The only form of public transportation nonstop to Nijmegen is a taxivan you have to reserve in advance and will set you back €15 (one-way) (€16 (one-way) as of 01/04/2009).
For the more adventurous traveller, it's possible to get to Nijmegen by city bus to the Weeze railway station, then take a train into Kleve, where you can get a bus into Nijmegen. This will take about 75 minutes and costs €5.90-7.60 (one-way).
Another option is to just hitch. There's a major freeway not far from the airport, connecting Duesseldorf with Nijmegen. This can take as little as 30-45 minutes if you're lucky, and 4-6 hours if you're not.
''' Eindhoven Airport ({{IATA|EIN}})''', [http://www.eindhovenairport.com]. Located 60 kilometres (35 miles) to the southwest of Nijmegen. From the airport you take bus 401 to Eindhoven Central Station and then a train to 's Hertogenbosch (which is the same as Den Bosch). In 's Hertogenbosch, change trains and take the train to Nijmegen. This journey will take you approximately 90 minutes by public transportation. When driving yourself, take the A326 feeder motorway to the A50, (Zwolle-Eindhoven) which skirts the west of the metropolitan area to the Eindhoven ring road (A58/A2) Airport exit is exit 29 on the A2.
''' Flughafen Dusseldorf ({{IATA|DUS}})''', [http://www.dus-int.de/dus_en/]. Located 110 kilometres (65 miles) southeast. About one-third the size of Amsterdam-Schiphol, but with plenty of international connections, including to the USA, and gets served by all the major airlines in Europe. Although it doesn't get nearly as many flights as Amsterdam does, it's cheaper, doesn't have nearly as many congestion problems, and generally much less hassle at the airport itself. Major inconvienience here is the lack of a good public transportation link to the Nijmegen area; you either need to take bus 58 to '''Kleve''', and change there for a regional train to '''Dusseldorf Hbf''', where you can take S1 to '''Flughafen terminal''' or take the train to '''Venlo''', and change there for '''Dusseldorf Hbf'''. Both options take about 2,5-3 hours one way, since it'll be taking commuter trains all the way. When driving there this airport should be the obvious choice though. '''A73''' to '''Knooppunt Rijkevoort''', then follow the signs to the '''A77''' which changes to '''A57''' when it passes the German line. By '''Kreuz Meerbusch''' take motorway '''A44''' to exit 31 which is right by the terminal. Expect a 75-minute drive, although it can be done in 50-55 minutes if there's little traffic, due to the fact that 2/3rds of the route is on the German Autobahn.
''' Amsterdam-Schiphol airport ({{IATA|AMS}})''', [http://www.schiphol.nl]. The largest airport in the Netherlands, and the fifth largest in Europe. 135 kilometres (85 miles) to the northwest. Train takes about an hour and 45 minutes, and will cost €17,- one way. Take the train to '''Utrecht''' or''' 's Hertogenbosch'''. You do have to change trains for Nijmegen in one of these cities. Schiphol airport gets served by most major carriers, and has in excess of 100 flights to the United States alone per day. When driving; '''A73''' to '''Knooppunt Ewijk''', '''A50''' to '''Knooppunt Valburg''', '''A15''' westbound to '''Knooppunt Deil''', '''A2''' northbound to '''Knooppunt Holendrecht''', '''A9''' westbound to '''Knooppunt Badhoevedorp''', and finally '''A4''' southbound to exit 2, Schiphol airport. Expect this to take anywhere from 75 minutes to over three hours, depending on traffic. the route will take you through both the Utrecht and the Amsterdam metropolitan areas, both infamous for their traffic jams.
The '''Dutch Railways''', [http://www.ns.nl/servlet/Satellite?cid=1075985690180&pagename=www.ns.nl%2FPage%2FSuperHomepageEnglish&lang=en&c=Page ] (Nederlandse Spoorwegen, NS) serve Nijmegen from all parts of the Netherlands non-stop. There are 4 trains an hour to Utrecht, 2 of which continue to Amsterdam and Den Helder. At Utrecht, you can change on trains to Schiphol Airport or Rotterdam and The Hague. 4 trains per hour depart for Zutphen of which 2 continue to Deventer and Zwolle (with connections to Leeuwarden and Groningen in Zwolle). Furthermore, 2 trains per hour connect to Tilburg-Breda-Roosendaal (with connections in Breda to Rotterdam/The Hague, and in Roosendaal to Antwerp/Brussels).
