TEFAF Maastricht 2027. A small Dutch city with the world's best dealers in it.
Six days in March at the MECC, and a city of a hundred and twenty thousand people that cannot quite hold everyone who wants to be there. The travel is the part most people get wrong.
The fair
TEFAF Maastricht 2027 at a glance
- DatesSaturday 13 to Thursday 18 March 2027TEFAF usually opens with invitation only preview days before the public days. The organisers publish the pattern for each edition.
- WhereMECC Maastricht, in the Randwyck districtSouth of the old city, beside Maastricht Randwyck station and the university hospital.
- SizeAround 270 dealers from some twenty countriesOld masters, antiquities, jewellery, design and modern, under one roof.
- Closest airportMaastricht Aachen (MST)About fifteen minutes from the MECC, with business aviation handling. Liege is around forty five minutes.
Dates as published by TEFAF and the MECC. We review this page when the 2027 preview pattern is confirmed.
Why it needs planning
Everyone sleeps in another country
Maastricht is charming and small. The fair is neither. During TEFAF the hotel rooms in the city are committed long in advance, and a large part of the trade and the collectors stay across the borders, in Liege, Aachen, Brussels, Dusseldorf or as far as Amsterdam, and commute in each morning. Those journeys cross international borders without anyone noticing, and they run on motorways that are perfectly ordinary until everyone uses them at the same hour.
That daily commute is the reason a car and driver earn their keep here more than at most fairs. The MECC has its own drop off and the Randwyck approach roads are simple enough, but parking near the halls is finite and the useful moves during the day, to a dealer's dinner in the old town, to the station to meet a colleague, back to the hotel in Belgium, are short, frequent and easy to mistime.
In the Netherlands and Belgium we arrange cars through operators we know, briefed the way our own chauffeurs are briefed in London, and selected for drivers who are comfortable working across the Dutch, Belgian and German borders. If you are flying privately, Maastricht Aachen is the closest field with handling, and Liege, Eindhoven and Brussels all work as alternatives when it is full, which in fair week it often is.
Journey times
Getting to the MECC
| From | Typical time | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Maastricht Aachen (MST) | About 15 minutes | The closest airport, with business aviation handling. Capacity is limited in fair week |
| Liege (LGG), Belgium | 40 to 55 minutes | A practical alternative field, and a good place to stay |
| Eindhoven | About 1 hour | Straight up the A2 |
| Brussels | 1 hour 15 to 1 hour 45 | A common base, with the fair reachable in a morning |
| Dusseldorf and Cologne | 1 hour 15 to 1 hour 45 | The German option, popular with dealers |
| Amsterdam Schiphol | 2 hours to 2 hours 30 | By road. The train to Maastricht Randwyck takes around two and a half hours |
| London to Maastricht by air | About 1 hour 10 in the air | Plus a car at each end. Eurostar to Brussels and a car is the usual alternative |
Editorial ranges from timetables, mapping and local guidance, not promises.
What clients usually book
A car for the days you are actually there
- A car and driver held for each day, including the run back across the border at night
- Collection at the private terminal at Maastricht Aachen or Liege, with the flight tracked
- A driver comfortable working in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany on the same day
- A second vehicle for colleagues on a different viewing list or a different flight
- Dinner in the old town, with the car waiting rather than a taxi rank at eleven at night
- Onward travel to Brussels, Amsterdam or Paris at the end of the fair, planned in advance
A typical plan
London to the Randwyck halls
- 01
London
One of our own chauffeurs collects you and drives to London City, Luton, Biggin Hill or Farnborough.
- 02
The crossing
A short flight to Maastricht Aachen or Liege, or the Eurostar to Brussels with a car waiting.
- 03
The fair
A car arranged locally, briefed on the MECC drop off and where it may stand during the day.
- 04
The days after
Dealers, dinners and the border runs, with one contact at Odyssey holding the whole itinerary.
A note on the works
We move people, not pictures
Every year somebody asks whether we can take a purchase home in the car. The answer is no, and it is the right answer. Fine art moves with specialist shippers who understand customs, condition, climate and insurance, and a chauffeur car is not the vehicle for it. What we will do is work alongside the shipper you or your dealer appoints, so that viewings, collections and your own movements line up sensibly across the week.
The same applies to the paperwork. Cross border movement of art and antiques has its own rules, and your dealer, shipper and adviser are the people who deal with them. We keep to the part we are good at, which is making sure you are in the right place at the right hour, rested.
Around the fair
Related pages
The art calendar
Getting there
Who books this
Start planning
Tell us where you are staying
Which days you will be at the fair, how many of you, which side of which border you are sleeping on, and whether you need the flight as well as the cars. We come back with a plan for the week. Nothing is booked or charged online.
Prefer to talk? +44 2030 048300 or WhatsApp, at any hour.
Questions people ask
About TEFAF travel
Are these your own cars in the Netherlands?
No. Our own fleet and chauffeurs are in London and Manchester. In the Netherlands and Belgium we arrange cars through operators we know, to the same brief, with one contact at Odyssey throughout.
Can we stay in Brussels or Dusseldorf and commute?
Many people do, and it is often the only way to get the room you want. Allow an hour and a quarter to an hour and three quarters each way and start earlier than feels necessary.
Can you carry a purchase for us?
No. Works go with specialist art shippers. We will coordinate with the one you appoint so the timings work.
Can we fly into Maastricht?
Maastricht Aachen has business aviation handling and is fifteen minutes from the fair, but capacity in fair week is limited. Liege, Eindhoven and Brussels are the usual alternatives.
Can you get us preview access?
No. Preview and early access invitations come from TEFAF and the dealers. We arrange the travel around them.
Are you an official partner of TEFAF?
No. We are an independent company arranging travel to and from the fair.
One contact, wherever you are