Why Tefaf Maastricht Still Commands a Pilgrimage, Even When Travel Goes Sideways
Maastricht is not an obvious March destination. The Dutch city, home to a little more than 126,000 residents, sits outside the usual European art-tour circuit, with limited hotel stock and a pace that can feel decidedly unglamorous compared with Paris or Brussels. This year, getting there became even more complicated: strike action disrupted regional transport, canceling trains from Liège and affecting routes from Brussels.
And yet the European Fine Art Fair (Tefaf) once again drew the art world in.
Despite the travel headaches, the fair continued its annual pull of more than 50,000 visitors, a mix of collectors, dealers, trustees, curators, and museum patron groups. In 2026, Tefaf Maastricht hosted 67 patron groups, including first-time participation from two London institutions: Victoria and Albert Museum patrons, led by director Tristram Hunt, and the National Gallery. The opening-day scene extended beyond the convention hall: the small Maastricht airport was reported to be choked with private planes.
For many attendees, the question is not whether Maastricht is convenient, but whether the fair is worth the trouble. Dealers and exhibitors insist it is.
“It is simply the most beautiful fair in the world!” said modern and contemporary art dealer Hidde van Seggelen, a sentiment echoed by others who point to Tefaf’s unusually broad span. Few fairs can credibly move from antiquities to contemporary art under one roof while maintaining a reputation for depth and connoisseurship. The appeal, dealers say, lies in the density of high-quality material: Old Master paintings, precious objets d’art, and works held back specifically for Maastricht.
The fair’s draw is also strategic. Tefaf offers dealers access to a European clientele they may not reliably reach at home. That was part of the calculus for new London exhibitor Alison Jacques, who joined the fair this year. She also emphasized the economics and logistics of participation, noting that Tefaf is cheaper to do than many other fairs and praising the quality of the stand build.
Organizationally, Tefaf is run by a non-profit foundation. Even amid recent turbulence around its top leadership, the fair’s day-to-day execution has remained a point of confidence for exhibitors, who credit the team behind the scenes for keeping the operation smooth.
The fair’s location, however, remains a perennial topic. The idea of moving Tefaf to a larger, better-connected city such as Brussels resurfaces regularly, and just as regularly gets dismissed. Will Korner, who leads both the Maastricht and New York editions, said the organization is frequently approached by other cities and countries about staging events or relocating, but has made an active decision to remain in Maastricht and in New York.
That commitment is reinforced locally. The city of Maastricht and the province of Limberg are described as eager to keep the fair in place, providing an undisclosed financial contribution to help ensure it stays.
In a twist, the very inconveniences that frustrate visitors can also work to Tefaf’s advantage. Maastricht offers fewer distractions than major capitals: fewer competing museum openings, fewer restaurant “musts,” fewer reasons to drift away from the aisles. Inside the fair, the atmosphere is designed for lingering and looking: plush, well lit, comfortable, with ample seating. Hospitality is part of the choreography, too, with champagne circulating and oysters shucked in the aisles.
The result, by accounts from the opening, is focus. Well fed and well watered, visitors concentrate on the objects in front of them, and many sales were reported to have been made immediately at the start.
For now, Tefaf Maastricht appears to have both the institutional will and the practical support to stay put, even as the journey to this small Dutch city continues to test the resolve of the people who insist they cannot miss it.
