Groningen

Groningen is far from everywhere — 2.5 hours from Amsterdam by train — and proud of it. The distance keeps the crowds down and the local character intact. Coming here feels like arriving somewhere, not somewhere else.

The City in 60 Seconds

Groningen is the capital of the northern province of the same name and the Netherlands’ seventh-largest city — though you wouldn’t guess the rank from the centre, which feels intimate and human-scaled. The university (1614, second oldest in the Netherlands) gives the city 60,000 students in a population of 230,000 — the second-highest ratio in the country after Wageningen. The effect is immediately visible: every other building is a café, bar, or student union, and the cycling infrastructure is extraordinary even by Dutch standards.

The city was almost completely spared in WWII (the centre was liberated by Canadian forces in intense street-by-street fighting in April 1945, but not bombed by either side), which means the medieval and 17th-century fabric is largely intact — a rarity this far north.

Route

1. Groninger Museum — Art Museum

Time here: 90 minutes

The Groninger Museum (1994) is one of the most architecturally provocative museums in the Netherlands. Designed by Alessandro Mendini, with wings by Philippe Starck and Frank Stella, it was built deliberately without coordination between the different architects — each section clashes in colour, form, and material with the others. Mendini called it a “village of pavilions.” It sits on an island in the canal between the station and the city centre and looks, depending on your disposition, either joyfully absurd or genuinely bizarre.

The collection inside matches the building’s ambition: strong on Dutch and Flemish Old Masters, outstanding on de Stijl and 20th-century Dutch art, and excellent on contemporary work. The temporary exhibitions are consistently among the best in the north of the country.

Don’t miss: The Groningen art and history permanent collection in the east wing — this is the museum’s real distinctive contribution, covering 10,000 years of provincial history through archaeological finds, textiles, silver, and ceramics that you won’t find concentrated anywhere else.

Practical tip: The café and rooftop terrace (summer only) have good views of the station and the canal. Book online to avoid the occasional queue.

Walk to stop 2: Exit the museum toward the city and cross the Verbindingskanaal to the Forum Groningen building — 5 minutes on foot.

2. Forum Groningen — Cultural Centre & Rooftop

Time here: 30 minutes

Forum Groningen, opened in 2019, is impossible to miss: an 8-floor cultural centre and public library whose black facade of interlocking hexagons makes it look like a structure assembled from a giant honeycomb. It was designed by NL Architects and was one of the most discussed public buildings in the Netherlands in the year of its opening — partly for the architecture, partly for the cost overruns, and mostly because the rooftop terrace is genuinely excellent.

Inside: the city library, a cinema complex, exhibition spaces, and a permanent exhibition on Groningen’s history from prehistoric times to the present. The building is also just a good place to be — the library floors are open and free, with WiFi and a decent espresso bar.

But the rooftop is the reason to come. At 30 metres, the terrace provides the best panorama of Groningen’s city centre available from any publicly accessible point: the Martinitoren rising above the rooftops, the Grote Markt laid out below, the university buildings to the south, and the flat Groningen landscape extending in every direction until it meets the sky. On clear days, the gas infrastructure of the northeast province is visible on the horizon.

Don’t miss: The rooftop — free, open during building hours, and genuinely the most instagrammable view in the city. Get here on a clear day and spend 10 minutes just looking.

Practical tip: The building is free to enter; specific attractions (cinema, some exhibitions) have separate fees. The library floors have free wifi and good espresso. The rooftop is signposted from the main entrance.

Walk to stop 3: Exit Forum Groningen south onto the Nieuwe Markt and walk two minutes to the Vismarkt.

3. Vismarkt & Poelestraat — The Café Quarter

Time here: 30 minutes

The Vismarkt (Fish Market) is immediately south of the Grote Markt and connects to Poelestraat — the most concentrated stretch of cafés and bars in Groningen. This is where the city’s social life happens: at any hour of the day, the terraces are occupied by students, academics, and locals, and the energy is completely different from the somewhat formal atmosphere of the Grote Markt.

This is your coffee or lunch stop. The street is lined with cafés ranging from old-fashioned Dutch brown cafés (bruine kroegen) to contemporary coffee shops. Café de Toeter (Poelestraat 30) is reliable for coffee; Cafcafé (Poelestraat 22) for Dutch lunch; any of the Vismarkt terraces for sitting in the sun.

Don’t miss: The Aa-kerk on the Aakerk square, just off Poelestraat — a former church now used as an archive and cultural space, with one of the best preserved 13th-century interiors in Groningen.

Walk to stop 4: Walk north from the Vismarkt to the Grote Markt — 2 minutes.

4. Grote Markt & Goudkantoor — Market Square

Time here: 20 minutes

The Grote Markt is one of the largest market squares in the Netherlands — the scale reflects Groningen’s historical status as the dominant trading city of the north, controlling grain trade across the region from the 14th century onward. On market days (Tuesday, Friday, Saturday) it fills with produce stalls; on other days it’s a car park, which is a shame but honest.

On the southern edge of the square, the Goudkantoor (Gold Office, 1635) is the finest Renaissance building in Groningen: an elaborate facade of red brick and stone, with sculpted cartouches and heraldic details. It was built as the provincial tax office — the gold here refers to tax revenue, not precious metal — and is now a café. Go inside for the interior and have a coffee.

Don’t miss: The Stadhuis (Town Hall, 1810) on the east side of the square — its neoclassical facade is in deliberate contrast to the Goudkantoor’s exuberance.

Walk to stop 5: The Martinitoren is on the northwest corner of the Grote Markt — 2 minutes.

