Rotterdam: Holiday Apartments and Holiday Homes

Art, the port and visible history can be found in many different places in Rotterdam. Fenix is an art museum about migration. The Maritiem Museum Rotterdam presents the maritime present and past in contemporary exhibitions; it includes the oldest and largest museum harbour complex in the Netherlands, with historic ships and cranes.

Culture and History

The Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen showcases a special connection between art and museum work: it is the world’s first publicly accessible art depot belonging to a museum. Through large windows, visitors can watch conservators at work, and a guided tour allows them to enter a depot room. At Wereldmuseum Rotterdam, the semi-permanent exhibition “Kruispunt Rotterdam” places the collection in a contemporary context. It is complemented by new works inspired by the collection, created by artists and by women and men from Rotterdam. The museum also offers several bookable guided tours.

Distinctive buildings also tell stories of different eras. Laurenskerk is the only surviving medieval building in central Rotterdam. Its permanent exhibition with 20 themes presents the history of the building. The Van Nellefabriek was designed and built in the 1920s on the banks of a canal in the Spaanse Polder industrial area northwest of Rotterdam and is regarded as an icon of 20th-century industrial architecture. At Markthal stands the distinctive arch near the Rotte, at the place where Rotterdam was founded in 1270. Medieval finds from the construction period can be seen inside, near the escalators and in the car park.

Kunsthal Rotterdam presents around 25 exhibitions each year on modern masters, contemporary art, photography, fashion and design. It is housed in an iconic building designed by Rem Koolhaas. At Keringhuis, visitors can learn more about historic floods, the Delta Works and the Netherlands’ preparations for the future. Guided tours on the ss Rotterdam convey more than 60 years of steamship history; visitors can view the authentic halls, decks, bow and wheelhouse.

Port, Water and City Views

The port is not limited to exhibitions and historic ships. Portlantis offers a 75-minute cruise that passes the container terminals of Maasvlakte 2 and heads towards Maasvlakte 1. On private cruises with Watertaxi Rotterdam, visitors can determine the duration and route through Rotterdam’s historic and modern ports themselves. This means that industrial port landscapes, maritime history and present-day port functions each stand alongside one another in their own form.

Another view of the city opens up at the Euromast. Every ticket to the observation platform includes an immersive interactive experience about the creation and development of Rotterdam into a global city. Visitors can also look down into the depths through a transparent floor. Markthal adds a central food hub of Rotterdam with more than 100 different dining options to the cityscape.

Nature and Open Landscapes

Clearly described natural areas can also be found between the city and the port. Trompenburg Tuinen & Arboretum is an 8-hectare botanical garden in Rotterdam’s Kralingen district. It contains English-style gardens, a modern food forest currently under development and a desert greenhouse. At Diergaarde Blijdorp, visitors can see lions and penguins, among other animals. The zoo is also a centre for nature conservation, education and sustainability. During expeditions, visitors can learn more about animals and plants, as well as measures to restore nature and protect species.

The Rotterdam port area has more than 175 kilometres of cycle paths as well as good opportunities for hiking. Its distinctive flora and fauna include seals, Nathusius’ pipistrelle bats and Scottish Highland cattle. Another type of landscape is Hoek van Holland, an area of Rotterdam with a beach, sea and opportunities for walks in the dunes.

Harbour Festival and Orientation

The Port of Rotterdam is celebrated every year on the first weekend of September during the three-day Wereldhavendagen. For getting around the city, the official Rotterdam City Card enables unlimited travel on public transport and provides at least 25 percent discounts on attractions, museums, tours and restaurants.

For further location selection, the relevant pages lead to Rotterdam, Pernis and Hoogvliet Rotterdam.

For the higher-level travel overview: South Holland.

More Destinations

More places within the same destination:

Hellevoetsluis, Zoeterwoude, Alphen Aan Den Rijn, Waddinxveen.