Wyck has often been described as the up-and-coming part of Maastricht. Even though it’s still a dynamic area in development, it’s already seen a real transformation from ten years ago. Today, it’s hard to imagine that there was a time that this side of the Meuse was dismissed as ‘outside Maastricht,’ and the people of Wyck were considered bumpkins. But this history has also had a defining impact, and made Wyck into the unique urban borough that it is. The many contemporary and exclusive shops, hotels, restaurants, and creative enterprises that have come here in recent years are a perfect fit with the long-standing local boutiques, fine food shops, and the locals themselves. That’s what makes Wyck one of the best places in Maastricht to live, work, and shop. On weekdays Wyck is bustling with business from the train station to the river, and on weekends it is just as jumping, with the tourists and day visitors tarrying here to ‘warm up’ for a day out on the town. Today, it’s rightly said that you haven’t seen Maastricht until you’ve seen Wyck!

In the Céramique district, you still feel the industrial past, even though you’re standing in the newest and most modern part of the city. It’s the kind of place where you look up and keep looking, to take in the impressive architecture, even as the ground around you buzzes with culture and activity. Céramique arose in the early 1990s on the site of ‘Société Céramique,’ a ceramics factory that operated from 1850 to 1985, best known for its tableware. When the factory was offered for sale to the municipality in the late 1980s, the idea to redevelop the area as a quality residential and commercial district quickly emerged, and Government Architect Jo Coenen was engaged to develop a master plan. One of his fundamental premises was to bring something of a Mediterranean feel to this part of the city. To achieve this, he brought in luminary architects from southern Europe for the design of the various residential and business complexes. The result is a total package of architectural high point after high point, like Mario Botta’s ‘La Fortezza,’ Alvaro Siza’s ‘Tower of Siza,’ and perhaps the crowning glory, Aldo Rossi’s Bonnefanten Museum. But despite all the forward-looking architecture, the connection to the past remains, in the street names, remnants of older buildings and tableware that turn up unexpectedly, and the exhibitions in the Bonnefanten Museum and Centre Céramique. Each and every one is a golden thread of history interwoven into the fabric of today.

The area of 56 997 hectares of the Balaton Uplands National Park mainly consists of these six landscape protection areas: Kis-Balaton, Keszthely Hills, Tapolca Basin, Káli Basin, Pécsely Basin and Tihany Peninsula. Among its regions Kis-Balaton is also protected by the international Ramsar Convention, serving the protection of wetland habitats. Tihany Peninsula – as a recognition of its outstanding geological values and the work of nature conservation in that region – was awarded of European Diploma in 2003. The Natura 2000 areas, covering partly the National Park and going beyond its area ensure the possibility of the conservation of habitats, plant and animal species which are of European importance. The initiative of Bakony–Balaton Geopark – the area of which covers partly the National Park – sets the aim of interpreting the geological, natural and cultural values and awakening the consciousness of their social significance. The Bakony–Balaton Geopark became member of the European Geoparks Network and the Global Geoparks Network – assisted by UNESCO in 2012.