The neighboring cities of Arnhem and 's-Hertogenbosch are served by commuter trains: 4 trains per hour leave for 's-Hertogenbosch and 6 trains per hour for Arnhem. On this last connection, there are up to 10 trains per hour between Nijmegen and Arnhem during rush hour. The full adult fare on this line is €3.60 on way or €6.20, correct as of September 2007.
'''[http://www.veolia-transport.nl/tmpl/XStartPage.aspx?id=16572&epslanguage=ML Veolia Limburg]''' runs 4 commuter trains an hour to Nijmegen Heyendaal, the town of Cuijk and further to Venray. Two of these trains continue all the way to Roermond.
Nijmegen is connected to the German city of Kleve by bus. This bus (58) usually runs once per hour, but it does not go in the evenings and barely goes on sunday.
The A73 connects Nijmegen with Venlo, the A77/A57 leads to the German Rhineland. The A15 runs between Nijmegen and Rotterdam and the A50 (Eindhoven-Zwolle) skims the western edge of the metropolitan area. There are many feeder highways connecting these freeways to the city. From Amsterdam one would take the A2 southbound to intersection (knooppunt) Deil, and take the A15 eastbound to Nijmegen from there. Avoid visiting the city by car during the Four Days Walking March, as roads tend to be blocked and circulation is even worse than normal. Also, you may find almost no available parking anywhere near the center of the city.
Nijmegen is probably one of the easiest places in the Netherlands to hitch from. The best spot is just south of the Waal Bridge, on the northbound lane leading to the bridge. You will see a sign saying 'liftershalte' here. This means it's an official hitching spot. Usually it takes anywhere from 1-30 minutes to get a ride.
The city bus company '''Novio''' connect almost every neighbourhood in Nijmegen to the city center. Hermes run buses into the suburbs as well as a few towns outside of the metropolitan area. Forget about using your car unless you're absolutely sure of your driving skills: the city can get extremely clogged up during rush-hour because 6 main roads end up at an infamous roundabout in the middle of the town. Beside this, parking is relatively expensive. Nijmegen is extremely bike-friendly, and the old downtown area is compact (every place in the downtown area can be reached within 20 minutes from the Central Station by foot) Commuter trains serve the neighboorhoods of Lent, Dukenburg and Heyendaal (the campus area), as well as the nearby town of Wijchen.
Nijmegen is the oldest city in the Netherlands, celebrating her 2000th birthday in 2005. The Valkhof Museum, on the Valkhof, has a permanent display of the history of Nijmegen, including artifacts from the Roman era. Additionally, they usually have temporary exhibitions of more and less famous artists. Unfortunately not a whole lot of very old buildings are left in town: first the Americans carpet bombed it in February 1944, later the Germans shelled it for about 5 months after the liberation in September 1944, and finally there were a lot of very rigorous city planners in the 1950's, 60's and 70's who finished what the Americans and Germans started.
There's still a few noteworthy sights, however. Valkhof hill downtown features a '''Carolingian chapel''' (eight, ninth century AD) and a small remainder of an imperial castle that was demolished in 1798. From Valkhof hill walk west through the Burchtstraat. Here you will see, on your left hand, the fifteenth century town hall. If you've finished admiring its exterior (there's nothing of note inside) continue walking west to the '''Grote Markt (Great Market)''' on the north side is a sixteenth-century weighing hall that now serves as a restaurant. On the west side you will see the entrance to the '''St. Stevenskerk courtyard'''. Enter it. On the left is a fifteenth-century Latin school. On the right stands the thirteenth century St. Stevenskerk, the interior of which was destroyed during the Dutch revolution of the sixteenth century. To the north of the church is a series of small seventeenth-century houses that now serve as trinket shops.
