Fun things to do in Provincie Drenthe

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The Zoo of Emmen has a very beautifull rather natural atmosphere. There is a herd of 14 elephants of all ages, an African Savannah, a butterfly-garden, a Playa Pinguinos, a South- American bird area and much more. At many places you walk between the animals.

I especially like the african savannah with rhino's, zebra's, ostriches, wildebeasts, giraffes and impalas. At one point you're a eye height of the giraffes.

The butterfly garden is a colourfull tropical garden with many flowering plants where you can walk between the many colourfull butterflies. Sometimes a butterfly will sit down on your hand.

The original zoo is in the middle of the citycentre of Emmen. In 2002 a second part of the zoo is opened at the edge of the centre. A huge pedestrian traverse connects the two parts through the centre of Emmen. In the new part of the zoo is the South American section. At the Playa Pinguinos you can walk between the pinguins. Also you can watch the swimming pinguins under water

Entrance fee:
adults: 16.50 euro, entry single
children: (3-10) 13.50 euro, single entry
adults: 35 euro, the year round
children: (3 to 10) 14 euro, the year round

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The small village of Orvelte is a living museum village. In the historical village people still live and work. There are museums, workshops, galleries and shops. You can see a saw mill, a blacksmith, a wooden shoe maker, an old shop from 1919, a milk factory and old Saxony farmhouses like the Bruntinger hof from 1729.

You can walk for free in the village and visit most of the galleries and the informationcentre. But for visiting the traditional workshops you have to buy a ticket at the entrance of the village for 7.50 euro. These attractions are open from april till the end of october. In the summer season there are many activities like markets, demonstrations of traditional handicrafts and a music festival with traditional instruments.

For us Dutch this is a true statement. Dren the is famous for it's megalithic monuments, the "Hunebed"s. These 5.000 years old gravemarkers are the oldest items that give proove of human inhabitants of the Netherlands in the iron and bronze ages. Drenthe has several dozains of these stone monuments and is very proud of that fact.

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At the Brink of Assen you can find the Ontvangershuis (Tax Collectors House), now part of the Drents Museum. The Ontvangershuis is the oldest house in Assen. Only a wall survived the huge fire in 1676. This wall with Roman bricks, you can only see from the Brink side. The house is rebuilt in 1697.

The best view at the building you will have from the other side, from the Oostersingel. From here you can also see the garden designed in the Dutch style in the 17th century.

The Ontvangenrshuis was the house of the Collector General of Drenthe, but was also used as "Prinsenhof", the place where the Dutch Stadhouders (Stadtholders) stayed the night. So King Louis Napoleon slept here in1809, when he came over to give Assen the municipal rights.

In Assen at the central Brink in a former Government building the Drents Museum is situated.

In the museum are permanent and temporary exhibitions of archaeology (artefacts of the Stone Age, Bronze Age and Roman Era, found in Drenthe), silver, textiles, art including Vincent Van Gogh.
Interesting is the story about peat, the moor corpses and the girl of Yde. You can also use an interactive geo-explorer with touch-screen, to go back in time.

In 2004 the museum existed 150 year. There was an very impressive temporary international exhibition "The mysterious Bog People''

In the museum you can also find a nice shop and the ''Cafe Krul'' in Art Nouveau style for a drink and special dishes connected with the themes of the exhibitions.

Opening hours of the museum:
11 AM to 5 PM
Entrance fee:
5 euro for adults
For more information check the museum website.

Some 20 kilometers from Assen is Roden, a nice little village.Besides shopping around town and walking in the woods one can visit the Toys Museum.This musuem has all kinds of toys where children once played with. Inside the museum a lot of toys to look at. Children (or grown ups) can even play with some of the toys.The museum has a yard where one can cycle on old bikes, go in the merry go round or trundle a hoople.

Eelde is a small place just south of the city Groningen. It is most known for the local airport. But there's also a very nice museum! Have a look at my Eelde page (link below)