Warehouse homes
The Groningen canals, ports and warehouses bring you back to Hanseatic times, when Groningen was a member of this alliance of trading guilds that established and maintained a trade monopoly over the Baltic Sea and most of Northern Europe. These days the warehouses have a residential purpose, housing luxury apartments, artist’s studios and student houses.
Charming almshouses
Walking through the city centre, try to find one of the thirty almshouses, which are mostly hidden behind impressive gateways. These are a collection of small houses around a communal inner yard or garden. Originally established and run by charitable foundations to house the elderly and the poor, the almshouses are now a popular accommodation for many.