Things to do in Nijmegen
Nijmegen has a fair claim to be the oldest city in the Netherlands: the Romans were here before the birth of Christ. Bombing and battle in 1944 took much of the old centre, but the hill, the river and an eleventh-century chapel are still there.
- About an hour and a half from Amsterdam
The oldest city, rebuilt
Nijmegen’s claim to be the oldest city in the Netherlands rests on the Romans, who built a military camp here in the first century BC and, in AD 98, made it the first place in the country to receive Roman city rights. The town celebrated its 2,000th birthday in 2005.
It does not look it. An American bombing raid on 22 February 1944 destroyed a large part of the historic centre, and the fighting for the Waal bridges that September did more damage. The centre was rebuilt in the decades afterwards, which is why a very old city feels, in places, quite young. The oldest building left, the Valkhof chapel, stands on the hill above the river.
Getting your bearings
The old centre sits on a hill above the south bank of the Waal. The Valkhof park, Museum Het Valkhof, the Grote Markt and the Waalkade are all within about ten minutes of each other on foot, and the railway station is a twelve-minute walk from the Grote Markt.
Two things sit outside the walk: De Oversteek, about two kilometres west of the Valkhof, and the Freedom Museum in Groesbeek, about eight kilometres to the south-east. Those are the two places where a car or a taxi earns its keep.
It is also a city of bicycles. In 2018 Nijmegen was European Green Capital, the first Dutch city to hold the title, on the strength of its cycling, its energy targets and the flood defences along the Waal.
Mind the third week of July
One date matters more than any other. The Four Days Marches, the Vierdaagse, start on the third Tuesday of July and bring more than 40,000 walkers from around the world, with a street festival that fills the old centre. On the last day the walkers come in along the Sint Annastraat, nicknamed the Via Gladiola, where the crowd greets them with gladioli. Come then if you want the city at its loudest. If you do not, avoid that week, because rooms are hard to find.
From Amsterdam it is about an hour and a half by road. We are based in Amsterdam and drive private day trips and fixed-price transfers. Message us on WhatsApp with your date and where you are starting, and we will tell you the price before you commit to anything.
What to see
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The Valkhof park and chapel
The hill above the Waal where emperors kept a palace: Charlemagne is said to have founded it, Frederick Barbarossa expanded it in 1155, and most of it was pulled down in the 1790s. What survives is the small eleventh-century Sint-Nicolaaskapel, modelled on Charlemagne's chapel at Aachen, and the ruins of Barbarossa's palace, in a park above the river.
Driver’s tip: Walk to the viewpoint beside the chapel: from there the Waal, the Waalbrug and the Waalkade line up in one frame, with the flat country beyond. The Belvédère, a tower at the edge of the hill, has a restaurant terrace with the same view if you would rather sit.
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Museum Het Valkhof
A museum by the architect Ben van Berkel, opened in 1999 beside the park. Its permanent collection tells the story of Roman Nijmegen through the finds — helmets with face masks, a god pillar from the reign of Tiberius, a bronze portrait of Trajan — alongside art from the early modern period to today.
Driver’s tip: If you are looking for Roman Nijmegen, this is where it is. Almost nothing Roman still stands in the open and the centre was rebuilt after 1944, so the museum does the work that the streets cannot.
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The Waalkade and the Waalbrug
The quay at the foot of the old town, lined with terraces and a casino, and the Waalbrug, the 1936 road bridge about 600 metres long that the Allies fought to capture in September 1944.
Driver’s tip: Walk across the Waalbrug rather than driving over it. It has a footpath, and from the middle you look back at the old town on its hill above the quay.
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De Oversteek
The 2013 bridge on the western side of the city, built where American paratroopers crossed the Waal in canvas boats on 20 September 1944. Forty-eight of them died in the crossing.
Driver’s tip: Time it for sunset, when the bridge's 48 lights come on one by one at marching pace, one for each soldier who died. It is two kilometres from the Valkhof, so take a car or a taxi.
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The Grote Markt and the Stevenskerk
The old market square, with the Renaissance Waag of 1612 and the Stevenskerk, a Gothic church built between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries and rebuilt after the bombing of 1944.
Driver’s tip: You can climb the Stevenskerk tower — 183 steps for a view over the whole city — but only at fixed times, so check them before you plan around it.
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The Freedom Museum in Groesbeek
The museum in the hills just south-east of the city covers the occupation, the liberation of 1944–45 and what came after. Groesbeek is where around 8,000 American paratroopers landed on the first day of Operation Market Garden, with orders to seize the area and the bridges over the Waal.
Driver’s tip: It is some eight kilometres from the centre. There is a bus from the station, but by car it is a short hop, which matters if you want the Valkhof and the museum in one day.
Where is it?
Getting there from the nearest airport
The Netherlands Weeze Airport (NRN) Get a priceFrequently asked questions
Is Nijmegen really the oldest city in the Netherlands?
That is its claim, and a good one. The Romans built a military camp here in the first century BC, and in AD 98 Nijmegen became the first place in what is now the Netherlands to receive Roman city rights. The city celebrated its 2,000th birthday in 2005.
Why doesn't Nijmegen look older?
An American bombing raid on 22 February 1944 killed nearly 800 people and destroyed a large part of the historic centre, and the fighting for the Waal bridges that September did more damage. The centre was rebuilt over the following decades.
Is Nijmegen busy in July?
Very, for one week. The Four Days Marches start on the third Tuesday of July, bring more than 40,000 walkers from around the world, and a street festival fills the old centre alongside them. It is a wonderful week if you came for it, and a crowded one if you did not.
Can you drive us to Nijmegen?
Yes. We are based in Amsterdam and drive private day trips and fixed-price transfers, and Nijmegen is about an hour and a half away. Message us on WhatsApp with your date and where you are starting, and we will tell you the price before you commit to anything.