City trip Zwolle. What to see and do.

We visit our friends in Zwolle, Silvio and Jo, at least once a year. Usually we go to their home, eat, drink, chat and have a good time. We don’t go into town or anything.

Silvio and Jo, Zwolle’s coolest couple no doubt.

This time, Jo, the female half of our friend-couple, and I planned a girlfriend-weekend. My better half was in Singapore. And although her hubby would join us here and there, this stay-over was in the first place about and for her and me.

City trip to Zwolle. What to see and do.

This post is the first of a mini-series about Zwolle, similar to the mini-series that I did about Eindhoven and Groningen.

Mini-series; what to expect

This first post is about Zwolle in general. Fast facts, architecture, history and Zwolle as a Hanseatic city.

After this general introduction, I’ll show you where to go shopping in Zwolle.

Part three of the mini-series is about the coolest, best cafes, restaurants and bars in Zwolle.

Part four is about one restaurant in particular: La Cucaracha.

The fifth post will be about art in Zwolle: museums and street art.

Fast facts about Zwolle

Zwolle, a town with 250.000 residents and a charming historic centre, came to bloom in the early Middle Ages. When you walk through the medieval town with its numerous characteristic facades, you experience the rich past of Zwolle.

Thanks to its strategic location and through trade on the river IJssel, Zwolle developed into a powerful, rich city in the 15th century.

The centre once was protected by city walls, from which only some small parts remain today.

One gate, the Sassenpoort, still stands proudly.

The Sassenpoort is the last standing gate of the former city walls. This gate is in the Top 100 of Dutch Unesco monuments. The size of the gate reflects how important and wealthy Zwolle was in those days. The gate also had to be this wide so that carriages could park fully inside to be inspected. Only after inspection the city gates would open and let the carriage pass.

This ginormous, spectacular lantern from 1001 nights hangs in the Sassen gate since Zwolle’s lampshade-event Sassenstraat Allicht. The event has ended and unfortunately the lampshades were removed. This one though is so huge that removing it would be too much of a hassle, so it stays here. I heard that it looks beautiful in the evenings.

A star-shaped defensive canal around the centre is also still there.

Zwolle; a Hanseatic city

Zwolle is a so called Hanzestad or Hanseatic city. This stems from the 15th century. In those days, a number of cities, like Hasselt, Kampen, Deventer and others, formed a Hanseatic League, to ensure and improve their trading power.

The architecture and the abundant ornamentation everywhere indicate how prosperous the city was centuries ago.

Hansa or hanze refers to a group of merchants that travelled together. Products that were traded included grain, salted herring, stockfish, furs, wine, ceramics, linen and wool.

How to explore Zwolle

By foot

The city centre is fairly small and can easily be covered by foot. It’s only a 10 minute walk from the train station to the city centre, in case you arrive by train.

The weather was good, when I visited Zwolle. Cold, but dry and sunny. It was a delight to stroll through the streets of Zwolle’s centre with this gorgeous light.

Guided walks

You can opt for a guided walk:

• Overijsseltrips offers a number of walks for small groups. Their Hanze walk is very popular.
• Zwolse Balletjeshuis (Zwolle Balls House) has in-house tourist information and offers walks in Zwolle.
• Waanders, a spectacular bookstore (more about this shop in my next post), also has in-house tourist info and also offers walks, like het Zwolse Balletjeshuis. The walks on offer are not the same though.
• Via this app with a walking route for Zwolle: (in-)visible Zwolle. About hidden archeology and (architectural) history of Zwolle. Very interesting and beautifully designed. Unfortunately only in Dutch.

By bike

You can rent a bike at the train station.

It’s also possible to grab a bike taxi or move around on a segway.

Arch angel St. Michael is Zwolle’s protective angel. At the Grote Markt or Big Square you find St Michael’s Church or Big Church. On one of its towers you can see a sculpture of Saint Michael. On the square stands this modern version of St Michael by Herman Lamers, called Glass Angel. Behind the glass sculpture one of Zwolle’s bike taxis is parked.

By boat

Since there is a lot of water in and around Zwolle, it’s a fun idea to enjoy the city from the water.

Hiawatha offers a whole range of boating options, from kayaks and canoes to water bikes and so called lounge donuts.

Curly Traveller’s citytrip Zwolle map

I made a Google map with Zwolle’s main sights and hotspots on it. Be sure to check it out before you travel to Zwolle!

Mind you that this is just a screenshot. If you click the link above the image, then you get to the actual map. You can zoom in and out and see the complete legend with all the listed hotspots. Oh, and did you notice the star-shaped canal around the centre?!

Got curious about where to shop in Zwolle? No worries; stay tuned and check out my next article.