Travel Itinerary: 8 Things to do in Zwolle

There are so many quaint towns outside of Amsterdam that I encourage visitors to check out in the Netherlands! Charlie and I went to Zwolle in May of this year and it charmed our pants off! 🙂

While the town is small, there are quite a few things to do in Zwolle. I did, however, have to do a lot of research (blog after blog) to find the best things to do. I am putting together our favorite Zwolle activities in this post so you can add them to your Zwolle travel itinerary!

Getting to Zwolle:

• You can take the train from Amsterdam to Zwolle. It takes approx. 1.5 hours to get there, but goes by very fast! It’s Northeast of the city of Amsterdam. The cost of the train ticket is between €30-40 depending on the time of day you are going.
• You can also drive there if you have a car, or rent a car through MyWheels or another rental car company!

Places to Stay in Zwolle:

• Bilderberg Grand Hotel Wientjes (this is where Charlie and I stayed – definitely recommend!)
• Pillows Grand Boutique Hotel Ter Borch (this was right next door to Bilderberg, wasn’t available when we went but looks luxurious!)
• Librije

8 Things To Do In Zwolle During Your Trip

1. Sassenport Gate

We stumbled upon this our first night in Zwolle by accident! It was on our list of architect to see so we went back to also see it in the day time. It’s listed as a national monument and due to some restorations, stands in perfect condition today!

2. Grote Kerk

Grote Kerk representations a sort of Gothic Church and stands in the middle of the old town center of Zwolle. We did not actually go inside during our visit, but the exterior is more than enough beauty for us! There are a lot of really cute restaurants in the square in front of the church so you can grab a bite to eat.

3. Waanders in de Broeren

This was my favorite pit stop during our weekend trip in Zwolle! This bookstore is to die for architecture and there is actually quite a large collection of books you can purchase!

4. Peperbus Tower

This was Charlie’s favorite thing to do during our weekend in Zwolle! We went inside the tower and were able to climb the 230 steps to the top. There was a spot to take a break about halfway through and learn the history of the tower which I enjoyed the most. 🙂

5. Museum de Fundatie

I’ll be honest – if you aren’t a big museum person, I would actually skip this on your itinerary. Charlie and I appreciate a good museum, but found ourselves sort of rushing through this one. There was an exhibit that was built around climate change and how we need to better protect our Earth, but some of it was difficult to understand or wasn’t working.

The art inside through – magnificent! That is where we spent most of our time, wandering the halls and looking at artists like Van Gogh and Mondrian. Well worth the visit if you enjoy paintings, drawings, sculptures and prints.

6. Gasthuisplein

This isn’t really a landmark, but more of a square that you can visit! There are some shops and great restaurants/cafes around for you to get a coffee and bite to eat. There is a lot of history with this square, we encourage you to read through it all here before going!

7. Dominicanenklooster Monastery

We stumbled upon this church while walking around as well! It’s huge from the outside and even more breathtaking from the inside. We were able to go into the church and have a look around during out visit. There are Catholic celebrations each weekend and also a lot of spiritual and philosophical activities during the week. Luckily while we were there, there wasn’t anything happening so we had a quiet, slow walk through!

7. Boat on the Canal

I surprised Charlie with this fun boat activity on Sunday right before we left! We hadn’t done a boat on a canal yet (even though we live in Amsterdam) so this was so much fun! It was good weather so we sailed around the entire canal of Zwolle! It only cost €20 for an hour long boat ride! You can have up to 5 people in the boat, so if you split the cost – so cheap!

Additional things to do in Zwolle (that we did not get to):

• Het Engelsem Werk Park: This is about a 28 minute train ride from the city center. The photos look beautiful but because we only did a short weekend in Zwolle, we didn’t want to spend an hour on a train to check out the park. If you have doggos or are a big park person, please check it out!
• Bonami Spelcomputer Museum: this activity isn’t something Charlie and I would typically do, but if we had additional time in Zwolle we would have visited. This would be a great spot to bring a family and some children!

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We hope you are able to visit Zwolle, Netherlands at some point for a fun weekend trip! If you are looking for another weekend trip from Amsterdam, make sure to check out our 4-day Zurich Itinerary for some fun ideas!