Day trips from City

Pump up your tyres and go for a nice bike ride on your day off. From the city, you can be in the picturesque village of Garnwerd within 45 minutes. And the journey there is actually just as much fun. You cycle along the Reitdiep, through one of Europe's oldest cultural landscapes. Pedal past old farms, windmills, colourful flower meadows and grazing cows. After just under 15 kilometres, you will enter Garnwerd. Here you will find winding streets, a historic church and quaint waterside cafés.

How to. Cycle along Reitdiep on the Jaagpad out of town. You can follow this path all the way. You cross over the water via the Dorkwerdersluis lock, the Dorkwerderbrug, the Platvoetbrug and the Wierumerschouwbrug. You then cycle straight through Oostum and Krassum towards Garnwerd. All in all, this is a cycling trip of about 45 minutes. In Garnwerd, you can take a break at Garnwerd aan Zee or Cafe Bij Hammingh. If you liked the route, cycle back the same way. You can also choose to cycle a 'lap' and return to Groningen via Hekkum, Harssens and past Adorp. You then cycle back into the city via the Walfridus Bridge. This takes about 50 minutes.

Did you know that you can be in a real National Park in just about an hour by bus from Groningen? At National Park Lauwersmeer, you will still find untouched nature, landscapes and biodiversity. This is preserved so that visitors can continue to enjoy it. Besides, you can also learn a lot during your walk. Learn more about the park and its inhabitants on all the information boards you will encounter along the way. The highlight of your walk is Vogelkijkhut Jaap Deensgat. Here you have a wide view over the Lauwersmeer area. You will spot dozens of bird species and, with a bit of luck, maybe even the white-tailed eagle.

How. Bus line 163 goes every hour from the main train station in Groningen. In 50 minutes, you will arrive at the Marneweg bus stop in Zoutkamp. From here, you'll first walk a bit along the road, after which you'll soon come across the Lauwersmeer pole. From there, you enter National park Lauwersmeer and walk (from the bus stop) in 15 minutes to vogelkijkhut Jaap Deensgat. Stroll around in nature here for an hour, or extend your day trip and stay a bit longer. For the way back, take line 163 again, every hour, in 50 minutes back to Groningen's main train station.

If you fancy a day of hiking through super green and calm surroundings, this might be for you. Put on your walking shoes though, because you will be on the road for a while. Straight through the Westerwold countryside runs the Westerwoldepad. This path is almost 100 kilometres long, but you can also walk it nicely in stages. During this first stage, among other things, you take a bridge over the Mussel-Aa Canal and spot the church of Wedde. At the end of the walk is Gasterij Natuurlijk Smeerling, where you can sit inside and outside. Enjoy something refreshing to drink or reward yourself with a piece of freshly baked apple pie or real Groningen poffert. Fulfilled and with your daily step goal achieved, you can travel back to Groningen city in about an hour.

How to. From Groningen station, take the train towards Bad Nieuweschans and stap off in Winschoten after 33 minutes. After 10 minutes there, catch bus 14 towards Stadskanaal. You'll then spend another 10 minutes on the bus before arriving at bus stop Albert Wubsweg. So you're 53 minutes on public transport in total. Then it's a 10-minute walk to the starting point of the first stage of the Westerwolde path: Villapark Weddermeer. Your walk can begin! In about 2 hours and 15 minutes, you walk via the yellow-and-blue signs to Smeerling. Your finishing point is Gasterij Natuurlijk Smeerling where you can have a drink and something to eat after your walk. From the Gasterij you walk in 4 minutes to bus stop Smeerling. There you take line 14 towards Winschoten again. At the train station in Winschoten, it takes another half an hour to get back to Groningen station.