Workum is one of the eleven historic Frisian cities, a quiet town on the shore of the IJsselmeer with a handsome church tower and a traditional harbour. It has city rights since 1399 and the stepped gables along its streets tell the story of a prosperous trading port on what was then the Zuiderzee. Today it is calm and unhurried, which is precisely why the Dutch come here.
The Jopie Huisman Museum is the main draw: Huisman was a scrap dealer and self-taught painter who became one of the most popular Dutch artists of the 20th century, known for hyperrealistic still lifes of worn-out objects — bent cutlery, frayed rope, old shoes — that made his subjects feel dignified and important. The Museum Warkums Erfskip occupies the historic Waag and former town hall on the market square and covers the town's history from its trading heyday through the Second World War. The Sint-Gertrudiskerk dominates the square — the largest late-Gothic church in Friesland, with a collection of unusual funeral biers and an unfinished tower that ended up with an onion-shaped cap.
The town is also a good base for watersports. The IJsselmeer waterfront is five minutes' walk from the centre, with a beach popular for kitesurfing and a harbour busy with sailing boats in summer. The Frisian lake district begins immediately to the east, and the Elfstedenroute cycling path passes through town.