Greven: Discover cycling, the Ems and culture

Greven offers a range of ways to spend your stay: activities include cycling, hiking and paddling on the Ems. There are also trails through a dune and heath landscape, a network of cycle routes for day trips and multi-day tours, as well as historic farms and cultural venues. If you are looking for accommodation, you can start by considering whether outdoor activities, nature or culture should shape your stay.

By bike, on foot and on the Ems

Around 25 kilometres of the EmsRadweg run through Greven’s municipal area. The Ems floodplain and park landscape also has a dense, well-signposted network of cycle routes, suitable for day trips and multi-day rides. These figures offer different points of reference: the approximate distance describes the EmsRadweg within the municipal area, while the local network allows for day trips and multi-day tours. Check the route details before your trip when planning your route.

The Emsdeich sculpture trail runs for 2.5 kilometres between Greven’s Ems bridges. Canoe trips between Telgte and Greven follow a largely natural stretch of the Ems, passing through floodplains, fields, meadows and woods. So, as well as cycling and hiking trails, you can also choose activities on the water.

Nature trails and habitats

In the Bockholter Berge nature reserve, marked trails lead through oak and pine forests in a sandy dune and heath landscape. Here, the focus is on exploring a varied natural environment. The Emsaue, Greven’s largest nature reserve, offers a different experience: it provides food and breeding habitats for numerous animal and bird species, including species considered worthy of protection.

The two natural areas appeal to different interests: the Bockholter Berge combines marked trails with woodland, dunes and heath; the Emsaue is distinguished in particular by its importance as a habitat. Together, they offer different ways to include nature experiences in your travel plans.

Town history, farms and culture

Der Hoek is Greven’s oldest surviving district. It developed in the 17th century as an extension to the settlement and preserves typical houses once occupied by farming townspeople. The open-air Sachsenhof museum in Greven-Pentrup offers a different view of the past: a 1,200-year-old early medieval Saxon farmstead is reconstructed there. Experimental cultivation of crops and arable weeds from that period adds to the picture. Sachsenhof is open to visitors at all times, and admission is free. Check visitor arrangements before your visit.

On the outskirts of Gimbte, the Averkamp museum farm displays a collection of historic equipment and tools, offering insight into rural life in the past. The two farms have different focuses: Sachsenhof explores an early medieval farmstead and experimental cultivation, while Averkamp presents rural life in the past through historic equipment.

Greven’s cultural venues also offer different perspectives. The Grevener Baumwollspinnerei (GBS) cultural centre has a renovated bale warehouse. The former mill site houses a music school, an adult education centre and a youth café. The Kunstturm is home to the art association and regularly hosts exhibitions.

Choose accommodation to suit your travel style

When looking for accommodation in Greven, it helps to decide what you want to focus on: will your stay centre mainly on cycling and canoe trips, nature trails or cultural history?

Discover more destinations

Saerbeck, Emsdetten, Rheine, Westerkappeln, Horstmar, Ladbergen, Lienen, Neuenkirchen

Return to the main travel overview: Steinfurt.