Things To Do In Rotterdam

We drew the Google Map of Rotterdam attractions that we visited. We like to share it with you so you can easily navigate and plan your Rotterdam trip.

1 – Market Hall (Markthal)

As we were turning around the enormous square at the underground Blaak metro station, it was impossible not to notice the Market Hall. Many European cities have street food concepts, and Rotterdam is no exception. We admit that this one is the most beautiful we have ever seen compared to Copenhagen, London, Oslo, Stockholm, and many other cities we visited in the past.

The building is extraordinary and designed with an upside-down U-letter-shaped archway using concrete and glass materials combined. Huge square glass elements cover the sides of the building. It looks like entering some shopping mall. The Interior is as much impressive as the exterior. The inside curved wall is a mirror-like painted wall with abstract motives combined with fruit, vegetable, and colorful butterfly elements. It is impressive, to say at least.

As we entered and after a few wow look at the walls, the smell inside returned us to the main reasons for the hall’s existence. Many tightly packed serving places try to compete and attract food lovers to taste their cuisine, dishes, or drinks. It was the worlds cuisines paradise such as sandwiches, Spanish tapas bar, Turkish Gozleme (Gözleme), Local croquette (krokets in Dutch), Indonesian satays, Fish & Chips, Latino soul food, Pork ribs, Japanese curry & ramen dishes, Andalus specials, Greek gyros, Italian panzerotti, Chinese dim sums, and more.

It was time to go back and see inside the Cube houses.

2 – Cube Houses (Kijk-Kubus)

As soon as we exited the underground Blaak metro station, we were on the big open square. People, vehicles, public transport, and many buildings filled this open space. The usual city buzz, but what was unusual was the unique yellow cubes (Kijk-Kubus in Dutch) with black roofs. The cubes were angled 45 degrees, extruded one from another, and laid out in the array. It is an unusually shaped living space, but a clever connection between a big square and a small port separated by the cubes.

However, before we walked inside, we noticed a Market Hall. After experiencing the food journey, we returned to discover the passage with the yellow house around us. It was interesting to find different shapes of blue sky framed by the cube houses’ edges and lines.

On the other side of the passage was a beautiful view over an old port, with many old boats, a red bridge, restaurants over the water, and the White House (Witte Huis in Dutch) skyscraper from the past.

3 – White House (Witte Huis)

White House (Witte Huis in Dutch) lived through many tests of time since the construction year 1898. During the WWII bombardment, the building was one of the few buildings staying miraculously almost intact while the Luftwaffe leveled the ground the rest of the city. It was the highest building in Europe and is considered the first skyscraper with 43 m (141 ft) height and ten floors.

It is in the charming ambiance of the Old Port (Oudehaven in Dutch), with many old boats gently swaying on the water. You can sit in the many restaurants and summer gardens with a fantastic view over the building around the port.

High-rounded turrets and artistic ornaments over the windows are just a few design elements of Art Nouveau (Jugendstil in German) architecture design. It was a predominant architectural style of the building.

4 – Wijn Port (Wijnhaven)

A couple of hundred meters from the White House (Witte Huis in Dutch) is a Wijn Port, a modern office district and up-and-coming Maritime District. Due to the short distance, it is possible to compare modern glass, steel, and concrete designs with old American-inspired office designs at the White House (Witte Huis).

5 – St. Lawrence Church (Laurenskerk)

We passed the Market Hall (Markthal) once more on our way to St. Lawrence Church (Laurenskerk). It is a Gothic building built between 1449 and 1525. During the summer season, from March to November, visitors can climb the tower with a guide every Wednesday (14:00) and Saturday (12:00 and 13:00), providing you manage the three hundred steps to the top.

A 5-6 minute walk from the church is our next attraction on the list, Rotterdam City Hall.

6 – City Hall Rotterdam

City Hall Rotterdam is a historical building and another one beside the White House that survived the WWII bombing on May 14, 1940. Let us describe the hall with yellow building blocks with a gray roof, a 71 m (233 ft) high clock tower behind, a green wall and a small roof with a clock on the side, and a gold statue depicting an angel placed at the top.

7 – World Trade Center

Another 5-6 minutes walk from City Hall is the sunken shopping passage Koopgoot. A spot for taking interesting photos of the World Trade Center and what some call the “shopping gutter”.

It is time to go back to the subway and take it to the next attraction Depot – A Giant Mirror (Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen).

8 – Depot – A Giant Mirror (Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen)

Depot is an art museum noted for its collection of Dutch and Flemish works of art. The building design is art in itself. As we can see in the photo, this is a new, modern, burrel-shaped, and mirror-shine building with a green garden on the roof.

The art collection in Depot.

