Europe Tents at Camping Strandheem

The open-air museum De Spitkeet (10 minutes’ drive) has a collection of old dwellings that reveal just how harsh life was here in the 19th century. The poor might have lived in a cave-house or a ‘spitkeet’, a basic accommodation built of soil and rushes, for example. Another interesting exhibit here is a hiding place where teenage boys would gather to avoid German troops during World War II. The wetlands of De Alde Feanen National Park (20 minutes) can be explored on foot, by bike or (arguably the best way) from the water. If you’re happy to move under your own steam, there are paddleboard and canoe routes; if not, you can book a tour on a sailing boat. Colourful, spiky and geometrical, the canalside Groninger Museum in Groningen (half an hour) houses archaeological treasures, paintings by the likes of Van Gogh and Rubens, and temporary shows, including the Children’s Biennale (in even years), with interactive exhibits.