Step off the train into Wintergoud
You come out of Groningen station into cold that smells faintly of fried dough and pine, and ten to fifteen minutes of walking puts you on the Grote Markt, where the Winterstad Christmas market has been running daily from 10:00 to 22:00 since 27 November and will keep running until 3 January 2027. All of it sits under one umbrella programme, Wintergoud, which stitches the Grote Markt market together with WinterWelVaart on the canals and the Wintergoud Market that links the two. The square holds craft and food chalets, an ice rink, a Ferris wheel, a giant slide and children's rides, and local music groups perform through the day. Expect the rink to run roughly 11:00–22:00, the food and drink stalls from 10:00 until midnight, the chalets 11:00–21:00, the Ferris wheel 10:00–midnight and the other rides 11:00–22:00. In the first week the market is themed around Sinterklaas, whose feast falls on 5 December; from 6 December it switches to the Christmas theme, and the Christmas tree on the Grote Markt is lit around that date. The Dutch Christmas season proper begins on 6 December, once Sinterklaas is done — which is why the second day of Christmas here still feels like the middle of things rather than the end.
Board a lit ship on the Lage der A
The set piece of the season is WinterWelVaart, running 11–13 December 2026 along the Lage der A, Hoge der A and Kleine der A canals, with vessels also moored at Pottebakkersrijge and Sluiskade. Around twenty historic ships tie up and string lights to the tops of their masts; most date from the early twentieth century, a reminder that Groningen was a Hanseatic League city and a major peat-trade market town — welvaart means prosperity, vaart means navigation. You can board the ships, and some host music, art and storytelling. An art route runs through open studios, with events at the Akerk (Akerkhof 2), the A-Theater (Akerkstraat 11) and Het Pomphuis (Kleine der A 7). Hours run roughly 17:00 to midnight on Friday (art route to 20:00, market to 22:00), 12:00 to midnight on Saturday (art route to 18:00, market to 22:00) and 12:00 to 18:00 on Sunday. It is a ten-minute walk from the Grote Markt, and the crowds on that weekend are dense — go early in the day if you want to stand on a deck without queuing. The same event also runs at Slochteren on 12–13 December and at Zoutkamp, Sappemeer and Delfzijl on 19 December if you want a quieter version.
Follow the stalls from the canals to the Grote Markt
The Wintergoud Market, first introduced in 2024, runs 11–13 December 2026 as a walking route connecting the canals to the Grote Markt, with more than 175 stalls and three music performance points; roughly a fifth of the stalls are food and drink. The route is longer in 2026 than in previous years, so treat it as an afternoon rather than a detour. Eat standing up as you go: the food chalets on the Grote Markt and the drink stalls along the route are where the seasonal eating happens, and the food and drink stands keep going until midnight even when the chalets have shuttered at 21:00.
Getting around, and what to wear on wet cobbles
- The centre is walkable: station to Grote Markt in 10–15 minutes, Grote Markt to the WinterWelVaart canal in about 10.
- If you drive, use the P+R at Hoogkerk or Meerstad; a shuttle bus is planned. Trains connect Groningen to Amsterdam and elsewhere.
- Weather is changeable and the market runs regardless of it. Bring layers, a waterproof jacket, gloves, a hat and shoes with grip — wet cobblestones are slippery.
Make it a second day, not a last day
Plan around the middle of December if you can: WinterWelVaart and the Wintergoud Market share the weekend of 11–13 December 2026, and the Grote Markt market is there on either side of it, every day from 10:00 to 22:00 through 3 January 2027. Book your train, pick your P+R, pack for rain, and give the canals a full evening.