Rotterdam is located in the southern Netherlands and is the second largest city in the country after the capital Amsterdam with a population of approximately 630,000. Rotterdam has been a major city for many hundreds of years and has always served as a large port as it lies on the Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt river delta.
Since the 1300’s the port of Rotterdam has developed and served as a major port of the Dutch East India Company. During WWII Rotterdam saw extensive bombing and its centre was almost completely destroyed, however after this the city was slowly rebuilt and once again stands as a modern port.
Aside from its fascinating port, Rotterdam also features some fantastic architecture like the modern cube buildings and the Euromast Tower, but also has a wonderful variety of museums, eateries and activities to enjoy.
Splash tour bus!
The Splashtours route is carefullt selected so you get to see the best and most beautiful places of Rotterdam. In the bus is a GPS data tracking which alow us to provide you information about the buildings, ports and sights. This is done in Dutch and English.
Rotterdam is a city with many festivals, events, road works and other activities which could affect the Splashtour which can be changed.
Markthal Rotterdam
The Markthal is a stunning piece of architecture that was constructed in 2009 and serves as both an office building and a marketplace. The design of the structure is quite unique with a large semi-circular grey façade and a large windowed section facing out to the surrounding courtyard. The inside of the structure has some amazing artwork by Arno Coenen and shows various colourful fruits, plants, insects and flowers.
The market section of the Markthal contains a huge array of shops, stalls, restaurants and bars such as a Tea bar, a tapas bar, a “world of drinks” shop and over 70 other different businesses. It really is a cool and vibrant place to explore and sample some find food and drink.
Rotterdam Zoo blijdorp
Euromast Tower
The Euromast Tower is an observation station that was created in 1960 to provide panoramic views of the Rotterdam Cityscape. The towers stands at 606ft and with its antenna it is the tallest building in Rotterdam. The tower features a restaurant, a conference room for business meetings, a hotel suite and of course the observation deck.
This is the perfect way to see the sprawling expanse of Rotterdam and its ports and the entrance fee is quite modest for both adults and children. If you are looking for a little adrenaline action you can even zip-line or abseil from the tower!
Erasmus Bridge
This monumental bridge spans the Nieuwe Maas distributary of the Rhine and runs from the confluence of the Noord and Lek rivers. The length of this impressive bridge stretches to an immense 802m making it the second largest in the Netherlands. The bridge is nicknamed the Swan due to its large upright mast that resembles the neck of a swan.
In the centre of the bridge there is a bascule section that opens to allow larger ships passage through the waters. This feat of modern engineering creates an impressive backdrop to the port of Rotterdam and is a fine construction to admire and walk across.
Maritime Museum
The Maritime Museum is one of the largest of its type in the world with a huge collection of cartography, maritime memorabilia and art. The museum is located in central Rotterdam near the Markthal and the Cube houses.
Some of the interesting exhibitions include a controversial paiting of the Battle of Trafalgar, a collection of figureheads from various ships, different navy uniforms and flags from sea battles.
This really is a place full of interesting objects relating to the maritime world and the artefacts you can find here are world-class.
Cube House Rotterdam
The cube house is as you would expect – A set of houses that are cuboid fashion.
This bizarre and eccentric housing block was designed by Piet Blom and the cubes that it is formed from are tilted at a 45 degree angle.
The cubes are like no other type of house you will see and they really are an interesting concept; it makes you wonder how the people living here cope with the strange angles of the walls and windows.
From afar the structure looks like some old 2D computer game and one of the cubes is open to the public so you can see what the interior is like.