The Riverside Youth Hostel
The Riverside Youth Hostel opened in 1998 in a converted warehouse beside the canal. It was designed for independent travellers aged between 18 and 35, and for this reason it offers dormitory beds rather than private rooms. Reception is staffed from 7 a.m. until midnight; after midnight, guests must enter through the side door using a personal code that is issued at check-in.
Breakfast is included in the nightly rate and is served between 7:30 and 9:30 in the ground-floor café. Guests may store their luggage free of charge on the day of arrival and on the day of departure, but the hostel cannot keep bags for longer periods. Bicycles can be hired at reception for eight pounds per day; however, helmets are not supplied, and guests are advised to bring their own.
The hostel organises free walking tours of the old town every Tuesday and Thursday, leaving at 10 a.m. from the main lobby. Each tour is limited to fifteen people, and places must be reserved at reception by 9 p.m. on the previous day. Wi-Fi is available throughout the building at no extra cost, although download speeds are noticeably reduced between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m., when most guests are online at the same time.
Quiet hours begin at 11 p.m. in all of the dormitories, and staff ask guests to keep noise to a minimum after this time. For safety reasons, the hostel does not permit guests to cook hot meals in the shared kitchens; only the preparation of cold food is allowed. A small laundry room on the second floor operates from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and accepts coins only.
Pets are not accepted, with the single exception of registered guide dogs. The management also reminds visitors that the building is entirely non-smoking, including the courtyard and the rooftop terrace. Guests who break this rule may be asked to leave without a refund.
Breakfast is included in the nightly rate and is served between 7:30 and 9:30 in the ground-floor café. Guests may store their luggage free of charge on the day of arrival and on the day of departure, but the hostel cannot keep bags for longer periods. Bicycles can be hired at reception for eight pounds per day; however, helmets are not supplied, and guests are advised to bring their own.
The hostel organises free walking tours of the old town every Tuesday and Thursday, leaving at 10 a.m. from the main lobby. Each tour is limited to fifteen people, and places must be reserved at reception by 9 p.m. on the previous day. Wi-Fi is available throughout the building at no extra cost, although download speeds are noticeably reduced between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m., when most guests are online at the same time.
Quiet hours begin at 11 p.m. in all of the dormitories, and staff ask guests to keep noise to a minimum after this time. For safety reasons, the hostel does not permit guests to cook hot meals in the shared kitchens; only the preparation of cold food is allowed. A small laundry room on the second floor operates from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and accepts coins only.
Pets are not accepted, with the single exception of registered guide dogs. The management also reminds visitors that the building is entirely non-smoking, including the courtyard and the rooftop terrace. Guests who break this rule may be asked to leave without a refund.