Herberg de Smidse - Epen

Herberg de Smidse is a household name in the region and the name says it all: the Smidse was originally a smithy, a forge. The property is built entirely in timber-framed style and has a bakehouse, across Terpoorterweg, which is still occasionally used to bake flans and bread. Located on many cycling and walking routes, this is a convivial retreat for weary feet, thirsty throats and hungry stomachs.

The inn has a long family history. In 1911, grandpa Bessems and his wife took over his parents' forge, and grandma started a shop where you could buy anything and everything. Nails, the ‘trousseau’, wallpaper, gas bottles, wheelbarrows, colonial wares and fabrics. Tourists came to sleep in the hayloft, and in the evening they ate with-the-pot-meal with the large crowd of children. 1911 is also the year Eli Heimans, biologist, wrote a wonderful booklet ‘From our chalk country’ about the amazing Geul valley with its beautiful flora. From then on, Epen developed as a tourist village. In ‘De Smidse’, on the other hand, time has stood still a bit.

By now, the fifth generation of the Bessems family is doing business here. The fruit pies are still baked according to Grandma Bessems' 90-year-old recipe. Try Auntie Mina's soup or, of course, real Limburg sweetmeat. The eyes are not lacking here either, because in the inn you will feel like you are at home with grandma, safe, warm and well pampered after a long trip. Don't feel like cycling any further? Then stay overnight in the Smidse. There are 10 rooms without telephone, television or minibar. But there are comfortable beds, floral wallpaper and a rustic atmosphere. Staying over... Just like grandma used to do!