The Port of Rotterdam
ABOUT
Rotterdam is a major port city in the Dutch province of South Holland and is the second largest city in the Netherlands. It has a long maritime history.
The 17th-century Delfshaven neighbourhood is home to canalside shopping and Pilgrim Fathers Church, where pilgrims worshiped before sailing to America. After being almost completely destroyed in WWII, the city is now known for bold, modern architecture.
Population was 623,652 in 2015
Currency is the Euro.
THINGS TO DO
There is lots to do in Rotterdam. This lovely city has much that can be reached either on foot or by using public transport – including water taxis.
Take a walk from the dock across the bridge and into the city where you will then find both the Markthal and the Cube Houses very close together. Both are intriguing architectural structures and full of surprises.
There are sightseeing buses, harbour cruises, historic walks, a zoo to visit and a maritime museum.
Just outside of the city you can visit windmills and at certain times of the year visit the Tulip Bulb fields or even one of the Tulip markets – truly a beautiful time to visit this area.
OUR FAVOURITE THINGS TO DO
Each visit to this city so far has brought us back to the Markthal at some point. On one occasion we walked into the city across the bridge – it’s a much longer walk than was first thought! Seeing the stalls in summer and then winter was quite different. There was much more of a festive atmosphere on our December visit and Ken was very pleased to see Santa outside(!). Of course inside there were still the various bars, food outlets and stalls to wander around. A great place to look for gastro souvenirs to take home – look out for the Dragons Breath it is a bit of fun.
Nearby are the Cube houses which are very odd to look at, can’t begin to work out how people live in them, but they do. Those angles must create some interesting furnishing issues.
Hopefully our next visit will give us time to check out one of the harbour cruises.
Try a Trip to Gouda – On our most recent visit we took a trip to a farm near Gouda to try our hands at cheese making. It was fascinating and the hosts were knowledgeable, friendly and fun. Our workshop meant that each of us could try our hands at the process and within a short amount of time, we had all produced the most basic of Gouda cheeses. Whilst we could not take these away with us, there was an opportunity to buy in the farm shop. It was a great couple of hours.
The City of Gouda not far from Rotterdam. It is a medieval city with its Gothic style town hall dating back to the 15th Century. It is famed for its cheese and cheese market, but there is much more to see in this City with its ancient history and wonderful architecture.
To check out our experiences in Rotterdam just click the videos below – and if you enjoy the content simply ‘Like’ and ‘Subscribe’ to see more (subscription is free).