Attractions in Groningen

The central square of Groningen, dominated by the 97-metre Martinitoren, the defining landmark of the city and the tallest structure in the north of the Netherlands. Known to Groningers as d’Olle Grieze, the Old Grey One, for its Bentheim sandstone exterior, the tower can be climbed via 260 steps to a viewing platform with a panoramic view across the flat Groningen and Drenthe landscape. The carillon plays on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays at noon. The Martinikerk attached to the tower is the oldest church in Groningen, with a medieval interior including rare painted vaulted ceilings. Around the square, Cafe Hooghoudt, De Drie Gezusters, the Stadhuis, and the Academiegebouw of the University of Groningen provide different angles on the city’s character. For evening drinks on the square terraces see the bars guide.

The Fish Market square, connected to the Grote Markt by the Folkingestraat, has been the commercial heart of Groningen since the fifteenth century when fish from the Wad was sold here to the city. Today the market runs on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays with fresh fish, meat, bread, vegetables, fruit, and local Groningen produce. On the western edge of the square stands the Korenbeurs, a neoclassical grain exchange facade from 1865 concealing a remarkable iron-and-glass market hall behind it that was the architectural innovation of its time. One of the most underappreciated buildings in Groningen and worth looking inside on market days. The Vismarkt is also the location of the Koffiestation Friday and Saturday market stall, covered in the cafes guide.

The most interesting street in Groningen, connecting the Grote Markt to the Vismarkt through a narrow lane lined with independent specialist shops, restaurants, and food establishments that represent the diversity of the city more completely than any other single street. The street has been a trading street for centuries and retains a character of genuine commercial variety: chocolatiers, spice shops, Middle Eastern food specialists, vintage clothing, specialist food importers, wine merchants, and some of the most interesting casual eating options in the city. The weekend street market atmosphere, with students and residents browsing the stalls, captures Groningen’s social energy at its most typical. One of the places that residents tend to miss first when they leave and recommend first when asked what makes the city worth visiting.

The rooftop of the Forum Groningen cultural centre on the Nieuwe Markt is freely accessible via the escalators running through the building’s central atrium and provides the best free panoramic view in the north of the Netherlands: the Martinitoren and the historic city centre, the Groninger Museum on its canal island, and on clear days the flat Groningen countryside stretching to the horizon. The Forum itself, described in more detail in the museums guide, is a destination in its own right for its library, cinema, and exhibitions. The building is open seven days a week from 10am to 11pm, making the rooftop available on any evening as a free and extraordinary alternative to paid viewpoints. The NOK bar-restaurant on the tenth floor, covered in the restaurants guide, provides food and drinks alongside the same view.

The Hoge der A and Lage der A form the oldest canal in Groningen, running through the western part of the historic centre with canal houses, moored boats, and waterside cafes that preserve the Dutch urban water character better than most of the city. The A river, originally a natural watercourse, was the commercial artery of medieval Groningen and the canal houses along its banks reflect the merchant wealth of the city at its peak. Cafe de Sigaar, covered in the bars guide as having the finest terrace in the city, sits directly on the Hoge der A. Walking the length of the canal from the Ossenmarkt to the Reitdiep provides the most atmospheric route through the oldest part of the city and is the walk that shows Groningen’s historic character most completely.

The main building of the University of Groningen, founded in 1614 as one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands, is a neo-Gothic building on the Broerstraat that has been the ceremonial heart of the university for over a century. The university is embedded throughout the city centre in historic buildings including former churches, monasteries, and guild houses, and the experience of walking through the university quarter, from the Academiegebouw past the Universiteitsmuseum on the Jatstraat to the Hortus, gives a genuine sense of how completely the institution and the city are intertwined. The university’s most famous alumna is Aletta Jacobs, who became the first woman in the Netherlands to obtain a university degree here in 1871 and the first woman in the Netherlands to qualify as a doctor. A portrait and dedicated section of her life is in the nearby Universiteitsmuseum.

The Groninger Museum building, described in detail in the museums guide, is worth noting here as an attraction in its own right: the Alessandro Mendini postmodern complex on the canal island between the station and the city centre is one of the most striking museum buildings in Europe, with gold and silver towers, vivid colour, and a completely different aesthetic in each pavilion. The building sits in the middle of the canal and is best viewed from the station side, where the full silhouette is visible. It is also one of the most photographed buildings in the north of the Netherlands, and the contrast between its exuberant exterior and the flat Dutch landscape around it is part of what makes Groningen visually distinctive from the moment of arrival by train.

An annual festival of performing arts and society held in the Noorderplantsoen for ten days each August, combining international theatre, dance, music, and visual art with a lively outdoor festival atmosphere in the park. Noorderzon is consistently ranked among the finest performing arts festivals in the Netherlands and has been running since 1990. The format is unusual: some events are ticketed but the park itself is open and free during the festival, creating an atmosphere where even those without tickets experience the event. The combination of the beautiful park setting, the international programme, and the Groningen student population who flood the park in the evenings makes it one of the most enjoyable ten days in the Dutch summer cultural calendar. See noorderzon.nl for current year’s dates and programme.

Europe’s most important showcase festival for new music, held across the city of Groningen every January with over 300 acts from across Europe and beyond performing in venues throughout the centre over four days. ESNS functions simultaneously as an industry conference and a public music festival, making Groningen in January the most important event in Europe for discovering the next generation of internationally touring artists. The festival is city-wide: stages are set up in bars, clubs, the Oosterpoort, the Forum, and venues across the centre. Tickets for the public festival are available separately from the industry conference. Accommodation books out completely for ESNS week. See eurosonic-noorderslag.nl for the current year’s line-up and tickets.

The Liberation Day festival held in the Stadspark each 5 May, one of twelve city festivals across the Netherlands marking the end of German occupation in 1945. The Groningen version is among the largest, with a free outdoor programme of music across multiple stages running throughout the day, drawing tens of thousands of people to the park. The combination of the political and historical significance of the day, the enormous free outdoor music event, and the Groningen student population who treat it as one of the central events in the social calendar makes it one of the most energetic and genuinely moving days in the city year. Worth being in Groningen for if the dates align with a visit.