Like most cities in The Netherlands, Groningen's city center is surrounded by a canal.

• Groninger Museum[2]. Just opposite train/bus station. Spectacular architecture. Hosts state of the art of contemporary art in the world. One of the five most progressive modern/contemporary art collections in the world.
• Het Noordelijk Scheepvaartmuseum [3]. The northern museum of water transport. Shows the history and role of transport over water until the 1970's
• Tabaksmuseum [4] 'Roommate' of the scheepvaartmuseum. Collections moderately interesting, but housed in very beautiful, old, authentic ware-houses.
• Der Aa-kerk[5] Beautiful church built in the middle ages.
• The University of Groningen [6] is the second-oldest university of Holland and one of three State Universities of the Netherlands. It was established in 1614. Some university buildings are located on a campus on the outskirts of the city.
• De Grote Markt and De Vismarkt are two large market squares in the center of the city.

By train

Groningen has three train stations, the Central Station, the Southern Station (Groningen Europapark) and the Northern Station (Groningen Noord). All trains eventually arrive at the Central Station. There is a direct connection from Schiphol airport, and from Utrecht to Groningen (2-2,5 hrs. ride).

By bus

All buses going to the city of Groningen eventually arrive at the Central Station.

By car

Driving in the old city is not the best option; parking is not always easy to find, none of it free.

There is a Park & Ride facility to the east of the city, near IKEA. It is clearly marked when driving on the ring road. Parking there is free, and for a euro a regular bus service takes you right to (and from) the Grote Markt, the heart of the city, within a couple of minutes.

By bike

Getting from any place in Groningen to the centre will take at most 20 minutes by bike. This makes the bike a fast, cheap and easy way to travel Groningen. Don't get scared by the overwhelming amount of bicycles. The city houses tens of thousands of students, whose primary means of transportation is the bike. Be advised though; bicycle theft is pretty high so use a good lock.

• The city's pedestrian street runs off of De Grote Markt and contains most of the city's everyday shopping needs, including department stores.
• The most pittoresque shopping street is called de Folkingestraat. It has a lot of little shops full of firsthand and secondhand little gifts, intercultural foods and great books.

The centre of Groningen has many nice little cafes or restaurants where you can eat. Groningen is a real university city, so there are plenty of cafe-restaurants where you can eat for about €10.

• Eeterie De Globe, A-Kerkhof 22, 3 different main courses each day (one meat, one fish, one veg.) for 6,50 or 7,50 per course. Many customers eat here several times per week.
• Ugly Duck, Zwanestraat 28, [15]. Main courses including bowl of salad, baked potatoes, vegetables from 10,50. Really good!
• Land van Kokanje on Oude Boteringestraat for big and great lunch-salads (less than 10 euros).
• Humphrey's, Vismarkt 42, [16]. avg. price 3 courses à la carte €18.
• Spring's, Grote Markt 30/33, [17]. avg. price 3 courses à la carte €15.
• De Balk, Thomassen Thuessinklaan 7. Got a prize for "Best Eetcafe".
• Vroom & Dreesmann department store [18], Grote Markt 21, has a cafeteria "La Place" on the top floor with an outdoor terrace.

Groningen's reputation as university town is borne out in its nightlife, which is comprehensive, with numerous options for drinking and clubbing. There are also several places to play pool/billiards. Most bars have the standard Dutch beers, but more and more international, especially Belgian, beers are beginning to have a presence. Bars in the down town area do not have fixed closing hours. Theoretically they can stay open for 24 hours a day, which a few bars do.

• De Spieghel, jazz pub in the Peperstraat with free and usually good live performances at monday evenings starting around eleven o'clock. Relaxed atmosphere any evening.
• D'Ouwe Brandweer, on Zuiderdiep opposite Pathe-cinema.
• Huis de Beurs, on corner of Vismarkt. Has made a come-back and is very trendy now.
• Cafe Atlantis, on O.K. i.h. Jatstraat opposite Faculty of Law. Dark, narrow place, mainly men, for playing chess and other games. Drinks very cheap.
• De Prinsentuin In summertime there is a nice terrace in a rose garden.
• De Drie Gezusters, (Three Sisters). On the Grote Markt, [19]. Maybe the largest bar in the Netherlands, used to be THE place. Lousy coffee!!
• De Kosterij, in a corner of the Grote Markt, next to the Martinitoren, [20]. Family style. Nice terrace in summertime.
• Het Feithhuis, next to the Martini Tower, [21]. "Liberal" atmosphere.
• El Rubio, in Zwanestraat. Owner "Joop" only likes male gay guests.
• Newscafe, on Tussen de Markten. Nice terrace in the summer, good coffee, quite trendy.
• Vera, self-proclaimed club for the international pop underground and indeed there are good concerts and parties, check out their site [22]. Nirvana played here before they were big, still the pride of Groningen...
• Simplon, a bit outside the center at the Boterdiep, this ex-squad is now a podium for sometimes alternative concerts. Again, check their [23] on what's happening.