Although the road via Cauberg formed the shortest connection between Valkenburg and Maastricht, in former ages most unmotorized traffic due to the steepness of the hill followed the longer but much more level route along the Geul river.

Dutch architect Pierre Cuypers, who lived in Valkenburg for some years, helped design Rotspark ('Rocky Park') on the northeastern slope of Cauberg, which featured a viewing tower (1898, demolished) and an open-air theater (1916).

At the bottom of the hill is one of Valkenburg's main visitor attractions, Gemeentegrot, an abandoned chalk quarry offering guided tours through a labyrinth of man-made caves which include an underground lake, limestone sculptures of prehistoric animals and charcoal drawings depicting local history scenes.

Only a few yards further up the hill stands a memorial chapel with a carillon, commemorating the Limburgian members of the Dutch resistance that were killed during World War II.

Here the underground fighters Sjeng (John) Coenen and Joep (Joe) Francotte were murdered on 5 September 1944, just before the liberation of Valkenburg.

[1] Opposite lies a leafy hill cemetery, that features terraced graves, unique in the Netherlands, as well as a Gothic revival graveyard chapel and some limestone mausoleums, one of which was designed by Pierre Cuypers.

On the other side of the road, amidst an extension of Rotspark, is a branch of Holland Casino in a modern building with an imposing view of the town and the Geul valley.