Nijmegen

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Overview

From Roman camp to Catholic university town of 13,000 students, Nijmegen buzzes with energy and is vibrant place to spend a couple of days. This is the oldest town in the Netherlands, with a compact medieval centre yet all the urban-cool of a big city. Historic cafes, specialist craft-coffee shops and a decent smattering of museums and monuments lace its streets that stagger gently from the 16th-century Lower Town by the banks of the Waal River to the older Upper Town. In summer, Dutch party lovers pour into town for its annual four-day hiking fest and Zomerfeesten music festival.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

Honigcomplex

Nijmegen

No address reflects the city's youthful zest more than this soup factory-turned-entrepreneurial hub, 1.5km west of Grote Markt by the river. Until 2022…

Nationaal Fietsmuseum Velorama

Nijmegen

Down by the riverfront is this museum with more than 250 bicycles: everything from 19th-century wooden contraptions and hand-propelled bikes to an entire…

Grote Markt

Nijmegen

Thankfully, Nijmegen's sweeping market square was among the few parts of the old town to survive WWII. Open-air markets are still held here each week on…

muZIEum

Nijmegen

On one of Nijmegen's main shopping streets, ride the escalator up to this unusual museum where visitors can experience what it is like (or as close as, at…

Sint Stevenskerk

Nijmegen

From Grote Markt duck beneath the ornate Gothic Kerkboog (1542; Church Arch) – originally with cattle grid and pit beneath to prevent pigs from the market…

Valkhofpark

Nijmegen

Perched in a commanding position over the Waal River, the Valkhof is a lovely park and the site of a ruined palace begun by Charlemagne in the 8th century…

De Waagh

Nijmegen

Built in 1612 in a Dutch Renaissance style, the ornate red-brick weigh house takes pride of place on Grote Markt. It was here that merchants and traders…

Museum het Valkhof

Nijmegen

Changing temporary exhibitions form a substantial part of this regional history museum, at home in a striking glass shoebox-style building by Valkhof Park…

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