Rotterdam is Europe's biggest port and the Netherlands' most modern-looking city: the centre was bombed on 14 May 1940 and rebuilt in steel and glass, so the draw is architecture, the river and the harbour rather than old canals. The Netherlands page already covers the Markthal, the Cube Houses and the waterbus to Kinderdijk.
The Maas splits the city. North of it are the centre, the Museumpark with Depot Boijmans, the Euromast and old Delfshaven. Across the Erasmus Bridge, the Kop van Zuid and the Wilhelminapier hold the old Holland America Line terminal, and beyond the Rijnhaven, Katendrecht has the Fenix migration museum and the SS Rotterdam.
Boats tie it together: harbour tours, water taxis and the waterbus up the river.
A 1960 tower by the river, with a deck at 96 metres and a rotating glass lift that climbs to 185 for the whole port.
What it is
Hugh Maaskant designed the Euromast for the 1960 Floriade, and it has been a listed monument since 2010. Its crow's nest deck sits 96 metres above the ground, with a restaurant; the Euroscoop, a rotating glass-floored lift, then climbs the spire to 185 metres for a 360-degree view over the river and the port. From May to September you can abseil down from 100 metres.
How to do it
It stands at Parkhaven 20, at the edge of the Park by the Maas, a walk west from the centre. It opens daily from 9:30 to 22:00. Deck plus Euroscoop starts at €23.50; the abseil costs €73.50.
Good to know
The Euroscoop stops in bad weather, so go on a clear day and keep an eye on the wind. Sunset and the lit-up skyline afterwards are the best of it.
Take the Spido harbour tour from the foot of the Erasmus Bridge
Willemsplein
75 minutesGo alone or with a tour
Seventy-five minutes on the Maas past the bridges, the old liner piers and the shipyards of Europe's biggest port.
What it is
Spido runs harbour trips from the foot of the Erasmus Bridge all year. The standard tour sails the Nieuwe Maas and the city harbours for 75 minutes, past the Erasmus Bridge, the Wilhelminapier skyline and the working docks.
How to do it
Boats leave from Willemsplein 85. In spring 2026 they sailed daily about every 45 minutes from 9:30 to 17:00, with fewer departures in winter. Adults pay €18.75 and children €10.55. The Willemsplein tram stop has closed, so take the metro or tram 3 or 5 to Leuvehaven and walk.
Good to know
This tour stays in the city; for the container terminals out at sea, Spido runs a separate Portlantis Experience trip. Sit outside on the upper deck if the weather allows.
The world's first art storage building open to the public: a mirrored bowl where you see the stored collection, and a birch-planted roof.
What it is
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen built the Depot, designed by MVRDV, as the first publicly accessible art storage facility in the world. Inside, the collection hangs and stands in storage compartments, with restorers at work, rather than in exhibition rooms. While the main museum building next door is closed for renovation, this is the way to see the collection. The general ticket includes the roof with its view over the city.
How to do it
It is at Museumpark 24, near Eendrachtsplein metro and a walk from Rotterdam Centraal. It opens Tuesday to Sunday from 11:00 to 17:00, and tickets are sold only online. From Thursday to Saturday a separate evening ticket gives the roof alone after 17:15.
Good to know
The roof terrace closes in bad weather. Outside food and drink are not allowed on it.
See Fenix, the migration museum in a Holland America warehouse
Katendrecht
At least 90 minutesBook ahead
An art museum about migration in an old Holland America Line warehouse, on the Katendrecht quays of departure and arrival.
What it is
The long warehouse on Katendrecht was built as the San Francisco warehouse for the Holland America Line; rebuilt after war damage, it was renamed Fenix I and II in 1954 and stood empty after port work moved west in the 1980s. It now houses Fenix, an art museum about migration, with its exhibitions and the Tornado, built to give a new view of Rotterdam.
How to do it
It opens Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 17:00, plus public holidays and Mondays in school holidays. A visit with the Tornado takes at least 90 minutes, and online time slots stop at 15:30. The museum's 75-minute walk through Katendrecht runs in English on Saturdays at 11:00 and costs €17.50.
Good to know
Cross the Rijnhaven bridge from the Wilhelminapier or take the water taxi. Closed on Mondays outside school holidays.
Walk the old harbour of Delfshaven, where the Pilgrims sailed from
Delfshaven
1.5 to 2 hoursFree
The corner of Rotterdam the 1940 bombing missed: gabled houses on a harbour, a Gothic church and a working windmill.
What it is
Delfshaven was Delft's port and a town of its own until 1886. It escaped the bombing of 14 May 1940, so its quays still show the old Rotterdam of herring fishers and gin distillers. In 1620 the Pilgrims left from here for England on the Speedwell, and the Old or Pilgrim Fathers Church, a Gothic church on the Aelbrechtskolk, keeps their memory. At Voorhaven 210, De Distilleerketel, one of the largest windmills in the country, grinds grain and runs a mill shop.
How to do it
Take the metro to Delfshaven station and walk south to the harbour, or come along the river from the Euromast.
Good to know
The church is still used by its congregation and opens to visitors only on occasion; check rotterdam.info before you count on going inside.
Ride a water taxi to Hotel New York on the Wilhelminapier
Hotel New York
15 minutes per rideNo booking needed
Rotterdam's fast little boats are public transport: hop on at a jetty and skim across the Maas to the old liner terminal.
