Best things to do in Rotterdam in a day

Even though Amsterdam was my home in my Erasmus, I think the article about it deserves a little bit more effort so I'll share with you the best things to do in Rotterdam, the second city of The Netherlands.

There has always been something special about Rotterdam. Even the name itself tells you there’s something elegant to see there for some reason, but because some Dutch friends told me this city was completely bombed and destroyed in WWII I imagined it as an interesting mix between old and new... and this is exactly how it was.

We took the train with a group of friends since there is an offer for groups of 4-7 people and the more you are the cheaper it gets. For example for 7 people it is 34.50 euros (which is almost 5 euros per person for one way). That’s 10 euros for both ways and you can travel anywhere in the Netherlands for the same amount. The only condition is that you need to book your ticket avoiding the peak hours and travel before 6:30am, between 9am and 4 pm, and after 6:30pm. It is also valid at weekends and all day on public holidays.

You can find more information about it and get yours here.

As the second largest city in the country after Amsterdam, Rotterdam was slowly rebuilt after the bombings in the WWII and now it stands as a modern port with its fantastic architecture and especially the cube buildings that we visited as well. So here you go the best places to see in Rotterdam.

What to do in Rotterdam

1. Central Station
2. Maritime Museum
3. Boymans-van Beuningen Museum
4. Het Nieuwe Instituut
5. Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art
6. Markthal
7. The yellow cube houses
8. Erasmus Bridge

1. Central Station

In the minute you walk outside of the Rotterdam central station, take your time going further and further away from it and allow yourself spectacular view of this unique architecture. Its iconic design forms a triangular shape that still keeps an important clock right in front of the entrance which was saved from the old train station to keep its memory alive.

2. Maritime Museum

Ok, we had a lot of fun here! Since all of us had the Museum Card that allowed us to enter in most of the museums in the Netherlands, we chose to spend some time visiting something this city is proud of too, and we were also those type of travelers who would actually enjoy visiting museums.

Some of the most interesting exhibitions have a painting of the Battle of Trafalgar, collections of ships and explanatory videos, navy uniforms and even rooms of the boats you can try yourself – karaoke rooms, casinos, vintage bars and dorms that imitate how they actually looked back in the time.

This place was definitely full of interesting facts about boats that I didn’t expect to find so illuminating about the maritime world if you’re actually not a child, but I was surprised to discover exactly the opposite!

3. Boymans-van Beuningen Museum

This charming museum is probably one of the most important in the country when talking about art. Outside, there is a beautiful sculpture garden and inside, there are also many displays of sculptures, paintings and decorative arts from a wide range of artists and styles including Van Gogh, Dali, Monet and Rembrandt. ‘The Tower of Babel’ is only one of them! And the best part is that this was also included on the museum card!

4. Het Nieuwe Instituut

Also included on the museum card, this architecture and design institute is definitely worth a try since we spent around 2h inside wandering around and exploring the metaphoric and interactive exhibitions about historical events, modern products and the designs of many contemporary artists. Have a look:

5. Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art

Ok, this one is probably not for everyone, but we still enjoyed exploring it since we understood they mostly have temporary exhibitions about multiple conceptual art themes, with interactive rooms to explore and try to understand. This museum proved to actually be another reason that supports why the Dutch design is done so well. There’s so much work to put into every object that surrounds us you will actually start appreciating the household items more…

6. Markthal

The architecture of this city is extremely innovative but this market place tops it all, along with the cube houses. This place is both an office building and a market, but what is most impressive about it is the design of the semi-circular mirroring façade with large windows that is facing the outside courtyard.

Moreover, on the inside, the colorful wildlife, fruits, bees and flowers give this market an amazing ‘shopping for food’ vibe. But don’t be disappointed if you are not necessarily in for doing grocery shopping while traveling because there are plenty of shops, restaurants and bars to try in a very chic and vibrant space.

7. The yellow cube houses

We were ready for Instagram here, but we didn’t forget that people are still living in these bizarre homes so there’s some sort of privacy to bear in mind too. The cubes designed by Piet Blom are tilted at 45 degree angles from the outside, but actually on the inside they are most probably normal since people enjoy staying in them on an everyday basis. We didn’t go inside because it was not included on the museum card, but it is possible to visit the interior since it is open to the public too.

8. Erasmus Bridge

This second largest bridge in the Netherlands is an immense construction of 800m height that also has a bascule that opens to let large ships pass through the waters. On one side you can admire the old city center and on the other the more modern one so you’ll have plenty of photos with an amazing mix between the two.

We finished our day eating in a Middle Eastern restaurant called Bazar that was a whole experience in itself. The food was great, the decor incredibly beautiful and sprinkled with traditional colorful lamps and the waiters were simply amazing to watch while they were balancing some extremely large trays filled with the food order at the tables. We sat upstairs to have an overall view of the place, so everything that was happening here was a whole spectacle for us, while also enjoying their amazing Turkish food.

So, all in all, the city is an impressive display of street and public art museums and one of the best places to see in Rotterdam was the neighborhood of Witte de Withstraat with lots of murals and lights. What we didn’t have enough time to do was to rent a boat or go to the Kinderdijk which is a UNESCO World Heritage, full of typical Dutch windmills, but we agreed to come back another time and give this one a try in a second visit because Rotterdam definitely deserves it! I hope you liked this article of what to in Rotterdam and enjoy the city!

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