9 – Euromast Observation Tower

Euromast was TV Tower originally built in 1958 and 1960 when TV stations needed such structures. Modern technology made TV towers obsolete, but many countries and cities changed the towers into observation towers, restaurants with fantastic views, and even small hotels.

With a height of 185 meters (607 ft) and a 360-view observation deck, the view is magnificent.

10 – Het Park

Next to the Euromast observation tower is Het Park, a nice place to chill out and relax after visiting many of these beautiful attractions and recharge the batteries to move on.

11 – Delfshaven

We were on the subway again on the way to Delfshaven. Delfshaven is a historical district of Rotterdam. It is known for its old buildings, cobblestone streets, architectural monuments, numerous lively cafes, bars, restaurants, galleries, and a windmill at the end of the stroll. Once was a harbor settlement, but today is a walking tour around the area on the right bank of Nieuwe Maas River.

Many narrow tall brick buildings with nice eye-striking white decoration blocks around the windows and roof edges add to the charming and relaxed atmosphere of Delfshaven. We followed the channel until the end at the windmill.

The Distiller Kettle Windmill (De Distilleerketel)

1727 was a building year for this beautiful mill, and it ground the malt for distilleries. It has a cylindrical tower 10 meters (32,8 ft) high made of stone, and the shape resembles a kettle. Therefore the name The Distiller Kettle Windmill. As you can see in the photo, she is a very photogenic ‘lady’.

12 – Central Station (Centraal Station)

Central Station is the main railway station of Rotterdam. It is an iconic meeting point and transportation terminal.

13 – Erasmus bridge

Erasmus Bridge is a combined cable-stayed and bascule bridge connecting the north and south parts of the city over the Nieuwe Maas River. It is a location to end the day for night cityscape photographs. During the day is a chance to take fabulous city architecture photos of the bridge, surrounding buildings, and the river.

Construction began in 1986 and finished in 1996. The bridge is 802 meters (2,631 feet) long and has a 139-meter (456 ft) asymmetrical bent pylon with an eye-catching horizontal base.

The Erasmus Bridge construction material was light-blue steel, with its one-armed pylon jutting out high into the sky and throwing 40 steel cables across the water. The bridge has earned the nickname “The Swan” due to its striking design.

14 – Kop van Zuid

Kop van Zuid is a neighborhood in Rotterdam, located on the south bank of the Nieuwe Maas River opposite the center of town.

De Rotterdam

De Rotterdam includes three interconnected towers that accommodate offices, apartments, a hotel, conference facilities, shops, and parking facilities.

Hotel New York

The nostalgic building symbolizes the departure of many emigrants with hope and ambition for a new life in America.

15 – Rotterdam Harbor

Rotterdam Harbor is the largest seaport in Europe and one of the largest in the world. It is known for its unique geographical location that allows the largest ships in the world to enter the harbor directly from the sea. The port is linked to the North Sea by a canal called the New Waterway.

16 – Feyenoord – De Kuip Stadion

The Netherlands is a country of football and the most popular sport by far. Feyenoord is one of the most famous football clubs in the Netherlands. The club plays in a stadium capacity of 51 177 spectators by the name De Kuip in Dutch (or the tub in English).

So if you like to watch football visit the stadium and watching the game is a nice spent time in the evening.

Future Wish List

Rotterdam is a vibrant city we would be happy to return and visit it at least once again. So we continue to research new events, places, and reasons to return that we would like to share with you.

17 – Grote Markt at Blaak Rotterdam (The big market)

This colorful street market is every Tuesday and Saturday in front of the Market Hall (Markthal). We visited Rotterdam on Monday, so we will keep it in mind to be either on Tuesday or Saturday on our next visit to Rotterdam.

18 – Rotterdam Street Art

Rotterdam has rich street art culture. We will write a separate article about street art in Rotterdam soon.

19 – Walk the Luchtsingel

We did not have time to walk this yellow elevated pedestrian pathway and snap a few interesting photos, but we found a few in the Rotterdam image banks.

Places Nearby Rotterdam

In the vicinity of Rotterdam are many unique, cool, and exciting places. We picked three to visit and share with you. All suggestions were part of our The Netherlands: Epic 10 Days for Perfect Itinerary Road Trip with Maps.

20 – The Windmills at Kinderdijk

The Kinderdijk Windmills are a group of 19 windmills near the village of Kinderdijk. They were built in the 18th century to help manage water levels in the area. Because the Kinderdijk area is below sea level and prone to flooding. Although both Zaanse Schans and Kinderdijk are world-renowned windmills locations, the reasons for their building and existence are very different.

