Groningen
A student city with the Groninger Museum and the Martinitoren.
Route by public transport ↗
A star fort full of soldiers' stories.
From above, Bourtange is a star of ramparts and moats. Step through the gates and you are in a fortified village as it looked in 1742. The whole place feels like an open-air museum.
The fort was built during the Eighty Years' War to cut the road between Germany and Spanish-held Groningen. Today it is one of the finest fortresses in the Netherlands, with five bastions, a windmill on the ramparts and a square of lime trees at its heart. Everything is within walking distance: a full lap of the walls takes about an hour. Take the train to Winschoten and continue by bus; check the timetable first, as it does not run often. Start at one of the museums, have lunch on the square and walk the ramparts late in the day.
One day, four moments. How to get the most out of your visit.
Six places to complete your museum day.
Life of the soldiers in the fort, with a collection of old maps.
A synagogue from 1842, now a museum on the Jewish history of Bourtange.
An officer's home, furnished as it once was.
Follow the walls from bastion to bastion, looking out over moats, ravelins and peatland.
A wooden mill on one of the bastions, and a fine spot to photograph the fort.
Woods, brook valleys and small villages surround Bourtange, ideal for exploring by bike.
Bourtange lies in green Westerwolde, right by the German border. Pair the fort with one of these places.
A student city with the Groninger Museum and the Martinitoren.
Route by public transport ↗A medieval monastery among old trees, with a museum on monastic life.
Route by public transport ↗A small town with a station, windmills and an old church on the market square.
Route by public transport ↗Travel times are indicative. Live times on 9292.nl ↗.
You can sleep in historic buildings inside the fort, though rooms are few, so book early. There is more choice in the surrounding area and in Groningen. By day, bus and train via Winschoten take you to the city. And in the evening, once the day visitors have gone, the fort falls silent.
Restaurants, shops and hotels near the museums, picked for museum visitors.