Out and about

Once you’ve arrived, settled and explored the city of Groningen, you might want to know what other places are interesting to see in the surrounding area. With summer not far away, the Grote Markt will be filled with terraces any time soon, and the Noorderplantsoen will be loaded with people barbequing and relaxing in the sun. But, there’s a lot more to explore outside the city of Groningen, and we will give you a list of the must see places you certainly not want to skip during you’re stay in the North of the Netherlands!

1. The Wadden Sea Islands: Schiermonnikoog
Only 45 minutes away by ferry lies the island Schiermonnnikoog. It’s a popular destination for students, since you can visit the island in one day, and it even has the broadest beach in Europe. Many student associations visit the island since it offers plenty of (sport) activities for larger groups, such as rafting, cycling and wad excursions. So in order to get a holiday feeling you don’t need to fly far away to some tropical resort; you can just stay in the North!

2. Bourtange

In the Southeast of Groningen is the fortress Bourtange, which is a unique historical site showing several museums and interesting sights. You’ll be able to get a peek into the picturesque buildings and see how the soldiers were stationed back in 1742. More information can be found here.

3. Pieterburen

Something you definitely need to do once when staying in the north of the Netherlands: a mudwalk! The sportive types among us might fancy a walk through the bottom of the sea. Rather keeping your feet on land? Consider a visit to the Seal Care centre in Pieterburen, where they rehabilitate sick and injured seals from the Wadden Sea. You can have a guided tour where you can see the seals being rehabilitated. 

4. Giethoorn 

Here in the North we have our own little Venice called Giethoorn. A small village built on little islands, which can only be reached by bridges. Most of the transport in Giethoorn takes place by water in so called ‘’punters’’. You can also hire a punter and get to know Giethoorn from the water. 

Since distances in the Netherlands are short, it won’t take long to go elsewhere in the country: from Groningen it’s only 2,5 hours by train to Amsterdam. And since our railway system is developed well, you can pretty much visit every Dutch place, even the smallest villages. So there will definitely enough to see during your studies!

By: Petra Vledder