Netherlands
Where to stay in Groningen
Groningen is a city in Netherlands, home to about 238,000 people. This guide covers 4 hotels in Groningen, with about 442 rooms between them. 2 of them carry a published guest score, and the list below is ordered by it.
- Places to stay in this guide
- 4
- Best months
- June and September
- Nearest airport
- GRQ11 km · Groningen Airport Eelde
- Currency
- EUReuro
- Time zone
- Europe/Amsterdam
- Language
- Dutch
About
About Groningen
Groningen is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest city as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of the country; as of January 2025, it had 244,807 inhabitants, making it the sixth largest city/municipality in the Netherlands and the second largest outside the Randstad.
Archaeologists have found traces of habitation from the Neolithic and the later Iron Age. The city appeared in writing in the year 1040 as "Villa Cruoninga", apparently already a place of some significance. The city has a rich history, which can be seen clearly from the Medieval buildings in the downtown area. In the 13th century, when the city was an important trade centre, its inhabitants built a city wall to underline its authority. The city had a strong influence on the surrounding lands and made its dialect a common tongue.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Groningen
See
Downtown Groningen is pleasant and interesting. The city centre provides plenty of cultural heritage and a laid-back atmosphere. Together with the excellent Groninger Museum, it forms the main attraction for visitors. Like many cities in the Netherlands, the centre is surrounded by a canal. Several historic canals have been "gedempt", or filled, however, and turned into streets. This is reflected in their names, and you'll likely find yourself strolling along the Gedempte Zuiderdiep. The heart of the city is formed around the two adjoining market squares, The Grote Markt (or Great Market) and the Vismarkt (or Fish Market).
- Vensterschool Stadspark
- Bureau Gemeentewerken
- Dot
- Wall House II
- Reitdiep colourful houses
- Forum Groningen
- Groninger Museum
- Noordelijk Scheepvaartmuseum
- Universiteitsmuseum
- Storyworld
- Stichting Museum Canadian Allied Forces
- GRID Grafisch Museum Groningen
Do
- Fietsverda
- TrendEwheels
- Stuurwold
- Fietsje
- guided bicycle tour
- Zuidwesthoek Marina
- Beachclub Kaap Hoorn
- Paviljoen van de Dame
- De Rietschans
- De Paalkoepel
- City's Beach
- Canal cruise
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
The best-rated places to stay in Groningen
Ordered by guest score as each operator publishes it, weighted by the number of reviews so a handful of perfect scores does not outrank thousands of very good ones. Scores are shown on their own scale.
| # | Place to stay | Rooms | Guest score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leonardo Hotel Groningen Stadspark hotel | 105 | 88/100 2,922 reviews |
| 2 | Leonardo Hotel Groningen City Center hotel | 93 | 85/100 2,683 reviews |
2 more places to stay, without a published guest score
| Place to stay | Rooms |
|---|---|
| Hotel Groningen - Hoogkerk hotel | 124 |
| Hotel Groningen - Zuidbroek A7 hotel | 120 |
Schematic: the city centre in orange, each place to stay as a dot, distance rings in kilometres.
Where to stay
Which part of Groningen to stay in
As it is a fairly popular city trip destination among the Dutch, Groningen has plenty of choices for places to stay. There are no real top-end hotels however, so if you're out for luxury, you'll have to resort to some of the better mid-range places. Still, there are several very nice, historic hotels as well as a range of semi-modern and modern mid-range options. Travellers minding their budgets will find that accommodation here is relatively cheap.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
More hotels in Groningen
6 hotels within 25 km of the centre, as recorded in Wikidata. Each name links to its encyclopedia article where there is one.
| Hotel | Opened | From centre |
|---|---|---|
| Hotel Willems | 0.3 km | |
| 't Gemeentehuis (Bedum) | 9.4 km | |
| NH Groningen Hotel de Ville | 1997 | 0.3 km |
| Prinsenhof | 0.2 km | |
| The Social Hub Groningen | 0.5 km | |
| The Happy Traveller - Guesthouse Groningen | 0.4 km |
All 10 hotels in Groningen, with their history and operators
When to go
The best time to visit Groningen
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Groningen are June and September. August is the warmest month, with average highs of 23 °C; July is the wettest, with about 85 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Groningen: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Groningen Airport Eelde (GRQ), about 11 km from the city centre in a straight line; Münster Osnabrück Airport (FMO, 142 km) and Bremen Airport (BRE, 149 km) are also within reach.
Getting around
Like most cities in the Netherlands, Groningen's historic city center is surrounded by a canal, the diepenring. Most of the sights are within this area, and the Central Station is 50 m outside it, and the museum built in it. Within the diepenring, traffic is very restricted; Groningen's centre is designed to be as traffic-free as possible, and it is very difficult to drive and park within this area. Even resident parking permits are strictly rationed. However, the central area is compact and can be easily crossed on foot or with a bicycle.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
GRQ · Groningen Airport Eelde
FMO · Münster Osnabrück Airport
BRE · Bremen Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Groningen
Eat
A typical 'Groninger' specialty is Groninger worst, a sausage made from raw minced pork which is then air dried. You can buy this sausage in every supermarket and butchery. When visiting a snackbar, you should try a eierbal. The eierbal is a ball-shaped croquette, filled with veal and a whole egg. The eierbal is seen as the Groninger variant of the Dutch croquette. The Netherlands is known for its cheese.
Drink
Groningen's reputation as a 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. The largest nightlife area in Groningen is the Poelestraat area, located southeast of the Grote Markt. Here you'll find a lot of clubs and bars. The busiest nights are Thursday to Friday (student night) and Saturday to Sunday.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Good to know
Accessibility, parking and families in Groningen
How many places to stay in this guide offer each, in their operators' own words.
of 4 places
of 4 places
of 4 places
of 4 places
of 4 places
of 4 places
Questions
Groningen: questions travellers ask
What are the best-rated hotels in Groningen?
By published guest score: Leonardo Hotel Groningen Stadspark (88 / 100 · 2,922 reviews · www.leonardo-hotels.com (operator's own guest score)); Leonardo Hotel Groningen City Center (85 / 100 · 2,683 reviews · www.leonardo-hotels.com (operator's own guest score)).
When is the best time to visit Groningen?
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Groningen are June and September. August is the warmest month, with average highs of 23 °C; July is the wettest, with about 85 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Groningen?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Groningen Airport Eelde (GRQ), about 11 km from the city centre in a straight line; Münster Osnabrück Airport (FMO, 142 km) and Bremen Airport (BRE, 149 km) are also within reach.
What currency is used in Groningen?
euro (EUR).
Nearby
Destinations near Groningen
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.