Many people visiting the Netherlands are completely unaware of how brilliant Rotterdam is. Amsterdam steals the limelight again and again with its old buildings, rather canals, and party reputation.

Rotterdam is normally ignored, seen as the less thrilling little sister town. This couldn’t be further from the reality and for me, Rotterdam is among the finest cities in holland! Here you can find what are the best things to see and do in Rotterdam for a day.

Central Station

You will most likely arrive in Rotterdam at the Centraal Station, the main railway station in the town. Circumstances of the art building, it was originally produced in 1957. Recently it is entirely overhauled into an ultra-modern design and style that will give you a concept of what things to expect of 1 of the coolest cities in Europe. The brand new station set up was officially opened up in 2014.

Centraal Station may be the sole railway station in The Netherlands never to have the name of the metropolis – it’s simply Centraal Station. When it was built it was determined that it didn’t require it, as if you are in Rotterdam, you understand you happen to be in Rotterdam.

Rotterdam Attractions

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There is a little Tourist Information booth in the key hall of Centraal Station, which means this is a great destination to get maps or other city information before you begin exploring.

You can also choose the Rotterdam Welcome Cards here in the event that you haven’t ordered one in advance. It gives you discount rates to attractions, museums, as well as cafes, pubs, and restaurants. Looked after includes a travel move for unlimited travel. A 1 day Welcome Card is €12.

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Erasmusbrug

The Erasmusbrug or Erasmus Bridge links the northern and southern parts of Rotterdam. It’s an 800-meter very long suspension bridge with a pylon that is 139 meters large and it’s secured by 40 cables. It’s the shape of the pylon that has offered the bridge the nickname of ‘The Swan’.

It has become an icon of the town, so it is crucial on your list of what things to see found in Rotterdam in a single day. Cross it by walking to get the total scale of it and you will also get some good wonderful angles for your photos.

Photo by Harold Wijnholds on Unsplash

Historic Delfshaven

Rotterdam was just about destroyed found in WWII, which implies that the historic center has disappeared. This has given the city the possibility to reinvent itself, which has been done in an amazing way, nonetheless, it means that the older Rotterdam is no more there. Or is normally it…?

Delfshaven was at the first part of the location of Delft, 6 miles inland, as Delft had not been located by a significant river. But in time, it was annexed to Rotterdam. It really is mostly of the areas of the town that survived the 1940 bombing, so that it gives you an idea of what Rotterdam appeared as if before the war.

It was the departure point that the Pilgrim Fathers sailed to America. Oude Kirk (or Pelgrimvaderskerk) was where in fact the last sermon was presented before they set sail to the brand new World. You can travel to the church on Fridays and Saturdays.

De Markthal

Whenever I go to a new destination, I usually try and visit local industry, and Rotterdam was of course not any exception. Markthal was built in 2014 to replace the original open-air market, so it’s pretty new, nonetheless, it is a market with a difference.

It’s not only a bit of striking architecture, it is also innovative, combining the utilization of the market with luxury apartments. The horseshoe condition that works as a cover for this exciting market contains 228 apartments.

Once you are inside, you can be wowed by the ‘world’s largest painting’. The artwork that addresses the ceiling is named the ‘Horn of Lots’. Some people make reference to the Markthal as the Dutch type of the Sistine Chapel, and you may see why once you walk in.

But let’s speak about the food now. In De Markthal you could find over 100 food stalls that include classic Rotterdam and Dutch meals together with fish, sweets, charcuterie, ice cream and a lot of other delightful options from worldwide.

And if you want to know more about the ancient background of the town, there can be an exhibition in the underground car park of archeological items from medieval Rotterdam, which were on the site through the market’s structure. The exhibition is absolved to view.

To make almost all of the marketplace, you could incorporate it right into a foodstuff tour of the city.

SS Rotterdam

The SS Rotterdam is a former flagship of the Holland-America Line. It’s the most important ocean-going steamer built in The Netherlands and has sailed around the world since 1959.

The ship is currently permanently moored in the Katendrecht peninsula and features have been lovingly restored keeping its unique 1950s interior and artwork. The ship is now a hotel, with areas that offer all the facilities of a normal resort with the novelty to be on a historic ship.

The restaurants and general areas on the ship are available to the public, and you could also take guided or audio tours that let you know what existence used to be like on board.

Cube Houses (or perhaps Kijk-Kubus)

The Cube Houses are incredibly likely to cause you to stop to try to understand what is certainly going on here. One thing that found my mind when I saw them was the term ‘bonkers’, because my brain kept showing me that it simply just didn’t make sense.

The Cube Houses, generally known as Tree Houses, were created by Dutch architect Piet Blom. He crafted them with a forest at heart, and if you seem at them, so as to the residences or cubes resemble the most notable of a tree, the canopy, which happens to be propped up on concrete poles which will make up the trunks.

