Located in the northern region of the Netherlands, Groningen has the largest percentage of students in the entire Kingdom of the Netherlands. With about 50,000 university students accounting for more than 25% of the city’s total population. Every year, young people from all over the world come to this small city to pursue their degree, or for an exchange programs. Let’s find out what makes this city such an ideal location for students to get together.
The city that offers a lot in one place
Rent a bike to cycle around the city, or simple walk around Grote Markt - the largest central market square in Groningen. Here you will find all you need to know about the city: Martini Tower (the tallest tower in Groningen), the City Hall, and its great surrounding areas for both shopping and nightlife.
Grote Markt lies just next to the main shopping street De Herestraat, and the old town area. This is also where you can find the best parties with dozens of pubs and clubs lying along every corner at night. One of the most popular pubs in town is called The Three Sisters (De Drie Gezusters) with 20 different bars in the same building, making it the largest bar in Europe.
Everything is in the city centre
Lying close to Grote Markt just behind the City Hall building, Vismarkt is the second largest square in Groningen where the local street market is open every Thursday up until the weekend.
In this area, you can also find the Gold Office (Goudkantoor), which was originally built as an office for the receiver of Groningen province. Currently, Goudkantoor is a cafe with a nice and cozy outdoor terrace. Cycle ten minutes more to the South of the Central Station, and discover the city’s art at Groninger Museum.
The green bicycle city - surrounded by lovely canals
With the number of bikes in the city exceeding its population, Groningen is inevitably an environmental friendly city. Biking is the number one means of transportation in central Groningen, as over 60% of all trips made in Groningen are made by bicycle.
There’s a big park called Noorderplantsoen where a massive light show is organized annually during August. Lying just behind Martini Tower, Prinsentuin is a small, cute garden where you can have a cup of coffee, read a book, or just chill while staying away from the hectic parties going on every now and then around the city.
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The number one event city
In 2015, Groningen was voted as the best event city in the Netherlands. At the beginning of every semester during the orientation week, thousands of students are divided into groups to participate in various well organized sets of events. You would not be surprised to find out that these student events are organized almost every single day during weekdays, especially on Wednesday, and during the weekends.
It’s best to visit Groningen during other national holidays too, such as the Sinterklaas Celebration (5th December), Christmas, New Year’s Eve, Thanksgiving Day, King’s Day (end of May), etc. People gather and celebrate at Grote Markt.
The colorful and international city
Go a bit off the city center to the northern part, and you will find the colorful houses at Reitdiephaven just next to to Zernike Campus of Hanze University. With such a high number of international people in Hanze University, and University of Groningen, this is one of the best cities for young people to visit, study, and live in throughout the Netherlands.
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