Best 1-Day Attractions/Tours in Rotterdam, Holland
 

We are a couple who are taking a Princess Cruise in May 2013 and will be in port for @ 8-10 hours inRotterdam, Holland. What would your top tour and/or attraction recommendations be in that area for the day?

Ciao,
Hula Lady

Spent a lovely day in the Manhattan on the Maas recently and loved it - main sights are museums and the Euro Mast, a tall observation tower that lets you get a bird's eye view over one of the world's largest ports.

The Modern Art Museum and Maritime Museum are tops in their fields. Otherwise I would just stroll around the town center and ogle the striking modern architecture - Rotterdam being near blitzed in the war and now a thoroughly modern town that has embraced contemporary architecture.

In Delfshavn you see a very old and cute part of Rotterdam not blitzed in WW2 and can see the place from which the Pilgrims set sail to the New World - after coming here from England.

If a soccer fan then you can visit the local Rotterdam Feyo (name?) stadium and museum.

If modern towns are not your bag then you can take a train from Rotterdam for a few minutes and visit thoroughly old Delft instead - one of the very nicest and cutest canal-laced towns in all of Holland - some would like it very much more than Rotterdam in fulfilling old-world looking dreams you may have.

As PalenQ mentioned, Rotterdam was pretty much rebuilt after WWII, and perhaps it's most interesting modern building is the Kijk Kubus - an apartment building complex made of cubes, tilted and positioned on it's point. One of the "houses" is open to the public for a nominal fee.

http://www.kubuswoning.nl/introkubuseng.html

If you click on my name above, you can see a picture of the Kijk Kubus, which I use for my profile picture.

Also in the same area and noteworthy (architectural wise) is the Overblaak Station which looks like a flying saucer, and the "Pencil" Building (looks like a pencil standing on end). If you happen to be in Rotterdam on a Tuesday or Saturday you can catch the weekly market, which is held on the square.

You can walk along the Wijnhaven to the Leuvehaven and take the water taxi across the Maas to the historic New York Hotel, where many immigrants spent their last night before boarding the ship to the United States, and a new life.

Delftshaven is a nice old area to wander around - cute shops, etc... You can also take the water taxi to get to Delftshaven.

http://www.watertaxirotterdam.nl/hom...p?page=uk_home

On the sidewalk paralleling the Leuvehaven, Rotterdam has their version of "The Walk of Fame" - mostly Dutch celebrities, but we did see Carlos Santana and Jackie Chan on the brief section that we checked out.

Have fun, no matter what you decide to do.

Robyn :)>-

CORRECTION - <i>"You can also take the water taxi to get to Delftshaven."</i>

The water taxi runs from the New York Hotel to Veerhaven, then you'll have to walk through the park to get to Delftshaven.

Robyn :)>-

Obviously it depends on what your interests are, but we really enjoyed the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen and the nearby Sonnenveld House. We also enjoyed walking around the harbor.

I'm with Pal on this. I would hop on the train to Delft.

Thank you all for your great suggestions!

Where could I get more info on taking the watertaxi or train to Delftshaven? Where is the best place to get tickets? Are seats readily available?

Also, Is there a good hop on & off bus to Tourist sights?

No train to Delfshaven but a tram perhaps - train to Delft - a separate city about 15 miles or so west of Rotterdam and easily done.

Rotterdam harbour is one of the three busiest in the world (with Shanghai and Singapore.) Tour boats give great views of the modern buildings, wharfs and warehouses along the shore and some insight into the industries and commercial activities. Rides vary in length; they don't go all the way to the outer harbour, where the biggest ships dock, except in warm months.
In Delfshaven, one of the few areas to survive the bombings, you could have a meal or beer at the Pelgrim brewpub, which sits next door to the church where, it is said, the Pilgrims launched their voyage to North America. http://en.rotterdam.info/visitors/pl...ry-de-pelgrim/
That link is from a useful visitor information site.

I assume you arrive at the cruise terminal: in that case: walk to the tram stop on wilhelminakade and take the tram across, or metro, or simply walk across.
I don't know if they sell them on board, but it would be wise to invest in a one day travel card. You can take the metro to the Delfshaven stop and get out there and walk around Delfshaven. Depending on the day you are there (wednesdays and saturdays) you can get inside a working windmill (I'm a baker and I buy my flour there), for a donation. Also in Delfshaven is the Pilgrim church where the Pilgrims went to church before they set sail for the new world. There is now a brewery/cafe next door. A good example of a quintessentually Dutch "brown" cafe is De Ooievaar, a little further down the street: excellent lunch, classic Dutch bar fare.

In the centre, the Ethnographic museum is right across from the Cruise terminal and well worth a visit, as is Cafe Loos, right behind it. The Area towards the Park (Scheepvaartbuurt) is very nice for a stroll.

I live in Rotterdam, so if you would like to meet for a somewhat more guided visit, let me know. I'll be more than pleased to show you around a bit for coffee.

Skip Delft: too much of a hassle from Rotterdam and the city is nice enough in and of itself. It isn't a tourist destination but a working city with inhabitants that love it dearly. May 14th is the day the bombing took place, still commemorated and visible: look out for lighted red markers in the pavement that show you where the limit of the bombing was (Brandgrens)

http://www.west8.nl/projects/brandgrens/

Boymand van Beuningen is an excellent museum. Apart from their Dali collection they have a lot of early flemish art. But perhaps the nicest museum is the Chabot museum, housed in one of the modernist villas opposite Boymans and housing an excellent collection of drawings.
To the east of Boymans you'll find Witte de Withstraat with more cultural institutions and the always bustling and multicultural Bazar, a good spot to have lunch. All this is even within walking distance of the cruise terminal and you could easily spend a relaxed day there.

I know there will be an excursion to Kinderdijk, but consider giving that a miss. Yes, there will be scores of windmills, but the slog up river to reach it is not particularly interesting, you'll be chased around the one bike path where you can see the mills, then it's coffee at a not too cozy cafe and back on the boat again.

Rotterdam is completely unlike any other Dutch city: it needs some decoding, but it's interesting, vibrant and if you get under the surface a bit, is a great destination.

@artstuff: Delfshaven is not within walking distance from Veerhaven
@PalenQ: only a relatively small part of the city center was bombed: roughly where the old harbours were. The rest is often beautifully laid out 19th century architecture, as the area directly behind Veerhaven testifies.

http://www.rotterdamscheepvaartkwartier.nl

Thank you all for your helpful replies.

Menachem, thank you for your offer. How can we contact you, should we want to get together? It would be nice to get guidance & the perspective of a local.

you can connect through

https://www.facebook.com/dejongalexander

I'll be happy to show you around, should you want that. Buy me coffee and you have a deal :)

for those who are interested:

rebuilding rotterdam: an animation shows rebuilding rotterdam in stages

http://vimeo.com/55931521