5. Martinitoren — The Tower

Time here: 45 minutes (with climb) or 15 minutes (exterior)

The Martinitoren — “Martini” for St. Martin of Tours, not the cocktail — is the tallest freestanding tower in the Netherlands at 97 metres, and has been so since its completion in 1482. It dominates the city’s silhouette from every direction, visible from 30 km away across the flat northern landscape.

The climb (250 steps, guided only, every 30 minutes) is the best introduction to Groningen’s geography: the flat farmland of Groningen province extending in every direction, the gas fields of the northeast (the source of the earthquakes that have damaged thousands of homes in the region), and — on clear days — the Waddenzee islands to the north.

Inside the tower, the bells are rung by the city’s carillon player (beiaarder) — a salaried municipal position that has existed continuously since 1587. Performances take place several times a week; check the schedule at the base of the tower.

Don’t miss: The Martinikerk adjacent to the tower (free entry) — the nave contains medieval frescoes from the 14th century that were whitewashed during the Reformation and restored in the 20th century. They’re the most complete medieval fresco cycle in northern Netherlands.

Walk to stop 6: Walk west from the Martinitoren along the Martinikerkhof to the Prinsenhof — 5 minutes.

6. Prinsentuin — Formal Garden

Time here: 20 minutes

The Prinsentuin (Prince’s Garden, 1626) is a formal Renaissance garden behind the Prinsenhof hotel — the former residence of the Stadholder of Groningen. The garden is small (about the size of a city block) but geometrically precise: box hedges in geometric patterns, rose beds, a sundial, and a herb garden in the original layout.

It’s almost always quiet, which after the market squares and the museum feels like a small kindness.

Don’t miss: The Prinsenhof itself — the former stadholder’s residence now houses a hotel with a good café. The lobby and ground-floor rooms retain the original panelling and ceiling paintings from the 17th century.

Walk to stop 7: From the Prinsentuin, walk north along the Turfsingel and then follow the Hereweg north to the Noorderplantsoen entrance — 8 minutes on foot.

7. Noorderplantsoen — City Park

Time here: 25 minutes

The Noorderplantsoen is a 19th-century English-style public park immediately north of the city centre, occupying the site of Groningen’s former fortifications. When the city walls came down in the 1870s, the municipality converted the earthworks and moats into a park — which is why the paths curve in long arcs rather than straight lines: they follow the geometry of the old bastions and ravelins.

The park is large enough to feel genuinely rural. There are wooded sections where you can’t see the city at all, open meadows where students stretch out with books in good weather, and a pond at the centre that retains the shape of the original moat. The Noorderplantsoen is the city’s real living room — the Groninger Museum is where tourists go, this is where Groningen residents go.

On the south side, Café Winkel van Sinkel has a terrace that catches the afternoon sun. This is a good place to end the tour: sit in the park, let the city decompress around you, and consider that Groningen’s students come here not because there’s anything famous to see, but because it’s just a very good park.

Don’t miss: The pond in the centre — it’s shaped by the original moat of the Groningen fortifications and still reflects the star-fort geometry if you look at a map overhead. The curved path along the south edge of the pond gives you the best sense of the old defensive earthwork’s scale.

Practical tip: Free to enter, always open. The café terrace is busy on warm afternoons; arrive before 15:00 for a table in the sun.

Where to Eat & Drink

• Coffee: Goudkantoor Café (Waagplein 1, inside the Goudkantoor building) — 17th-century building, reliable espresso, central location.
• Lunch: De Spiegel (Peperstraat 7) — an old Groningen institution, Dutch traditional menu, good erwtensoep (split pea soup) in cold weather.
• End-of-tour drink: Café de Toeter (Poelestraat 30) or any Poelestraat terrace — the student café culture at its most relaxed.

Practical Info

History & Fun Facts

• The cycling city. Over 60% of all trips within Groningen city centre are made by bicycle — the highest proportion of any Dutch city. In 1977, the city divided its centre into four quadrants with no through-routes for cars between them, forcing drivers to go around the ring road while cyclists can travel directly. This radical 1977 plan, implemented 20 years before any other Dutch city tried anything similar, was designed by the young traffic engineer Dick Oosting. It’s now used as a case study in urban planning schools worldwide.
• The gas field. In 1959, the largest natural gas field in Europe was discovered beneath Groningen province. Decades of extraction subsidised the Dutch welfare state — it was called aardgas (earth gas) and revenue from it funded healthcare, education, and infrastructure for 40 years. But the extraction also caused the land to subside and triggered thousands of small earthquakes. After significant property damage and political protests, the Dutch government committed to closing the field by 2024.
• The Martinitoren’s lightning record. The tower has been struck by lightning so many times over its 540-year history that the spire has been rebuilt six times. The current spire dates from 1627. The tower’s carillon — 62 bells, played manually by the city’s beiaarder — was installed in 1688 and is one of the oldest in the Netherlands.
• Nobel Prize winners. The University of Groningen has produced or employed twelve Nobel Prize winners. Ben Feringa (Chemistry, 2016) is the most recent — he won for his development of molecular machines (nanoscale devices that can perform mechanical work). His lab is still at the university.
• Liberation. Groningen was liberated by Canadian forces between 13 and 16 April 1945 in some of the fiercest urban combat in the Netherlands during the entire war. The Germans had garrisoned the city and defended it street by street. Around 200 Canadian soldiers and an unknown number of German soldiers and Dutch civilians died in four days of fighting. A monument to the 2nd Canadian Division stands at the Gedempte Boterdiep.
• The Gronings dialect. Gronings is linguistically closer to Low German and East Frisian than to standard Dutch. Linguists classify it as a separate West Germanic language rather than a Dutch dialect. It’s spoken by around 300,000 people in the province, though mainly by older generations. The language has its own literature, songs, and a small but active publishing scene.