SCIENCE UP THE WORLD
15TH INTERNATIONAL STUDENT CONGRESS OF MEDICAL SCIENCES
JUNE 3RD - 6TH 2008
Groningen: Shopping
Shop till you dropShopping in Groningen is as surprising and versatile as sampling its culture. Browse the numerous antiques shops at the Zuiderdiep for an Art Deco table, Jugendstil service, or oil painting from days long past. If exclusive fashion is what you are after, the Zwanestraat and the Waagstraat, with several small boutiques, are the places to be. Whatever you are looking for in Groningen’s city centre, it is impossible to miss the market. There is a market nearly every day, either on the Grote Markt or on the Vismarkt.
Book city
Bookworms can best prowl the Oude Kijk in ’t Jatstraat, whether they are after new or second-hand copies. Interested readers are also in for a good time elsewhere in the city centre, since Groningen is a genuine book city. The Ebbingestraat is the location of a notable independent bookshop, Godert Walter, which specialises in Groningana (books and magazines about Groningen and the north of the Netherlands). And be sure to visit Scholtens Wristers, the largest bookshop in the city, which regularly holds signing sessions and book presentations.
Folkingestraat
Sample the various cultures in the Folkingestraat, where African art, Finnish crystal, Indian incense, North African food, and Italian pastas alternate. This street connects the Groningen Museum with the city centre.
Maupertuus
Fans of furniture design must visit Maupertuus. This breathtaking building, designed by Bart Vos, houses a furniture collection and much more by international designers, such as Alessi, Kartell, De Padova, Pastoe, Starck and Vitra. It is an incomparable collection in Europe. In 2002, readers of the Eigen Huis & Interieur home magazine declared this “design castle” the Netherlands’ best interior shop. The city centre also includes a number of interior shops; the Oosterstraat is an absolute must.