Nijmegen has a semi-continental climate, and it's usually together with Venlo and Eindhoven the warmest city of the Netherlands during summer.
Update: on July 19th, 2006 Kalkar (the weather station most representative for Nijmegen) reached a record high of 38.6C. Nijmegen-Dukenburg reached an unofficial high of 38.7C During this heatwave the "Vierdaagse" got cancelled due to 3 deaths caused by extreme heat. 2 of these died during the monday march, number three died that night at the campsite. (source - "De Gelderlander")
{| class="wikitable" style="width: 75%; margin: 0 auto 0 auto;" ! ! Jan ! Feb ! Mar ! Apr ! May ! Jun ! Jul ! Aug ! Sep ! Oct ! Nov ! Dec !Year ! Average daily maximum temperature (__C) ! Average daily minimum temperature (__C) ! Record daily maximum temperature (__C) ! Record daily minimum temperature (__C) ! Mean total rainfall (mm)
Being a student town (roughly 21,000 students in a population of 160,000) there's plenty of relatively '''cheap restaurants''' ("eetcafes") to be found. Look for them in the '''Van Welderenstraat and on Kelfkensbos'''. Fastfood is also widely available in the city center, with two McDonalds', a Burger King and numerous snackbars often offering traditional dutch snacks, but also turkish dishes.
The pizza fan is also well-catered for by a wide range of restaurants. Many though, are specialized in take-away/delivery, and don't offer a very nice eating experience. However, if you like to sit down for a pizza, there are still some nice options. Generally, all pizzas in the restaurants below are under ? 10. Most of the establishments also offer other italian dishes.
If your budget allows it, there's also plenty of opportunity for luxury dining. '''Hoo Wah''' on Plein 1944 serves excellent Asian food (not to be confused with the stuff sold in normal Dutch "Chinese" restaurants). '''Het Savarijn''' in the Hertogstraat offers classy French food and is known for its extensive wine list while Heertjes in the Ridderstraat is the place locals go to when they want to indulge themselves. '''Het Lemke''' in the Lange Hezelstraat offers high quality French cuisine, though it might be a little bit too experimental for some. More up market dining can be found along the Waal river. From the casino, walk west past the terraces and into the old downtown. For up market dining near the university, '''Chalet Brakkenstein''' is well worth a visit. Finally, for more classic french style cuisine in a historic ambiance, try either '''Belvedere''' (the tower) or '''Het Poortwachtershuis''' (the small building west of the museum) west of the Valkhof park. (Please note that for the moment, the '''Belvedere''' is only open to groups with a reservation, due to a lack of cooking staff.). If you're into that sort of thing, in 2008 the Michelin guide has awarded a Bib Gourmand to Het Savarijn, Liberty's (on Kelfkensbos) and Vesters (Groesbeeksedwarsweg 307a). There are no restaurants in Nijmegen that have received Michelin stars.
Finding a place to sleep during the summer festival and the four day's marches is absolutely impossible. Everything will be booked full months in advance. To give you an idea; during these days the population of Nijmegen swells from 160,000 to 1,800,000. It goes to the extent of people needing accommodation because they're walking the marches being taken into private people's homes and sleeping in sporting arena's. However, during the festival many trains and buses run around the clock, giving the opportunity to find a place to stay outside the city. During the rest of the year, however, you should have no problem at all.
The surrounding area of Nijmegen is unique in that it has to offer almost every landscape type available in the Netherlands. Rent a bicycle and start exploring the river landscape of the Ooijpolder to the northeast, the forested hills around Groesbeek to the east, the drier heath landscape to the south or, if you insist, the typically Dutch flat lowlands to the west. If you're interested in cities, pay a visit to 's Hertogenbosch or Zutphen (both between 30 min / 45 min by train) which have city centres far better preserved than that of Nijmegen itself.
During World War Two, the 82nd Airborne Division landed near Groesbeek as part of Operation Market Garden. Groesbeek has one of Canada's war cemeteries, called '''Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery'''. The Cemetery is a short drive out of Groesbeek.