Groningen

Do you have any particular interests? How much free time do you have?

I have no particular interests. But what do you recommend to do there and I will make time to fit something in. I was hoping the forum member from the Netherlands would chime in and then I would not have to go by what is on the internet already.

As I live in the most south-western part of the Netherlands I only visited Groningen once. It was just for a few hours to get an overall impression, so can’t tell much what to do there than that it is being an university city a very vibrant place. I know that the Groninger Museum has a good reputation, but didn’t visited it, think nevertheless worth checking out.

If you rent a car you can explore the countryside and visit some historic villages. Or so called “borgen” , country houses typical for the region. Bourtange is a well preserved fortified place, as it is too tiny for a visit it is better to combine it with other places of interest. The province of Assen has a few lovely villages like Orvelte, the scenery there is nice too. Friesland west of Groningen has loads of lovely places, like Sloten, Hindeloopen, Dokkum and so on.

If shipbuilding is of interest you can go to the Meyer shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, the building site of the worlds largest cruise ships. There is a visitor centre or Bezucherszentrum. It looks if this link directs you to a website only in German, so some translation is needed, or send an e-mail how to book tickets. https://www.meyerwerft.de/en/visitors/index.jsp

Thanks Wil, this is exactly the kind of information I was looking for.

I know I'm not Dutch, but I have visited there. I went specifically for the War and Resistance Center Groningen (OVCG)
https://www.ovcg.nl/ which both my wife and I found very moving and informative. For us it was well worth the trip (train) (long) from Haarlem - you'll be right on the spot. If it appeals...

We spent 3 nights in Groningen in July of 2022, having planned the visit because it is where my grandmother was born in the late 1800's. We plan to go back for 4 nights in May of 2023. As a retired couple, we loved the youthful feel of the city, and believe it is often underrated. The Grote market takes place on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday. We were lucky to be there for two of these market days. The fresh cod from the North Sea and prepared before your eyes was the best ever. It's a wonderful city in which to wander the streets, stop for a coffee or glass of wine, enjoy an exceptional meal, and enjoy watching the world go by. There are several museums that looked interesting, but we were there during week 12 of a 19-week trip, so we decided to take it easy and just breathe in the ambience.