Hi:
I will be in Rotterdam for a week starting October 29th and leaving Nov. 5th. I unfortunately will be working until 3:00ish everyday so was hoping to try and schedule some evening quick trips to some of the towns outside Rotterdam for dinner and walking via train. I do have one day off on Sunday and was thinking of going to Amsterdam and Haarlem. I would so appreciate any suggestions as to how to schedule my one day off and the evening excursions using Rotterdam as my home base.
Thank you in advance.
Beth

Delft or Dordrecht are worth trying. Trains are frequent and run till late evening or the early hours of the morning (between Rotterdam and Amsterdam, there is also an hourly night service). You can check schedules on www.bahn.de or www.ns.nl, but they're so frequent that there's no need - just turn up at the station, buy a ticket and hop on the next train.

Use the 'search this forum' box above and enter amsterdam. There are so many posts here asking what to do in Amsterdam that you would spend a day just reading them all. Same for Haarlem and Antwerp. The best thing to do in Rotterdam is to go to the train station and get out of town. Delft is an evening excursion. Same for the Hague. Since you're out of the office at 3 you can even make it an evening in Amsterdam or Haarlem.

Hi Beth -

Rotterdam to Delft is only 15 minutes via train so I would definately eat dinner in Delft at least one of your evenings while in the area. We ate dinner in 3 different restaurants and enjoyed every meal, however the best meal was had by my husband at the "Happy Corner", just off the Markt - somewhere left of the Nieuwe Kerk, where I was so sorry I didn't order the baked mussels.

If you have an early day at work, and you're interested in M.C. Escher, I would suggest trying to make it to den Hague to the "Escher in het Paleis" museum (#74 Palais Lange Voorhout). Excellent exhibit with a virtual reality tour at the end. If they're open until 6:00, you might be able to pull it off.

Utrecht, Haarlem and Leiden are all University towns, so they have many selections for dining. Gouda is a beautiful little town, and will provide a lovely walk-about, but dining might be limited. And of course, Amsterdam....ah, Amsterdam.....

Enjoy your working holiday, and travel safely. Peace. >-

Robyn

Delft is perhaps the most beautiful town in Holland outside of Amsterdam. Laced by quaint canals lined by old facades, Delft makes for a super stroll. If you're interest in the famous Delftse Bleuwe, Delft Blue porcelain, there are three 'factories' in Delft that produce the real authentic stuff (lots of imported junk made to look like the real thing). The Porcelene fils (sp?) is the largest of the factories and you can not only see case after case of Delftware but see it being fabricated, from the artisans putting the designs on, to painting and kilning. This plant is about a mile out of town. But Delft anyway is a three-star gem!

If you can get the train from the Rotterdam Central Station to Delft (about 6 trains per hour from track 8 or 9; check on the sign above the track with destinations and make sure Delft is listed) by 3:30 pm or so, you can walk south to the Porcelene Fles Delftware factory in about 15 minutes and make the last tour. If that's not your thing, there are several interesting museums in the center of town that close at 5 or 5:30 pm, or just walk around. The tourist office is about 50 yeards northwest of the Market Square. If you come on a Thursday or Saturday you can find two nice street markets (different locations). Delft is a student town so there are hundreds of bars, cafes and restaurants - a good place to spend an afternoon and evening. Go to The Hague first and see the Mauritshuis art museum if art's your thing - it will add depth to a Delft excursion. Leiden is another lovely town and an easy trip from Rotterdam.

haarlem is a nice town. minutes by rail from amsterdam. town sq., great church, resaurants, shops, pubs, etc.
but you might consider delft. a beautiful picturesque pplace. if you like history consider utrecht. i',ll be there in july.