The Noordelijk Scheepvaartmuseum tells the maritime story of the northern Netherlands, from medieval cog ships through 19th-century coastal trade to the modern shipyards of Delfzijl. It is housed in two of the oldest stone houses in Groningen — the Gotisch Huis on the Brugstraat and the adjoining Canterhuis, both dating to around 1400.
The collection includes ship models, navigation instruments, paintings, and a reconstructed shipyard. The buildings themselves, with their stepped gables, deep cellars and Gothic vaulting, are half the point. A quiet, well-curated museum that takes about an hour and a half.