Footloose in Rotterdam for 3 Days

Rotterdam is a city that has come a long way in a short time. And it was fun to visit the city centre and get footloose in Rotterdam by myself.

We lived in the Netherlands back in the late 1990s and Rotterdam was kind of dull back then to be honest – it had the Euromast and cube houses (still there) but it was a city where you did business, rather than sightseeing. Oh, how times have changed…

Smart city design has transformed Rotterdam into a place I would happily visit and explore again.

Day 1:

We arrived by train at Rotterdam Centraal Station late one afternoon. Our hotel, Premier Suites Plus, is a business hotel and was right across the road from the station. Gotta give them 5 stars for location!

The room was basic, but comfortable; the main downside was the distinct lack of a wardrobe. Good gym though. We had a corner suite that looked over the square or plaza of Centraal Station. While that might be a noisy location in any other city, not so in Rotterdam thanks to that smart city planning. We slept well every night.

After unpacking we set out exploring and discovered we were an easy walk to the shopping streets of Lijnbaan and Koopgoot (which translates as ‘the shopping gutter’. It is a fun shopping street below street level, but still open to the sky).

Keep walking down Lijnbaan (street name) and you will end up intersecting Binnenwegplein. There, we just missed the famous Bram Ladage which closed at 6pm. Born in Rotterdam, and now franchising throughout Holland they offer thick, delicious Belgian style fries.

As well as windmills and tulips, the Dutch do amazing street food. And if you love fries, you should try ‘patat oorlog’ at least once in your life.

Foodie tips!

Other street food you should try: freshly made stroopwafels (warm syrup waffles), kibbeling (fried fish bites) and poffertjes (mini puffy pancakes). Not too mention shoarma (pita bread stuffed with gyros and lathered in garlic sauce) and halve warme (smoked sausage from Hema, a Dutch department store). I could go on…

We decided on an early dinner at Witte de Withstraat.

This is a fun street with hip bars, restaurants and art galleries.

We ate at Jaffa Shoarma, a highly rated shoarma restaurant. It was everything my Dutch husband hoped it would be. A casual meal on the street with bottles of garlic sauce and chilli sauce on hand for the overstuffed broodje shoarma. It’s not the kind of place to enjoy a leisurely meal – it’s more like a quick bite place, but there are plenty of other restaurants on this street if you prefer a more relaxed dinner experience.

We headed east on Witte de Withstraat to De Ijsmaker (Witte de Withstraat 7a) and enjoyed the most delicious ice cream for dessert.

It was a beautiful evening, and we took our time admiring the street art as we followed our noses back to our hotel.

Day 2:

I was flying solo for the whole day. After a quick hotel breakfast (basic and OK) I grabbed my selfie stick, my phone and earbuds.

Ready to get footloose in Rotterdam, I had downloaded a self guided walking tour app called Rotterdam Routes. This app needs data as it talks to you while you travel. Armed with a full water bottle in my backpack I headed out for my selected route – the Real Rotterdam Route – which started at Kruisplein, just a couple minutes walk from our accommodation.

This was the first time I’ve used a self-guided tour app, and though I did get turned around once, I totally enjoyed it. I learned a lot about the history of Rotterdam, walked down streets I never would have otherwise explored and felt right at home when I ended up back in the area we had walked the previous evening. But this time, as well as Bram Ladage being open for business (yes, I got some fries – heerlijk!), I was seeing the area with self-guided tour insights. I loved that.

By the end of my tour, I was very comfortable with the layout of central Rotterdam and felt confident to go in search of the Markthal which was highly recommended by a number of Dutch relatives. I’d heard great things about the food there, and seeing as it was lunchtime, it was the perfect place to search for. The weather was cool but dry; perfect walking weather. I followed Google Maps to my destination. It took about 15 mins from Schouwburgplein, where my tour ended. I was very impressed with what I found!

