Built: 1913
Capacity: 33,000

Eindhoven has a rather sterile image which comes from the fact that it is viewed as a company town - the city in the Brabant region of Holland lives and breathes for the Philips electrical conglomerate. Indeed, nearly one in five of the inhabitants work for the company, but the picture of a soulless international centre of technology is far from the whole story.

Anyone alighting there this summer will find a young dynamic city with lots going for it, in particular a wide range of good restaurants and a host of lively bars and pavement cafes. Arguably the best eateries in town are concentrated in and around the Kleine Berg area of central Eindhoven.

The main hub of Eindhoven's nightlife action is packed into streets near Stratumseind and Kleine Berg.

The Grand Cafe Berlage is a good bet to be rammed with visiting English fans - along with Portuguese, Turkish and Italian supporters. The venue has a terrace and two side bars.

The stage for three Euro 2000 games is the highly-impressive 33,000 capacity Philips Stadium.

Backed by the cash and technological know-how of Philips, the ground has long been a state-of-the-art venue with superb, innovative facilities for the fans - e.g. rooftop gas heaters to warm up spectators in the stands below on cold winter days.

But thanks to the £18 million of improvements made for these championships, it is now even better.

In use 365 days a year for meetings, receptions, parties and events, the Philips Stadium provides a glimpse of the multi-functional stadia that will become common place in the early part of this century.

There are plans to put up four huge screens on which spectators can watch replays, glean information and be entertained.

The stadium is also home to a pair of first-class restaurants, the brasserie, luxury halls and conference rooms are all of the finest quality.

Electronic giants Philips provide the loyal backing which makes PSV Eindhoven the richest team in the Dutch league.

PSV have challenged the might of Ajax and Feyenoord with enough success over the years to be firmly established as the third biggest club in the country.

They became the third Dutch team to be crowned European champions, after Feyenoord and Ajax, when they beat Benfica on penalties in 1988.

Getting there

There are regular trains to Eindhoven from Amsterdam. If driving from the west head down the E34, E19 and E313; use the E25 from the south; E25 from the north; or take the motorway to junction 33 from the east.