21 – Beaches near Rotterdam (Ouddorp)

For some beach time, take the metro line to Hoek van Holland, Ouddorp, or the Brouwersdam. The Brouwserdam and Ouddorp take longer to get to with public transport but are much quieter beaches.

Since we were on a road trip through The Netherlands and Europe, we came to Ouddorp Beach by car, which is very convenient since there is a huge parking lot near the beach.

22 – De Haar Castle (Kasteel de Haar)

Before coming to Rotterdam, we visited De Haar Castle which is  45-minute drive northeast of the city (50 km, 31 mi). De Haar Castle is the largest castle in the Netherlands, located just outside Utrecht. The castle was rebuilt in the 19th century and its walls hide extravagant history and flamboyant lifestyle of the castle’s owners, especially in the 1950s.

Getting Around in Rotterdam

Rotterdam has a vast public transport network. We drew a Google Map of all the Rotterdam attractions we visited so you can plan your own tour.

By metro:

Rotterdam has five metro lines each labeled with the letter A-E and color. The main hub station is Beurs, where all the lines cross.

We had great support at the metro station to buy our ticket (ov-chipkaart in Dutch) from the gentleman there. We took one day ticket for € 9.00 per person. He was even nice to explain to us the P + R ticket option if we parked the car at the metro station.

However, we had to admit no air-conditioning in the vehicles. Norwegian high standard of living probably spoiled us.

By bicycle:

Dutch people like to ride bicycles, so Rotterdam is no exception, with its 600 km (372 mi) bicycle tracks available. However, the bicyclists’ number is comparatively less than in Amsterdam.

Personally, that is a bonus in our opinion since it is less stressful to walk around as pedestrians. There are plenty of rental companies if you do not have your bike. Even some hotels in Rotterdam have rent bicycle offers.

By foot:

Rotterdam is pedestrian friendly around Blaak station. In the Delfshaven neighborhood, we experienced construction work, so that was a challenge to walk around.

By water taxi:

If you want to cross the river, the exciting option is to take a water taxi service.

Line 21 from Erasmus Bridge can take you directly to Kinderdijk Windmills. It takes between 30-40 minutes one way.

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By bus:

The RET is the main bus transportation provider in Rotterdam.

We did not need to use the bus on our visit, so no personal experience with that.

By train:

Rotterdam is well connected with intercity trains from all over the Netherlands. Rotterdam Central Railway Station building is a masterpiece as well.

By car:

We came to Rotterdam by car and parked at the hotel. Then we switched to public transport, mainly the subway.

In addition, please note that in The Netherlands, there are ecological driving rules with a restricted speed limit. The daytime (06:00-19:00 h) speed limit has been restricted to 100 km/h (62 mph), while the general speed limit on motorways is 130 km/h (80 mph).

Another option is the P + R offer for transporting within Rotterdam.

By airplane:

Many international operators have flights from/to Rotterdam The Hague Airport. Take Bus Line 33 from the airport to the Central Station (20-25 minutes ride). Another option is to take Bus 33 to Meijersplein station and switch to the Metro E line.

By boat (ferry):

Rotterdam can be reached from England via the ferry.

Where to stay in Rotterdam?

We stayed at Novotel Rotterdam Brainpark, with a short distance from the subway station and not too far from the highway since we arrived by car. The room was tidy, with a big king bed and a nice view over the Rotterdam. The hotel reception was smooth services. To exit the parking, you must ask for a parking card for the gate reader. We skipped the offer for breakfast since it was too expensive. All in all, we were satisfied with the location, room, service, etc.

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Rotterdam’s Restaurants and Cafes you have to see!

Market Hall (Markthal in Dutch) is an affordable option for everyone’s taste. We didn’t have time to visit other restaurants throughout the city, so we cannot recommend any from personal experience.

Best time to visit Rotterdam

Rotterdam is an all-year-round visiting spot. Although most tourists like to travel during the summer, when the weather is nice, warm, and sunny. So no wonder June, July, and August are the best months for a Rotterdam visit.

We heard the New Year’s fireworks event from Erasmus Bridge is worth seeing, so a Christmas-time visit can be an idea to think about.

After some research, we found that one event that we could single out considering returning to Rotterdam again is King’s Day, the 27th of April. We found that many people dress in orange. Dutch flags and orange colors cover restaurants, bars, and streets. Royal Family’s Walk has an exciting route throughout the main attractions in the city.

We visited Rotterdam in mid-July on a sunny summer day.

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Costs of traveling in Rotterdam

We created an estimated budget that will help you to have finances in control.

USD ($) – Budget

EUR (€) – Budget

GBP (£) – Budget

We drew a Google Map of all places visited in The Netherlands on our road trip. This will help you plan your own trip to both Rotterdam and The Netherlands.

We wish you an epic trip!