Kartfabrique

In Utrecht, along the Westkanaaldijk on the edge of the city towards Maarssen, Kartfabrique has been running karts for more than twenty-five years on a covered track of about seven hundred and fifty metres. The venue calls it the longest flat indoor track in the Netherlands, which means real sequences of corners and flat-out speed, on petrol karts. The layout stays open to beginners while rewarding those who know how to place their lines.

Karting is only part of the programme. The complex adds Prison Island, an escape game spread over thirty-nine cells and challenges, a laser game arena on three levels, racing simulators to drive Formula 1 circuits, and a catering area. You can spend several hours combining the activities, with family, with friends or for a corporate outing, which makes it an address built for groups.

Utrecht is the country's fourth city and one of its oldest, recognisable by the Dom tower that rises over the centre and by its canals lined with low wharves, the werven, turned into terraces and workshops at water level. A student city and a major rail hub, it is easy to reach from anywhere in the Netherlands. Kartfabrique sits a little apart from that bustle, in a business area beside the canal, and offers a mechanical break under cover, handy all year when the weather is no good for wandering the city.