Groningen

Let your senses guide you through Groningen. This cycle route takes you past iconic places, traditional makers and cultural gems. Discover how the city itself determines the flavour – with a rich history of trade, craftsmanship and solidarity on every street corner.

Groningen is a city that cannot be captured in a quick glance. Those who take the time will discover a city built up in layers: from the old merchant spirit to the modern culture of making. Where the course of the water determined where people worked, what was grown and ultimately what ended up on the table for centuries. Here, tasting is more than just eating or drinking something – it is a way of looking, listening and slowing down.

The city has traditionally been shaped by trade. The canals, the Reitdiep canal, the warehouses on the A-road: they bear witness to a time when everything travelled by water. Goods from the surrounding countryside found their destination here, but ideas, recipes and stories also flowed along with the ships. That openness, that entrepreneurship, is still ingrained in the city.

Craftsmanship has never disappeared here. It suits the Groningen character to only deliver something when it is perfect. Not grandly announced, but simply good. Whether it is a strong beer, a carefully distilled syrup or a cake with a recipe that has been handed down through the generations, the quality is in the dedication, not the show.

Between the striking buildings, the gardens, the museum and the tower, you can taste a city that connects its culture and culinary traditions. In the view from the Martini Tower, or in the tranquillity of the Prinsentuin, you can see how Groningen has developed over the centuries. Not all at once, but layer by layer. The city has always been compact: living, working and manufacturing are all close together. The baker, the brewer, the merchant and the artist – they were all within walking distance of each other. Perhaps that is why culture, craftsmanship and daily life blend together so naturally here.

Not all parts of the city centre are accessible by bike. Some areas are car-free or just too busy to cycle through. Hoping off your bike is part of the experience, but it also suits this route. You don't have to do or see everything. It's the choosing that makes it relaxing: a museum or a park, a cup of coffee or a biscuit for the road. You don't have to do everything, and certainly not all in one go.

You set off from the edge of the city and gradually work your way closer to the centre. Not to see as much as possible, but to really take something in. Something that lingers. Because tasting Groningen is also about pausing, recognising and appreciating, understanding where you are – and why that matters. At your own pace.


This Premium Cycle route was compiled by our editor Désirée van Uffelen.