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Franeker
City in Friesland, Netherlands

Franeker

Franeker is one of the eleven historical cities of Friesland and capital of the municipality of Waadhoeke.

Plan a trip to Franeker→From Groningen

It is located north of the Van Harinxmakanaal and about 20 km (12 mi) west of Leeuwarden. As of 2023, it had 13,015 inhabitants. World Heritage Site the Eise Eisinga Planetarium, established in 1781, is located in the city.

Get in

Getting to Franeker

Franeker lies about 20 km to the west of Friesland's capital, Leeuwarden. From Leeuwarden, take the A31. A direct train service connects Franeker with Leeuwarden and Harlingen.

See

Worth seeing

  1. 01
    Eise Eisenga Planetarium

    Eise Eisingastraat 3, info@eisinga-planetarium.nl.

  2. 02
    Martena Museum

    Playing the role of the town museum, it houses historical exhibits, including one on Franeker university.

Eat

Where to eat

  1. 01
    Snacks en Broodjeshuis Feenstra

    A variety of foods, from cheap and tasty burgers to a proper plate of typical Dutch fare.

How locals move

Getting around Franeker the local way

  • Get inThere is a ferry running from Enkhuizen in Noord Holland to Stavoren.
  • Get inIn the summer the ferry runs up to three times daily, but in April and October not as frequent.

From Wikivoyage: Friesland, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-04.

Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Agnes Monkelbaan (see Commons), Wikimedia Commons.