What it is
Watertaxi Rotterdam runs eight- and twelve-seat boats on call across the river and the old harbours, with fixed per-person fares in three zones. Its home berth, stop 44, is beside Hotel New York, the former head office of the Holland America Line at the tip of the Wilhelminapier, now a hotel and restaurant.
How to do it
Book a ride in the Watertaxi app, on its website or by phone, or catch the scheduled ferry between Hotel New York and Leuvehaven, which leaves on the hour and half hour. A day pass costs €12.50, half for children; single fares are a few euros.
Good to know
At weekends the Parklijn links Katendrecht, Hotel New York and the Parkkade by the Euromast. Fares change, so check them in the app.
Rotterdam's zoo, which calls itself the most visited in the Netherlands, with the Oceanium for life under the sea.
What it is
Diergaarde Blijdorp is Rotterdam's zoo, in the north of the city, and its Oceanium, opened in 2001, is the underwater part with the big sea aquariums. Between the two it fills a full day with children.
How to do it
It opens every day from 9:00, until 17:00 in winter and 18:00 in summer. Prices vary by day across four price levels, so buy online; a flexible ticket valid for a year lets you choose the day later. Parking must be booked online in advance.
Good to know
School holidays and sunny weekends are the busiest days. Start with the Oceanium before the crowds reach it.
Tour the SS Rotterdam, the liner moored at Katendrecht
Katendrecht
1.5 to 2 hoursBook ahead
The Holland America Line's 1959 flagship, now a hotel, with guided tours from its 1950s lounges down to the engine room.
What it is
The SS Rotterdam was christened by Queen Juliana and left on her maiden voyage on 3 September 1959 as the Holland America Line's flagship. She sailed until 2000 and, after restoration, came home to Rotterdam, where she is now permanently moored as a hotel, restaurant and museum at 3e Katendrechtsehoofd 25.
How to do it
The general guided tour lasts about an hour and a half; the Rotterdam City Card lists it daily between 10:00 and 17:00, last start 15:30, at a discount. On Saturdays a longer tour of about two hours goes into the engine room and steering gear room.
Good to know
The engine room tour is not suitable for wheelchair users. Check times on the ship's own site before you go.
Eat Dutch cheese, stroopwafels and fresh fish under a giant painted ceiling of fruit, fish and flowers inside a horseshoe of apartments.
What it is
The Markthal is a covered market next to Blaak station, opened in 2014, and the ceiling is Arno Coenen's enormous mural Horn of Plenty. The ground floor is food stalls and shops, with dishes from half the world too; there are restaurants with their own entrances along the long sides.
How to do it
It opens every day, from 10:00 to 20:00 most days and until 21:00 on Fridays, with shorter Sunday hours. Blaak station, served by train, metro and tram, is right outside, and there is a 1,100-space car park underneath.
Good to know
Walk in, then step back out to see the arch and the Cube Houses across the road.
Stand in a living room with walls leaning outwards and windows looking at the street below your feet.
What it is
The Kubuswoningen are Piet Blom's cube houses, tipped 45 degrees onto concrete poles and joined into a 'forest' over the road at Blaak, finished in 1984. They are private homes, but one, the Kijk-Kubus at Overblaak 70, is furnished as a show house and open daily for a small fee, 3.50 euros at standard rate.
How to do it
Go inside: the photos from below make sense only once you have stood there. The visit takes half an hour at most. The walkway through the middle is public; the Markthal is across the street and Blaak station is next door.
Good to know
The larger cube at the end is a hostel if you want to sleep in one.
Hidden gems suggested by travellers. We check each one before it goes up; the words are theirs, not ours.
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Plan your trip
Getting there
Rotterdam Centraal has fast trains from Amsterdam, Schiphol and The Hague, and international trains from Brussels and Paris. Rotterdam The Hague Airport is just north of the city.
Getting around
Metro and trams cover the city; Leuvehaven, Beurs and Blaak are the useful central stops. Water taxis and the waterbus cross the river. The centre is flat and good for walking or a hired bike, with the Erasmus Bridge as the link south.
How many days
In must30's view, two: one north of the river (Markthal, Cube Houses, Depot Boijmans, the Euromast, Delfshaven) and one south (a harbour tour, the Wilhelminapier, Fenix and the SS Rotterdam). Add a day for Kinderdijk or Delft.
When to go
Any time of year: most sights are indoors or on boats that run all year. Summer brings outdoor festivals and the abseil at the Euromast, which runs May to September. Several museums close on Mondays.
Where to base yourself
The centre around Blaak and the Markthal for walking; the Wilhelminapier or Katendrecht for river views and restaurants; or the SS Rotterdam, which is a hotel.
Questions travellers ask
Is Rotterdam worth visiting from Amsterdam?
Yes, for modern architecture, the river and the port, which feel nothing like Amsterdam. Fast trains take about 40 minutes. One day covers the Markthal, Cube Houses, the Euromast and a harbour tour.
How high is the Euromast?
The deck is at 96 metres, and the Euroscoop glass lift climbs the spire to 185 metres. From May to September you can abseil from 100 metres.
Can you visit Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen?
The main museum is closed for renovation, but the Depot next door shows the collection in an open art store, Tuesday to Sunday from 11:00 to 17:00. Tickets are sold online only.
How does the Rotterdam water taxi work?
Book a boat in the app, on the website or by phone, and pay a fixed fare per person by zone. There is also a scheduled ferry between Hotel New York and Leuvehaven every half hour, and a day pass.
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