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Northeast

Includes  Why Go? City. . . . . 208 Few travellers venture to this far corner of the Netherlands, Northwest but they’re missing out on the country’s rural heart, a place Groningen...... 215 where traditions are kept alive and prehistoric relics dot the Hoogeland...... 215 landscape. Bourtange...... 216 The provincial capital of Groningen is a buzzing, youthful city. Museums, restaurants, bars, theatres, canals, festivals – ...... 217 it’s the cultural point of reference in the north and makes a Assen...... 217 fine base for further exploration. Kamp Westerbork . . . . 218 On the nearby coast you can try the strangely intriguing Dwingelderveld pastime of wadlopen (mudflat-walking). Or head to Bour- National Park ...... 218 tange, on the eastern border with ; its hefty de- fences are just as forbidding now as they were in the 16th century. To the south, the province of Drenthe is like a great garden with shifting tableaux of sheep pastures, stream-cut peat bogs, marshlands and old forest, much of it accessible Best Places to only by bike or on foot. As a bonus, hunebedden (neolithic Drink burial chambers) are scattered amidst the province’s eastern ¨¨Cafe Wolthoorn (p214) hills. ¨¨De Pintelier (p214) ¨¨Café de Sleutel (p214) When to Go ¨¨Summer is the obvious time to visit. The long days provide a surfeit of light that fades ever so slowly into dusk and the Best Places to cafe terraces overflow with high spirits well into the night. Stay Groningen punctuates this with Noorderzon, an August ¨¨Prinsenhof Groningen festival of arts and frolic. (p213) ¨¨Spring and autumn have their own charms, when you’ll see ¨¨Auberge Corps De Garde few other visitors. (p212) ¨¨In winter an abundance of cultural venues make indoor ¨¨Stee in Stad (p212) alternatives.

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