Things to Do in Groningen: The Student City of the Northern Netherlands
Sprawdzone przez Wanderistan editorial team · Ostatnia aktualizacja: 6 sie 2026
Groningen is the largest city in the north of the country and the one most visitors skip, which is precisely why it is worth the trip. It has a university founded in 1614 and a student population large enough to set the tone of the whole place: the centre is young, the bars stay open, and the city feels busier at night than its size suggests.
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It is also compact. The historic centre sits inside a ring of canals and can be crossed on foot in well under an hour, which makes it an easy city to arrive in without a plan. Almost everything below is within that ring.
The one date that draws people specifically to Groningen is in January, when the city's venues turn into a showcase circuit — but the venue programme runs year-round, and the listings on this page are pulled from what is currently on sale.
A city that runs on its students
The University of Groningen dates from 1614 and is one of the oldest in the country. Together with the city's university of applied sciences it gives Groningen a student body large enough to shape everyday life here — the average age in the centre skews notably young, and the bar, café and music scene is built around that rather than around tourism.
The practical effect for a visitor is that Groningen is cheap and busy in a way the bigger western cities are not. Weeknights have something on, cafés stay open late, and the centre does not empty out after the shops close. It also means the city empties noticeably during university holidays, which is worth knowing if you are picking dates.
Cycling dominates. Groningen has spent decades designing the centre around bikes rather than cars, and the result is a city where walking and cycling are simply the fastest ways to get anywhere. Do not plan on driving into the middle of it.
The Grote Markt and the old centre
The Grote Markt is the main square and the obvious place to start. The Martinitoren — the Martini Tower — rises from its north-eastern corner and is the city's defining landmark; it can be climbed, and the view from the top is the quickest way to understand how small the old centre actually is and how flat everything around it stays.
The Groninger Museum sits in the canal directly opposite the railway station, which means it is the first thing you see on arrival and hard to miss. Its current building opened in 1994 and is a deliberately bold piece of postmodern design — a cluster of clashing pavilions on an island in the water. It divides opinion locally, which is part of the fun.
North-west of the centre, the Noorderplantsoen is the city's main park, laid out on the line of the old defensive works. On a warm evening it fills with students and it is where a good part of the city goes to sit outside.
Music, venues and the January showcase
Martiniplaza is the city's main large venue, carrying the touring concerts, ballet, comedy and arena-scale bookings that come north. It is the venue most of the larger listings on this page resolve to, and it sits a short ride south-west of the centre rather than in it.
Every January, Eurosonic Noorderslag turns Groningen into a showcase circuit: venues across the city centre run short sets by new European acts, in parallel with a conference that European festival bookers and industry use to plan their own summers. It is why a city this far north has an outsized reputation in European music, and it is the single busiest week in the local calendar — book accommodation well ahead if you are coming for it.
Outside that week, the venue and café programme runs steadily through the year, weighted towards the university terms. Check the listings below for what is currently on sale.
FAQ
- Is Groningen worth visiting?
- Yes, particularly if you want a Dutch city that is not built around visitors. It is compact, young and genuinely lively at night thanks to a very large student population, and it is the main city of the north — a different feel from the western cities, and usually cheaper.
- What is there to see in Groningen?
- The Grote Markt and the Martinitoren, which can be climbed for a view over the old centre; the Groninger Museum, in the canal opposite the railway station, in a striking building that opened in 1994; and the Noorderplantsoen park just north-west of the centre. The historic core is small enough to cover on foot.
- What is Eurosonic Noorderslag?
- A showcase festival held in Groningen every January. Venues across the city centre run short sets by new European artists alongside an industry conference that festival bookers use to plan their line-ups. It is the busiest week of the year in the city.
- How do you get around Groningen?
- On foot or by bike. The centre is compact and has been designed around cycling rather than driving for decades, so both are faster than a car. The main large venue, Martiniplaza, sits just outside the centre.
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