Explore The North and the Frisian Islands
Until the early nineteenth century, the sparsely populated province of Drenthe, by the German border, was little more than a flat expanse of empty peat bog, marsh and moor. In recent decades, it’s accumulated a scattering of small towns, but it remains the country’s least populated province, whose main pull is its woods and countryside. Its only conspicuous geographical feature is a ridge of low hills that runs northwest for some 50km from Emmen, its largest town, toward Groningen. This ridge, the Hondsrug, was high enough to attract prehistoric settlers whose hunebeds (megalithic tombs) have become Drenthe’s main tourist attraction. Otherwise, Assen, the provincial capital, is a dull place with a good museum, and Emmen, its only real rival, can only be recommended as a convenient base for visiting some of the hunebeds and three neighbouring open-air folk culture museums.
Read More-
Motor racing in Assen
Motor racing in Assen
Pretty much the only time Assen is the centre of attention is during the Assen TT (w tt-assen.com), the only Grand Prix motorcycle race in the Netherlands, and the British Superbike championships in September. The last TT drew a crowd of around 130,000, making it the largest one-day sports event in the Netherlands. On the three nights leading up to the event, Assen’s centre is packed with people enjoying live music and lots of beer. If you are visiting while it’s on (the last Saturday in June), make sure you book accommodation well in advance.
