Walk of the Town
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Walk of the Town
Discover Nijmegen with this unique city route: follow the line and be surprised!
It squirms, it dances, it lives, and it leads. The Walk of the Town is an adventure route throughout the city, passing by cultural hotspots, historical and iconic buildings with marvelous views. It takes you on a journey to the most exciting places of Nijmegen. Whether it is a time capsule in a park, ahead on a city gate, or secret underground tunnels, with the Walk of the Town you’ll see it all. Just follow the line and see where it takes you!
For whom?
The Walk of the Town is for the young and the young at heart. For those who don’t want an ordinary city walk. An app or guide is not necessary; you can simply just start following. The line takes you to three big museums (Valkhof Museum, De Bastei and MuZIEum), to small and big cultural institutions, and to nice restaurants and cafés. The Walk of the Town is for those who don’t know Nijmegen yet and for those who want to get to know Nijmegen in a different way.
Where?
Where?
The Walk of the Town is 7 kilometres long. There is no official start or finish point on the route; you can simply start walking whenever you see the arrows. You can do it in a single day or take the whole week – it’s up to you!
If you want to follow the whole route, start at the Citystore on the Grote Markt. You can choose a direction here.
- The lower loop (3 km): along the Waal and through the streets of the lower town.
- The upper loop (4 km): through the city centre and Kronenburger Park.
For both loops, there is a booklet with lively stories; you can find it at the Citystore.
Click on the image to enlarge it.
Would you like the route as a GPS file? That’s possible too!
An image marked with an ‘i’ indicates an information board.
An image marked with a headphone icon indicates a work of art above you on the building façade, or across the street. On the sign below, you’ll find a QR code linking to an audio clip.
Lower Town Loop
From the Citystore, walk across the Grote Markt. Follow the route through Valkhof Park, along the River Waal and through the narrow streets of the lower town.
Much of the historic architecture has been lost due to war and dilapidation. Apart from the Grote Markt and its surroundings, the Lange Hezelstraat, the Valkhof, the Molenstraat and a few isolated buildings, you sometimes have to look hard to find historic Nijmegen in the city centre. It is therefore particularly important to preserve the intangible cultural heritage, or rather the stories about the people of Nijmegen and their past.
Distance: approximately 3 km.
Download booklet & route
Upper Loop
From the Citystore on the Grote Markt, walk down Stikke Hezelstraat. Follow the route through the city centre, the ring roads, Kronenburgerpark, Lange Hezelstraat and past St Stephen’s Church.
This walk is characterised by war. This is because it was in the Upper Town that the majority of Nijmegen’s fortifications were located, and it was also there that most of the destruction took place during the Second World War.
Distance: approximately 4 km.
Download booklet & route
Art along the route
Artist Niels van Bunningen has created nine artworks along the Walk of the Town. The artworks are linked to the history of Nijmegen. They are displayed on the façades along the route; you may have to look carefully as some are hung high up or on the opposite side of the street. Look out for the sign with the headphone icon and take a good look around. Scan the QR code on the sign and listen to a vivid account of the history of this spot via the audio clips.
A number of electrical boxes along the route have been painted by Krista Burger.
Information along the route
In 10 locations along the Walk of the Town and 4 places nearby, there are informational signs with fun facts, historical anecdotes and distinguishing features of the location. Nine of them have already been placed in its original framework, 5 have gotten a temporarily construction at first. The story of Mariken van Nimwegen, the Pierson Riots, bombings, haunted houses... History will come to life again, broaden your views and will make you love the city even more!
You will find many cultural institutions, shops and restaurants along the Walk of the Town. Curious?
Click here for all the locations
The Walk of the Town is an initiative of the municipality of Nijmegen, in collaboration with Jozien Wijkhuijs & Thijs van Beusekom (USE-IT Nijmegen) and Jan-Wieger van den Berg & Corrie Kuijs (Besiendershuis). The art objects along the line are made by Niels van Bunningen. Behavioural experts from Shift gave advise. ACBN Evenementenbureau Nijmegen took care of the project management and marketing.