Biergarten

Biergarten stands for the quote ‘ Best things in life are simple’ , which perfectly reflects their great atmosphere. It’s an outside bar where you can expect to enjoy a beer with some nice BBQ and music.
This place is very famous between the locals and especially among the students in Rotterdam. Surrounded by the crowd, I’m sure you won’t even feel the cold.

Opening times:
Wednesday to Saturday from 4pm to 1am

HUGH

You will find HUGH next to the Hilton Hotel Rotterdam. It has an amazing industrial look and a cool vibe.
At HUGH, cocktails are quickly made and served in front of you – they also serve High Tea and Brunches on daytime. Before you go just take a quick look at their agenda because they organise late night dinner party’s. If you do a late night dinner party you directly have the entrance ticket for the bar at night.

Be aware that after 23:00 you can only enter if you are 25+ (male) or 23+ (female).

Opening times:
Wednesday to Sunday from 12pm until early hours 

NHOW

NHOW Bar is connected to the NHOW Hotel and probably has one of the most beautiful views over Rotterdam and the river De Maas.

The architecture of the place is modern, with straight lines and well-thought details. It’s a great spot to have a drink at the end of the day, but you can also have lunch or dinner. Just make sure to book a table in advance because it’s usually full.
NHOW Bar has also an outside space where the view completely takes over, but watch out for the cold on Winter days.

Opening times:
Sunday to Thursday from 6pm to 1am
Friday to Saturday from 6pm to 2am

Mad Mick’s Breakaway Café

Mad Mick’s Breakaway is the truly, authentic café of Rotterdam. It opened in 1993 and is still one of the best bars in town! It has a decoration inspired in the 50’s / 60’s style and was renovated in 2004 keeping the same flair. At Mad Mick’s Breakaway you can enjoy your drink while playing pool and listen to great music on the background. They have an enormous choice of cocktails (more than 100!) and shots on the menu.
It’s definitely one of Rotterdam‘s classics – just a great place to have fun.

Opening times:
Monday to Wednesday from 4pm to 1am
Thursday & Sunday from 12pm to 1am
Friday & Saturday from 12pm to 2am

Café Restaurant Floor

Café Restaurant Floor is located on the Schouwburgplein which is a big square right across the corner of the Rotterdam Central Station. This is a great spot to visit if you like to have a special kind of drink. They have 15 different wine options, 40 different brands of beer from the bottle and 7 options of beer from the tap.

There’s a terrace with view over the Schouwburgplein square, an indoor restaurant and a nice outdoor space, which is opened if the weather allows to. It’s the perfect escape from the city’s life, however it can be quite busy during lunch and dinner time.

Opening times:
Sunday to Thursday from 10am to 1am
Friday & Saturday from 10am to 2am

Definitely check out these activities in Rotterdam to make your experience even better:

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Markthal

The Markthal is one of the most popular attractions in Rotterdam. Opened in 2014 by Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, the Markthal is very special because of its perfect arch and adorned roof. The 3D-techniques used to decorated the roof were performed by Arno Coenen and cover 11.000 m², creating an absolutely amazing experience.

It has more than 50 food vendors that sell Dutch classics, fish and chips, Spanish tapas and many more food and drinks. There are also more than 200 residential apartments inside the arch of this amazing building. It’s definitely one of the most emblematic buildings in Rotterdam and a nice spot to eat and enjoy the environment or just grab a bite to go.

Address: Dominee Jan Scharpstraat 298, 3011 GZ Rotterdam
Website: https://www.markthal.nl/
Opening times: Monday to Thursday and Saturday from 10 am to 8 pm | Friday from 10 am to 9 pm | Sunday from 12 pm to 6 pm

Rotterdam Central Station

It might sound a bit off but yes, the Rotterdam Central Station. This odd-shaped building was inaugurated in 2014 and it’s known for its futuristic architecture. Besides its obvious functionality, it has many features like the 3,000 solar panels that supply the whole station and the impressive 5,000 bike parking spots. 

Rotterdam Central Station has connections to a lot of international destinations like Paris and Brussels, which can be very useful for your trip. You can check all available destinations here: Rotterdam Centraal

The Cube Houses

You have to visit Rotterdam’s weirdest, but most eye-catching attraction for over 30 years! You can find the Cube Houses next to the metro station Rotterdam Blaak and the Oude Haven.

These perfectly-shaped houses, built in 45 degrees, make you wonder how it’s possible to live in there. Architect Piet Blom designed it in the 70’s as a demonstration of the liveable-space optimisation in the modern cities. There are 38 small cubes and two so called ‘super-cubes’, all attached to each other.

You can visit it from the outside, or buy tickets (€3) for the Show Cube Museum (Kijk-Kubus) to take a look inside. To enjoy the full experience you can also book one of the available Airbnbs here.

Historic Delfshaven

In 1940 the city of Rotterdam was severely bombed by the germans, causing the destruction of several areas and infrastructures. Delfshaven was one of the areas that survived WWII and is now the most historical part of the city.

Back in the days, locals used to make a living fishing in the canals around Delfshaven. Nowadays, the area is full of bars, beer breweries and art studios where locals love to spend their time.

Witte de Withstraat

Witte de Withstraat is the most cultural and lively street of Rotterdam. It’s located in the heart of the city and a great place to stay if you are visiting town.

It’s the place where you’ll find mixed up cultures, tastes and flavours. There are great restaurants, amazing bars and little cultural shops all around Witte de Withstraat.

One my favourite restaurants in this street is Bazar, a restaurant that serves amazing Middle East cuisine. Besides good food, their very colourful decor matches the theme perfectly!

Don’t forget to try their Kofte – a dish of grilled veal meatballs that will definitely blow you away.

The Luchtsingel

The Luchtsingel is a 400-meter long pedestrian bridge that connects Rotterdam Central District with Rotterdam Noord (North).

It was a crowdfunded project that was supported by over 8,000 people. For €25, their names were immortalised into the wooden boards used for lining the edge of the bridge.

Museumpark 

Museumpark is located in the center of Rotterdam and functions as the city’s cultural hub. It’s an urban park that has many museums like Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Natural History Museum and De Kunsthal around it. Therefore, it owes its name.

The Museumpark is divided into four zones: a walking zone, a romantic zone, an asphalted city zone for events, and a well-tended garden. At Museumpark you will find a great cultural atmosphere on a very warmth and spacious area.

In August it’s possible to attend movie nights under the starry sky. A ticket costs only 6 euros – you can rent a seat (foldable chair) or bring your own chair or rug.

Nieuwe Binnenweg   

Nieuwe Binnenweg is a great street and is full of life. It’s the street where you will be able to get the exact image of Rotterdam’s personality.

It’s an almost 2 km long street full of shops, bars, restaurants and amazing bakeries like Koekela. This is also the street where you can find dutch famous coffee shops and breakfast bars. There’s so much variety of choice, that won’t be hard to find something of your taste.

Kralingse Plas

Kralingse Plas is the perfect escape from the busy city life. This is the place to have a picnic and relax surrounded by nature. Here, you will not only find a park, but also a small beach, a kid’s playground and a place where you can rent/store boats.

On good weather days you can even take a swim! Before you go in, just make sure to check if the water is safe here.

The Koopgoot

The Koopgoot, which was officially named Beurstraverse, has been the heart of Rotterdams shopping center for over 20 years now. I love the fact that is car-free, that shops are all in walking distance and that is open-aired but still rain covered almost everywhere.

Website: https://www.koopgoot.nl
Opening times: Tuesday to Saturday from 10 am to 6 pm (open until 9 pm on Fridays) | Monday and Sunday from 12 pm to 6 pm

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