Valkhof Park

Close to Nijmegen’s city centre, Valkhof Park is a wooded park with mysterious Roman ruins, chapels, and a WWII bunker.

Sandwiched between two museums (De Bastei and the Valkhof Museum), Valkhof Park is a beautiful park with tons of unexpected history close to Nijmegen. Discover the ruins of a palace once home to Emperor Frederick Barbarossa.

• The chapels: Valkhof Park has nature galore, but don’t miss its beautiful architecture. Most come here to see the chapels of Sint Nicolaaskapel and Sint Maartenskapel. Sint Nicolaaskapel is cute and cozy, plus it dates back to the year 1000! Sint-Maatenskapel, aka the Barbarossa-ruïne, is what you want to see though.
• Barbarossa-ruïne: while Sint Nicolaaskapel looks amazing for its age, this ruin shows the ancient remains of Roman influence in Nijmegen. Fenced off, the chapel is only half of its former self. No, really, it looks like it's always open like a dollhouse! Surrounded by trees in this beautiful park, the Barbarossa-ruïne is worth a look when you’re in Nijmegen.
• Valkhof Festival: Come to Nijmegen in the summertime.. In July you’ll hear indie music blasting from Valkhof Park. The Valkhof Festival is a free music event that draws in crowds of music lovers every year mid-July.

Hidden gem

While many take a look around Sint Nicolaaskapel and park, not all bother to descend the nearby staircase. Enter to discover a lesser-known war memorial. This is the Valkhofbunker, the last remaining bunker that played a part in the Battle of Arnhem during WWII. The bunkers were once connected by a bunch of trenches.

These days, you’ll just find info panels and traces of the hard fought 9 day battle. The bunker’s exhibit focuses on the liberation of Nijmegen from the German forces by the Allies. Off the beaten path and underground this war memorial is worth a look for military history buffs.