The Markthal

Opened in 2014, the Markthal is a stunning piece of engineering and design. It’s a rounded building with the centre scooped out leaving it to look like a piece of a huge tunnel. Massive walls of glass are at either end of the tunnel. The walls and roof though are actual apartments with windows looking down at the indoor market and restaurants far below.

The interior is beautiful with giant flowers adorning the walls and ceiling.

I had so much fun walking up and down the aisles of the Markthal. All the food I tried at different stalls was delicious. This may be why the Markthal is my favourite place in Rotterdam to visit. I’m a pushover when it comes to food.

Having fueled up, walk out the other end of the Markthal and you’ll come across the famous Cube Houses. One of them is a museum, but I didn’t go in – they looked poky enough from the outside. You can even stay in one as an airbnb guest if you want.

Also in this neighbourhood is the Oudehaven (Old Harbor) and the Maritime Museum which pays homage to the maritime heritage – past and present – of Rotterdam.

I was ready to head back to the hotel though. From the Cube Houses I walked past the Markthal to Hoogstraat and enjoyed some window shopping as I made my way back to the hotel.

Day 3:

One of the best things about exploring the Netherlands by foot or bike is that it’s pretty much all flat, so there’s no real effort required. I felt virtuous as a tourist using my feet. This day, my feet lead me south across the famous Erasmusbrug.

I happened to be on it as it ‘opened’ allowing a large ship to continue its journey up the Maas River. That was cool getting to see the bridge in operation, and up close. Once on the other side, I turned right onto Wilheminapier, one of the many piers in the Rotterdam Harbour.

This pier has seen a lot of action over the years. At the end of Wilheminapier is Hotel New York – the old Holland Amerika Line building – the place of embarkation for many emigrants and travellers. The end of the pier has been revitalised into a park-like area and has historical information for those interested. And there are sweeping views of the harbour with all the ships coming and going.

At the end of Wilheminapier take the walking bridge, Rijnhavenbrug (Rijnhaven Bridge) to another pier, or peninsula, called Katendrecht.

Footloose at the Piers

Katendrecht peninsula used to be the seedier side of Rotterdam Harbour, full of brothels and tattoo parlours. Now it is a hip neighbourhood which includes the Fenix Food Factory on the edge of the Maas River. Housed in a former warehouse this is a small scale food hub offering artisanal food and drink. It was a great place to stop for an early lunch.

Wilheminapier and Katendrecht probably aren’t rated as must-see places of Rotterdam, but if you have the time, they are definitely a pleasant place to visit. I prefer finding places where the locals hang out and I would go again to the piers. On a warm summer’s day they would be lots of fun with people enjoying the outdoors and the harbour views with a drink.

After lunch I crossed the pedestrian bridge back across to Wilheminapier. It was starting to rain, so I backtracked a short way back up the pier to the Dutch Fotomuseum. It was small, but made for an enjoyable visit. By the time I finished the rain had stopped so I walked five minutes back to the water taxis down below Hotel New York.

Catching a water taxi was effortless. In English I explained I wanted to cross directly over the river. A few minutes later and I was directed onto a water taxi and had the whole boat to myself. What a fun way to cross the Maas River! I paid the driver once we reached Veerhaven on the other side. It was very reasonably priced though I can’t recall the exact cost.

From there it was an easy walk back to the hotel, with stops at some recycled clothing stores I happened to pass on the way.

Schiedam

Dinner that evening was with extended family at Schiedam, a satellite city of Rotterdam. Schiedam has beautiful canals and some stunning windmills. It was so good to see these quintessential Dutch icons before we left the next morning.

Schiedam unfortunately is too far to walk to from central Rotterdam. You can catch a train but the quickest way is by car. We used Uber there and back without any problems. Like most of the Dutch population, our two drivers spoke excellent English.

We left Rotterdam the next day. I’m not particularly drawn to cities as a tourist destination but Rotterdam left me wanting more. It is a well designed city with plenty to see and do. I consciously stayed away from the usual tourist experiences (going up the Euromast, etc) and really enjoyed my footloose experience in Real Rotterdam. I look forward to my next visit and hope to hear about yours!

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