Consequently, when you look at the whole complex, you will see that it really is a forest.

Photo by Richard Ciraulo on Unsplash

The outside is quite striking using its geometric shapes and its own bright yellow panels, and you may walk through this ‘forest’ and imagine what it’s preferred to live there. But to obtain a better notion of what the properties are like, I would suggest visiting among the residences inside.

The Kijk-Kubus features have been created so people can enjoy what it would be like to are in among these houses. It can take a bit of getting used to, but there is in fact quite a big liveable space in them. The only thing is definitely that with walls at such odd angles, you’ll need to have your furniture designed to measure.

The Kijk-Kubus is open each day from 11 am to 5 pm and the access fee is €3.

Among the Cube Homes is a good hostel, so you might stay found in one of these overnight if you’d like to encounter what it’s like to wake up in place with wonky walls.

Here you can find a very cool bike tour which bring you to the Kubus House and very nice other places of downtown Rotterdam.

Fenix Food Factory

The Fenix Meals Factory is an indoor marketplace for fresh food located in the Fenixloods, a former quayside warehouse in Katendrecht. You can discover a great selection of artisanal food and drink in this article – the bread is freshly baked and the coffee is normally roasted and beer brewed on a webpage.

A few of the highlights are Jordy’s Bakery, selling scrumptious artisan bread, Stielman Koffiebranders, who pride themselves found in bringing the coffee straight from the farmer to the drinker, and Stroop Rotterdam, the go-to place in the town for the best & most exciting flavours of stroopwafel (try the lavender or perhaps the Indonesian spices ones!).

Fenix Foodstuff Factory is start from 10am to 7pm Tues-Thurs, 10am-8pm on Fridays, 10am-6pm on Saturdays and 12pm-6pm on Sundays. It is closed on Mondays.

Euromast

f you enjoy pretty views from up high, then viewing the Euromast observation tower is a must. At 185 metres large, the observation deck offers you a 360-degree look at over Rotterdam and its own surroundings.

When I gone up the elements wasn’t great, so I didn’t anticipate the views to become that great. Nevertheless, despite it being grey and rainy, the views had been pretty very clear and you could discover really far.

Using one side you have the city, with The Park directly below the Euromast and the Erasmusbrug in the distance, and the port on the contrary side, using its impressive architecture. Also you can clearly see SS Rotterdam, which looks like a miniature ship.

You will find a brasserie at the very top that’s open for lunch, afternoon tea and dinner, and if you fancy staying overnight, there are two suites at 100 metres high. Imagine waking up above the city!

The Euromast is open from 9.30am (summer) / 10am (winter) to 10pm, and entry is €9.75 with a 25% price reduction with the Rotterdam Welcome Cards. Or you can publication your ticket beforehand here.

Luchtsingel Bridge

The Luchtsingel Bridge is a 400-metre much time pedestrian bridge and may be the first crowdfunded public infrastructure project on the globe.

The idea of setting up this bridge came into being because Rotterdam North experienced disconnected from the rest of the city, so this bridge solved this issue my linking this area to the location centre, adding to the revitalisation of an area that were neglected.

You will observe names engraved of the wooden boards on the bridge. For every €25 donated, sponsors could contain their name on a board.

If you enjoy photography and architecture, be sure to add this awesome bridge to your Rottterdam 1 day itinerary!

Practical | How to get around Rotterdam

Rotterdam has an outstanding public transport system that makes getting around metropolis quite simple. You can travelling around the location by bus, tram and metro.

For one day in Rotterdam, I would recommend getting a RET 1 day travel pass, which you can get from Rotterdam Tourist Information in Centraal Station and Coolsingel. It costs €8 and you could use the bus, tram and metro for 24 hours after activation (be sure you always check in to check out each time you travel).

If you are likely to include some attractions on your Rotterdam day trip, it will be more expense effective to obtain a Rotterdam Welcome Card for €12, which include 25% discount rates in attractions, museums and cafes and restaurants, in addition to a travel move for Rotterdam for one day.

You can also maneuver around the town by waterbus or perhaps water taxi. The waterbus costs €1 and it follows a schedule, which you can check in this article. The water taxi is normally on demand and you call it from the grab points that you will check out around the ports.

You will discover calling number on each grab point. Regrettably, neither the waterbus nor the water taxi happen to be included in the RET 1 day travel pass, but I would suggest trying them out, as it’s wonderful fun to get around metropolis by water.

If you don’t want to travel all by yourself it is possible to take a guided cycling tour. This tour is around three hours and will take you to all the highlights of this beautifull city. Another option is to take a three hours segwway tour. This is fun method for exploring the city.

Are you ready to explore Rotterdam in a day? Make sure to visit these attractions to make out of your stay in the city.