The city of Zwolle

Introduction

The city of Zwolle is located in east of The Netherlands and is the capital of the province Overijssel. It has an population of aproximately 110.000. Located near the banks of the river IJssel and with a center surrounded with canals, Zwolle is a very nice and friendly place to visit for one or two days.

Transportation

Arriving at Schiphol Airport (Amsterdam), you can either take a (extremely expensive) taxi, or you can take the train to Zwolle. There is a direct Intercity link between Schiphol Airport and Zwolle; the trip will take aproximately 1 hour and 20 minutes (if there is not a strike amongst the employees of the Dutch Railways) and for a single trip second class ticket you will pay about 35 Dutch Guilders (about 16 EUROs). If you are already somewhere else in the Netherlands, the best way to get there is also the train.

Zwolle hasn't got a tram- or a metrosystem and just one railway station. The best way to find your way in the city is with by bus, by taxi (the city is not that large, so the costs will not be very high)or by bike (you can rent them near the railway station).

Things to do and to see in Zwolle

Zwolle is not like the big cities in the west of the country; it is more like a nice and rather large village. People from the western parts of the country see the inhabitants more like farmes, however, they are not (all). Zwolle has got a couple of museums and some nice old buildings, however the urban planning of the early 80's resulted in some rather strange and ugly buildings near the center of the city. You can have a pretty good time in Zwolle: it has got a lot of bars within the canal-area and in the weekend you can visit various sporting events (Football, Fieldhockey, Volleyball and Basketball are played at high level). Like in Amsterdam and all the other cities in The Netherlands, you can legally buy and use some sorts of drugs (Cannabis) in Zwolle

In and near Zwolle you can also enjoy the simple, agricultural nature.