Resort Mooi Bemelen

Fishing and walking are the main picks at Bemelerberg Nature Reserve, accessible a few minutes' walk from the resort, and the award-winning hiking municipality of Eijsden-Margraten and the village of Bemelen are both within a couple of kilometres. There's also the vast Groeve 't Rooth or t'Rooth quarry under 10 minutes' bike ride away, for forest paths, a pool and nature spotting in a spectacularly unusual setting. For town and city days, potter around Valkenburg and its castle, ancient city walls, shops and museums, 15 minutes' drive away, and amble the squares, streets and more than 1,670 national heritage sites at Maastricht (25 minutes). Or cross borders into Belgium for Liège, 35 minutes away, and Germany for Aachen (40 minutes) and its eighth-century cathedral, Aachen Zoo and a thrashingly lively black metal scene. If you think the kids would prefer a theme park, about 50 minutes in the car will take you to Plopsa Indoor Hasselt, a land of rides and attractions, play areas and a climbing mountain to tackle.