Groningen

A church tower rising close to a hundred metres, known locally by the nickname the Old Grey One. Only a narrow stair leads to the top gallery, with no lift, so the climb is hard work. In clear weather the flat fields run out to the sea dykes beyond.

Built in 1994 on a canal island facing the central station, each block with its own colour and shape. The Italian designer Mendini led it and handed wings to different architects. One bridge from the station reaches the door, so it fits easily around a train.

A cultural building opened in 2019, with a library, cinemas and galleries stacked floor upon floor. Long escalators carry you up to a roof terrace looking across the rooftops, and the roof needs no ticket.

A small walled garden hidden behind the old bishop's residence, with a tunnel of climbing roses and herb beds. A sundial made in 1730 hangs above the gate. The way in is easy to miss from the street, and it is closed in the bad-weather months.

The neo-Renaissance main building that stands for the university, where doctoral degrees are conferred. After a ceremony friends often crowd round the new doctor outside to celebrate. With nothing on, visitors get little further than the stair hall.

A park curving where the old walls and moat ran, where students spend whole fine days on the grass. In late August Noorderzon fills it with performance tents and food stalls. On the pondside paths many more walk than ride.

A canal street lined with old warehouses once used to store grain. They are now homes and offices, and houseboats are moored along the water. Many come to photograph it at sunset, when light falls on the warehouse fronts.

The name means fish market, but on market days cheese, vegetable and flower stalls fill the square. The Korenbeurs at one end was the grain exchange and now has a supermarket inside, so shoppers go in and out. On market days the bike racks fill up fast.

From Pieterburen, north of the city, you walk across the seabed laid bare at low tide. Misread the tide and the way back vanishes, so go only with a licensed guide; it needs booking. Mud comes to the knee, so wear high socks and trainers you can throw away.

A moated manor house at Uithuizen in the northern fields; in this province such houses are called borgs. The rooms keep their old furniture, and behind lies a garden with a maze and an orchard. The local station is a walk away, so a car is optional.

A centre that takes in injured or orphaned seals from the Wadden coast, nurses them, then releases them back into the Wadden Sea. Recovering seals can be watched across the pools. Mudflat walks set off from this same village, so both fit into one day.

A star-shaped fortress village built in 1593 near the German border. Its moats and ramparts have been restored to their old form, so a lookout shows all five points at once. Barracks and a powder store inside open as small museums.

A sea inlet dammed off from the Wadden Sea in 1969, now a freshwater lake and, since 2003, a national park. Spoonbills nest in its reeds, and in winter hundreds of thousands of geese stop over. Little artificial light keeps its night skies dark for stargazing.