Kampen Bike Rental and Tours

Kampen is a Hanseatic town on the IJssel river in the province of Overijssel, and it is a natural place to explore by bicycle. Seeing the town by bike does not depend on one operator: in the Netherlands, bike rental is widely available in most towns of any size, and Kampen has places that rent out bicycles to visitors, usually near the railway station and in the centre. The tourist information office can point you towards current rental options, and it is wise to check prices, opening times and deposit rules before you choose.

Cycling suits the town because it is compact, flat and well provided with cycle paths. The historic centre is made up of narrow streets, small squares and canals, and everything of interest lies within a few minutes of everything else. A bicycle lets you cover the centre quickly and then go further, along the river and out into the countryside, which is hard to do on foot. The Dutch cycle network is signposted by numbered junctions, so it is easy to plan a route with a map or a phone, and roads are generally quiet and cars give way to cyclists.

The sights are best seen in a loop. Kampen has three medieval gates that survive from the town's defences, among them the Koornmarktspoort and the Cellebroedersportoor, and the city walls and the harbour, Kampen Harbor, are pleasant to ride along. The Grote of Sint-Nicolaaskerk, usually called the Bovenkerk, is the large Gothic church that dominates the centre, and the Nieuwe Toren, a seventeenth-century tower, is a distinctive landmark. The Oudestraat is the main shopping street and has a number of old merchants' houses, and the Kampen Botanical Garden offers a green pause. The town is also known for its cigar-making past and its long-standing connections with the Hanseatic trading network.

Beyond the town, the surroundings invite longer rides. The IJssel dikes give wide views of the river and its floodplains, with cattle grazing in the meadows and barges moving along the water, and a bridge across the river leads to quiet roads on the far bank. The IJsseldelta, the area where the river meets the former Zuiderzee, has nature reserves and birdlife, and the area around Kampen is known for its fruit orchards, which are lovely in blossom time. Zwolle and Hattem are within easy cycling distance for a longer day.

A bike hire visit suits independent travelers, families and anyone who wants to see the town and its surroundings at their own pace. Take a lock, a rain jacket and water, and plan to be back before dark, as not all rental points keep late hours.