Food,  Guides,  Netherlands

Visit Rotterdam: What to Do & Eat

Updated February 20th, 2020

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There is rarely a destination I travel to that I am ready to leave at the end of my trip. My time in Rotterdam was no different. My three days in Rotterdam flew by and there was so much more left to see. You must visit Rotterdam! 

A great way to save money in the city is with the Rotterdam Welcome Card, which gives you free transportation and discounts on activities for the number of days you choose (1, 2, or 3). All the attractions below with an asterisk (*) have a discount if you use the card. The card can be bought at the tourist center which has a little, free museum in the basement. No toilets at the visitor center, but I followed the advice of the friendly worker who told me I could go to the connecting restaurant and ask to use theirs.

If you are planning on traveling more around the country you may want to look into the Holland Pass, which gives discounts and free entrance to over 100 attractions and museums.

Why You Should Visit Rotterdam

Most people just go to Amsterdam when they go to the Netherlands, but there are so many reasons why you should visit Rotterdam. I think I was instantly drawn towards Rotterdam because of:

1. The Architecture

Unlike most other European cities that have a similar old town city center, Rotterdam was bombed in WWII and almost completely destroyed. Instead of rebuilding in the same way, it has taken the opportunity to rebuild unique and modern architecture. The variety of architecture here was a nice change from my neighborhood in Moscow that is one tall white block apartment building after another.

Rotterdam Free Tour

I always do a free tour in any city I visit. It is the most economical way to get a feel of the city while also getting some insider information. I always recommend doing it the first morning you are in a new city. There are a couple of options for free tours in Rotterdam, but I went with Frank’s Tours Rotterdam. The tour is sadly no longer available 🙁 Free Walking Tour Rotterdam is another option you can try. 

Throughout my tour we were shown many of the impressive buildings of Rotterdam and some of their innovative projects like this crowd funded bridge. It is a pedestrian bridge that connects three areas of the city over railways and roads. It links several public projects such as a vegetable garden. For 25 euros you could support the project and have your name on one of the yellow, wooden planks. We also saw the life-size statue of Rigardus Rijnhout, the 2nd tallest man in Dutch history. 

If you have a particular interest in architecture, you can take a architecture tour that focuses just on that aspect of the city.

Cube Houses*

The cube houses are an interesting example that you should definitely take a look at and possibly visit inside. There are 38 cube houses, with one set up as a model home for anyone to visit. 

The houses are tilted at a 45 degree angle. I toured the inside of the model house to get a feel of the angle from inside and see how the furniture fits. About 25% of the space is unusable because of the angle and it is difficult to get furniture to fit the houses.

I don’t think it is necessary to visit the inside, it is just as interesting to look from the outside. There are two large cube houses as well. If you wanted an even better feel of what the cube houses are like you can stay in one at the StayOkay Hostel. I just don’t think I would like to live in one with tourists taking pictures everyday. Celebrities at least have a long driveway and a gate blocking gawkers!

Euromast*

The Euromast, a 341 ft observation tower, has an observation deck, restaurant and hotel. A rotating glass elevator takes you to the top for magnificent 360 views of the city.

You can even go abseiling from the top of the tower! It takes about 15 minutes to do the vertical rope climb down the tower. Although they call it tuning, tugging or strumming, you can do what I know as ziplining, from the top too. I will have to come back to Rotterdam for one of those exciting challenges!

The Euromast in the distance from a park where some people were zorbing. I think that is what it is called!
Historic Delfshaven

This is one of the only areas of the city that survived the 1940 bombing and thus a very quaint neighborhood within the overall modern Rotterdam. Although there are some restaurants, I found Delfshaven very peaceful when I took an evening walk around the area. A good opportunity to see a windmill, which the Dutch are so known for.

2. The Waterfront

Erasmus Bridge

Like many sights in Rotterdam, this could be a site to visit for its unique architecture or its waterfront location. 

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The Floating Forest

Another innovative project in Rotterdam is the floating forest, a collection of 20 trees directly on the water, to make the city greener.

Spido Cruise*

You can take a normal cruise down the river on the Spido….

Pancake Cruise*

….or you can take a Pancake cruise. Is there really any decision making needed to make that choice? I of course went with the all you can eat in 75 minutes pancake cruise.

There is a choice of plain, apple and bacon pancakes. Then you can add as many toppings as you want from the buffet. I succeeded with my goal of trying each kind of pancake.

Of course as you are stuffing yourself with pancakes you can enjoy the views along the river as well.

Drinks (even water) are not included. There are toilets onboard. Basically across the street from the dock of the Pancake Cruise is the Euromast.

Maritime Museum*

I didn’t get a chance to visit inside, but I did see some of the historical ships located in the waterfront area around the Maritime Museum. Looked intriguing for anyone interested in the seafaring world.

3.Food

Markthal

The Markthal fits under the architecture category just as well. The building itself holds apartment buildings. The windows on the fruit painted ceiling go directly into people’s apartments. The outer windows are also from the individual apartments.

Ceiling windows going into people’s apartments inside the market hall.

Within the part of the building open to the public is a marketplace that put me in happy place as I wandered around all the food stalls and tried as many samples as possible.

You can’t come to the Netherlands without having stroopwafels, thin waffles with syrupy, sugary goodness on the inside. These things almost started a fight one Christmas when another family member won them over me. They are that good. 

Stroopwafels keep well and there is so much to try at the market, so take them back home and try all the other delicious food when you are at the market. 

The only downside of the market is that you need to pay one euro for using the toilets. You receive a voucher for .50 euros off at selected food vendors.

You can take a behind the scenes tour of the Markthal, the cube houses and receive a ticket to the giant wheel. The giant wheel wasn’t even there when I visited last year. It shows how quickly this city is growing. So visit Rotterdam soon before it becomes too popular!

Fenix Food Factory

This market was recommended by Frank of Frank’s Tours as preferable to the Markthal and visited more by locals. Whereas the Markthal had more of an artsy, modern and touristy vibe, the Fenix Food Factory feels more local and hipster. Written food items are in Dutch more so then in the Markthal, but everyone speaks English and will help you out. There wasn’t quite as many options, but more seating is available to eat food there instead of take-away like at the Markthall. There are free toilets though!

I had some sort of date cake at my blogging conference from Jordy’s Bakery, which is in Fenix Food Factory. It didn’t even sound that appealing, but it gave me a whole new appreciation to the power of dates!

Hotel New York

Not only is it a hotel and restaurant, it was the former head office of the Holland Amerika Line. Along the water in front of the hotel is a piece of artwork showcasing luggage to pay tribute to the thousands of emigrants that left Rotterdam for North America. I only explored on the outside of the hotel, but I heard several recommendations to eat at the restaurant that has an extensive menu and unique atmosphere. I mean the hotel has its own patisserie with a dedicated cake menu. What was I thinking missing out on that!?

Where to Stay When You Visit Rotterdam

I was very happy with my stay at the Days Inn Rotterdam City Centre. I arrived late in the evening, so it was perfect that it was walking distance from the central train station. The streets felt dark walking from the station, but there were people around and I felt safe. It is a little farther from the main areas of the city. The markthal is about a 20 minute walk away and the Erasmusburg is about a 30 minute walk. Right outside the hotel on the same block is a tram stop that can get you close to most places you want to go.

The rooms are nice and modern and there is a hot breakfast buffet.

How to Get There & How to Get Around

Rotterdam is very easy to reach from Amsterdam and just as easy to get around in. Read my full post on how to get to Rotterdam and how to get around once there here.

 


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