Delfzijl

Understand

The city has a large industrial area, a busy port, a tiny beach and a few attractions to entertain the (mostly accidental) visitors. The place is not recommended for a longer stay, but has plenty of shops, a few hotels and a well stocked public library with internet facilities.

Delfzijl gained national notoriety in 2005 and 2006 because of political turmoil caused by its bickering local politicians. One of the last mayors to leave town in a hurry (Ms. Marritje Appel), bitterly denounced the city as "Sicily of the North".

During the local elections of 2006 30% of all voters in the city of Delfzijl submitted an "abstain vote".

Get in

There's a train connection from Groningen, which leaves every half-hour (€6.80, 37 minutes). It stops at Delfzijl's central station and at Delfzijl-West. The trains are operated by Arriva.

There are also bus connections to and from Winschoten, Uithuizen, Appingedam, Groningen (city) and many hamlets and villages in the area.

Good provincial roads lead to all directions: N360 direction Groningen N362 direction Winschoten N997 direction Losdorp N992 direction Woldendorp The N33 leads to Eemshaven and (in the other direction) to Assen.

As a harbour town, Delfzijl is well reachable via water if you have your own boat. The main water ways are the large Eemskanaal and the smaller Damsterdiep, which is almost exclusively used for private boats. There's a yacht harbour called "Het Dok" in the so-called "Oude Eemskanaal".

In summer, there are daily ferry crossings (also for cars) to the German island of Borkum and the German town of Ditzum.

Get around

The city centre and the harbour area are small enough to explore on foot. If you have a bike, that can be convenient if you want to head to the surrounding hamlets or are up for a bike tour along the coast. If you want to rent one you'll have to inform at the tourist office however, as there are no regular bike rental companies in town.

See

thumb|Windmill Adam has an exhibition space on the bottom floor. The town centre has a number of interesting structures. Just strolling around will lead you past most of them, as the centre is small and easy to navigate. There's the windmill Adam (with an exhibition centre on the ground floor), a monumental train station (1884) and the former town hall (located at the Oude Schans, built in 1899. The former munition building is the oldest building in town, originating in 1591.