Groningen at its most beautiful

The city of Groningen is a shining pearl in the far north of the Netherlands. The beautiful historic city center is easily walkable, there are many cozy bars and the city has a lot of cultural entertainment to offer. With the cycle route you explore a small part of the city, if you want to see more, you can do cycle route number 309498'Enjoy authentic Groningen\\\'.

Almost opposite each other are Groningen Station, one of the most beautiful station buildings in the Netherlands, and the Groninger Museum. You can visit the station in a relatively short time, just walk inside and take a look at the decorative ceiling made of papier collé (a special form of paper stucco with paper pressed into moulds). The Groninger Museum is an architecturally special building. You will need to allow more time to visit the extensive art collection inside. Maybe an idea for after the bike ride.

The cycle route continues via the south side of the city, past the oldest city park in Groningen, the Sterrebos. This was constructed in 1765 and was originally actually a star forest, a forest with eight paths that ran from a central point in different directions. Via the large residential areas of Groningen you cycle into chic Haren, which is sometimes called the'Wassenaar of the North\\\'. The buildings in Haren are characterized by the large number of villas and spacious semi-detached houses, the most characteristic of which were built between 1880 and 1940. This happened partly under the influence of Mayor Boerema. He had the ambition to grow the village into a location for the better-off commuters from the city of Groningen.

Near the village of Glimmen you cycle past the Domain de Tarquinius vineyard, one of the northernmost vineyards in the Netherlands. The Zuidlaardermeer is located on the border of the provinces of Groningen and Drenthe. You pass the northern bank of this beautiful, quiet water, where there are recreational beaches, but on this side there is a special nature reserve, the Kropswolderbuitenpolder. This connects back to Foxholster Lake, also a popular area for bird watchers. The waters here were created by peat excavations in earlier centuries.

Along the water is Molen De Hoop, an old buckwheat mill. You cycle back to Groningen via the so-called MORE cities. A major urban expansion of Groningen is planned around Engelbert and Meerstad. The intention is that the old villages retain their identity. The Hunzehaven and the Oosterhaven, along which you cycle into the city, are located on the Eemskanaal. This is an important shipping route for the city. As a Hanseatic city, Groningen was part of the northern German trade network. Various canals have been dug for this purpose to connect the city with other important waterways. Groningen has always remained an important trading city and is now a center for the food industry: sugar, tobacco and coffee.