Domtoren

As far as historical sites and touristic activities go in Utrecht, the Dom tower is a real must-​do and a great item for any Dutch person’s bucket list. Though I can’t quite remember the view, I know it’s amazing.
The main reason I can’t remember the view is because when climbing the Dom last Wednesday night, it was foggy. And the last time I climbed the Dom before that, was at least fifteen years ago. So, no personal recollection of the view at the moment, but even without seeing anything, the feeling of standing on top of this immensely tall tower is pretty damn amazing! :)
Another fun little fact; you can get married here! And they organise fun themed climbs like the «lichtjes kijken» that I did which is climbing the Dom by night, super cool!

Impresionante esta torre en mitad de Utrecht y que puede verse desde casi cualquier parte de la misma, así como desde el tren desde Amsterdam. Solía ser la torre de la catedral que está al lado, pero la parte que mediaba se destruyó durante un vendaval hace siglos y ahora son dos estructuras diferentes.
Por lo visto puede visitarse el interior e incluso subir hasta arriba del todo, pero el día que estuvimos estaba cerrada, lo cual es una pena porque me gusta ver ciudades desde las alturas y me he quedado con las ganas. Otra vez será.

The Domtoren is the tallest church tower in the Netherlands. The top of the tower can be seen from most places in Utrecht.
I had such a hard time figuring out how to get close to it and how to get in. The winding roads made it difficult to find from my hotel, but it’s very easy to find from the Utrecht Centraal train station.
My guidebook failed to mention where to enter or where to purchase a ticket for the tour. I decided to go into the tourism office (VVV) across the street to find out. As luck would have it, the tourism office is where you buy the tickets (8 €) and where you wait for the tour guide.
The tour guide for my group was fantastic; she was very knowledgable and said everything in Dutch and English.
Once in the bell tower, the smell of church incense is very strong. It smells and looks very old. (It is very old! It was built from 1254 – 1520.) The stone walls and dark stained glass make it feel like a castle or fortress from the start.
The second floor was the bishop’s chapel where they still host weddings. Up another floor (and many steep stone steps), and there is a room displaying information about the building and the church next door. (At one point, they were connected, but a hurricane in the 1600s tore the connecting part down.) This floor also has a smaller scale carillon to demonstrate how the one at the top of the tower works. A tourist in my group played it; it’s like a piano with very hard to press keys.
The next floor was the belfry, housing humongous bells that, the tour guide said, weigh more than two adult elephants. Those bells are rung individually by people pulling a rope, a la the Hunchback of Notre Dame. The floor following that was the one with the carillon. 70 meters from the ground floor, this floor also offered a spectacular panoramic view of Utrecht, and on a clear day Amsterdam and Rotterdam can be seen in the distance.
Some of the group went all the way to the top, 95 meters, but I stopped at 70. The tour took about an hour. It was well worth the money for the experience.