One day in Rotterdam

Day by day

1. Day 1: Markthal and Cube Houses and Oude Haven

   Markthal, Cube Houses and Oude Haven, Harbour boat tour and Maritime Museum Rotterdam, then Erasmus Bridge in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Markthal

      Come for an early lunch on a weekday; it gets very crowded on Saturday afternoons. Allow 1 hour.

   2. Late morning

      Cube Houses and Oude Haven

      Visit the Kijk-Kubus to see how residents furnish rooms with sloping walls, then have a drink by the Oude Haven. Allow 1 hour.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Kibbeling

      Fish stalls at the Binnenrotte market, the Markthal and fish shops across the city.

   4. Afternoon

      Harbour boat tour

      Sit on the open upper deck in good weather, with a windproof layer. Allow 1.5 hours.

   5. Late afternoon

      Maritime Museum Rotterdam

      The indoor play zone is a good rainy-day option with children. Allow 2 hours.

   6. Evening

      Erasmus Bridge

      Walk across at dusk and continue to the end of the Wilhelminapier for the classic skyline view.

Before you go

If it rains

• Swap in Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen (Cool and Witte de Withstraat): Book a guided tour to see storage areas closed to individual visitors.
• Swap in Kunsthal (Cool and Witte de Withstraat): Check what is on before you go; there are usually several shows at once.
• Swap in Het Nieuwe Instituut and Sonneveld House (Cool and Witte de Withstraat): Don't skip the Sonneveld House; it is one of the best-preserved functionalist interiors in the Netherlands.

Where to stay for this itinerary

Pace and daylight

The sights in this plan add up to roughly 6–6 hours of visiting over one day, before meals and getting between them. Daylight runs from about 7.8 hours in December to 16.7 hours in June, so in winter start early and keep museums for the afternoon.

Getting between stops: Walking. The centre, the Markthal, the Cube Houses, the Museumpark and the Erasmus Bridge are within about 20–30 minutes on foot of each other.

More or fewer days

• 2 days in Rotterdam
• 3 days in Rotterdam

Questions travellers ask