The Netherlands' northern capital — the most student-packed city in Europe per capita
Groningen is the Netherlands' most vibrant northern city and, per capita, has more students than anywhere else in Europe — roughly 60,000 students in a city of 200,000 drive an extraordinary cafe, bar, and music culture. The Grote Markt (city square) is flanked by the 97-metre Martinitoren ('d'Olle Grieze') and surrounded by some of the Netherlands' liveliest terrace culture, and the city's eierbal (a deep-fried egg stuffed in a ragout ball) is a local fast-food institution you won't find anywhere else in the world.
Groningen has been the undisputed capital of the Netherlands' northern provinces since the medieval period — its position as a Hanseatic trading city from 1284 made it wealthy enough to build the Martinitoren and defy even the Hapsburg Empire (the 'Groningen Reduction' of 1594 saw it join the Dutch Republic after years of independence). The 20th century brought the discovery of the massive Slochteren gas field beneath Groningen's province (1959) — Europe's largest natural gas field — which funded Dutch welfare state expansion but also caused earthquakes that continue to this day.