them the Watertower, church tower, Dom tower, the old cinema, the bookcase mural ad the yellow bridge.
Sleeping Mars: A painting from Caravaggio on the Westplein. It’s made by De Strakke Hand, a collective that makes art across Utrecht. Centraal Museum had an exhibition on Caravaggio and they ordered 3 murals in Utrecht with his paintings.
Overvecht
The Flute Player: On the Dorbeendreef, the second painting from Caravaggio. Some 30 meters high.
Ons mooie stadsie (our beautiful city): On the Loevenhoutsedijk, made by JanIsDeMan and De Verfdokter. An ode to the city of Utrecht.
Southwest
The Lute Player: The third painting from Caravaggio. It’s on the Attleeplantsoen and over 14 meters high.
East
KBTR: The most famous graffiti figure in all of Utrecht is the Utrechtse Kabouter (gnome). The KBTR can be found all over Utrecht. Here he is on the Aalscholverhof.
Sun Shine Some Where: On the Wulpstraat is this modern, upbeat painting.
Snowy scene: An old mural on the Kozakkenweg. A snowy landscape with a mill and all.
South
KBTR: On the side of a skate track in Tolsteegplantsoen.
Woordzoeker (word search): The most recent street art painting by JanIsDeMan on the side of Graafschap 47.
Mirror Mirror: A reflective painting on the side of a nursing home on the Baden-Powellweg.
Northeast
Ducdalf with ships: The oldest mural in Utrecht. It’s from 1978 made by Anne P. Boer. In the Adelaarstraat.
The Balcony: Hans van der Plas painted this in 1980 on the Adelaarstraat.
Poems: All over the area Wittevrouwen you can find poems on houses.
Grutto (black-tailed godwit): A painting with black-tailed godwits in the Grietstraat. A design by Lisette Jansen.
Flying cat: On Hopakker 7 a painting from a cat with rockets made by Philipp Jordan.
Outsider art mural: On Lauwerecht 55, made by Derk Wessel. He has down-syndrome. The first outsider art in Utrecht.
Trains: The complete skatetrack has been made into a train track, by JanIsDeMan. The skatepool at Griftpark.
Grand Depart: The Grand Depart of the Tour de France was in Utrecht in 2015. Several street art paintings where made for this.
Downtown/Inner City
Half Nijntje (Miffy): On the Jeruzalemstraat a Miffy is coming out of a house.
Pyke Koch: A painting by De Strakke Hand on the Asch van Wijckskade. A man in a red dress, a painting from Pyke Koch. The Centraal Museum had an exhibition on Pyke Koch.
3 Paintings: Look up in the Lange Smeestraat, where 3 paintings are hanging on the wall.
A.V.M.: On the Donker Gaard is this painting with a carriage.
Maxima Hospital: On Bleekstraat is this mural for the opening of the Maxima Hospital.
Several paintings: Under the trainstation several paintings in accordance with the neighbourhood.
Really small street art: On the Herenstraat you have to look really good for this small work of art.
West
Zoetemelk & Janssen: Made by Daniel Rozendaal in the series “Têtes de la Course” for the start of the Tour de France. Zoetemelk and Janssen are 2 famous Dutch cyclists.
Houten
Not in Utrecht officially, but so cute. These animals on bunkers at a farm by JanIsDeMan.
As you can see there’s plenty of street art Utrecht to be found
So next time you’re in Utrecht, as a stop on one of your road trips, go on a street art tour Utrecht to admire the paintings. When you want somewhere to eat in Utrecht, or other things to do with kids, there are plenty of options. It’s also one of the best cities for shopping in The Netherlands.
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28 Comments
Taylor
Utrecht looks awesome! I love all of this unique street art. 🙂 Hope to go one day!
Cosette
Hope you can come to Utrecht one day.
Rob+Ann @ Travellatte.net
Wow, what great street art! The Bookcase may be famous, but we hadn’t seen it. It’s immediately our new favorite, though! We also like the adorable concrete sheep – how cute! Thanks for sharing.
Cosette
Yes, both street art are great.
Lisa | Handmade in Israel
Wow, the bookshelf looks amazing! The concrete sheep are just fun! Thanks for sharing these murals with us.
Cosette
The concrete sheep are indeed fun.
Big Dog Travel Blog
Gorgeous photos. We love street art. The trains were particularly interesting, I loved all the views. We will add this city to the bucket list!
Cosette
Utrecht is a fun city to visit. So hope you get to visit.
Sharyn
I never knew there was so much wonderful art around Utrecht. It must make the city look so colourful.
Cosette
Yes, it does, although there still plenty of places where there’s no street art.
Krista
I love finding unique street art while I travel! Utrecht looks like it has some fascinating ones to see!
Cosette
Finding unique street art is such a fun thing to do during travels.
Holidays from Hels
These are fab! Coming from Bristol I’m a bit of a street art fan. Some of these are like oil paintings! I’m torn between the sheep, pheasant and book case as my favourites. Thanks for the art work!
Cosette
Then I have to visit Bristol for the street art!
Runaway Ann
These murals are absolutely stunning! I love how they are bringing joy to surroundings 🙂
Cosette
Yes, that’s a great thing street art can do.
Jennifer Connarn
I love exploring the street art when I visit a new city. The murals in Utrecht all look lovely! Thanks for the tips!
Cosette
I also love exploring street art in a new city!
Val
I didn’t know Utrecht has such a thriving street art scene, so cool! And great photos 🙂
Cosette
Thank you. Yes, there’s plenty of street art to be found in Utrecht.
Natalie
I lived in Utrecht a few years ago, and I recognize some of these!! Lots of new ones, so I’ll definitely look out for them when I visit again 🙂
Cosette
Yes, some are there already longer or even a long time. But there are indeed plenty of new ones.
Jade
This is amazing, I love ‘the Bookcase’! Can’t wait to get back to NL once life gets a bit more back to normal. Thanks for sharing!
Cosette
Hope you can explore the Netherlands soon again.
Suvarna Arora
Utrecht looks amazing and these street arts are so lovely.
Cosette
Thank you.
Natalia
There are so many amazing murals on the walls of the houses in Utrecht. They are real masterpieces and the artists who created them are very talented. My favorites are “The bookcase” and the one on the Straatweg by Janis de Man. Thank you for sharing.
Michelle
I love all the street art! My favorite is the concrete sheep! They are adorable and I would love to have one in my front yard!!