jdp08050

We will be docking in Rotterdam for one day in May. By the time we dock we would have had enough of Museums and city centers. We are very interested in seeing cultural like styles and do not object to taking public transportation to out of the way places such as small towns or villages. As long as we are able to get back to the ship on time. Can anyone help? We are a party of four and in our 60's but love to walk and explore.

TommieG

I assume you mean 'cultural life styles'?

Rotterdam is a very modern city (bombed in WO2 and they decided not to re-make but re-build)with a lot of modern architecture. If you like that, no need to leave. You can slo tour the harbour by boat.

Do you like windmills? I belive it is possible to a tour to the Kinderdijk (small village with a lot of windmills)from Rotterdam. Maybe even by a fast ferry boat.

jdp08050

Yes. We would like to see the windmills of Kinderdijk. I will have to google our way there. Thank you. And yes I did mean Life Styles. Some times by 1 or 2AM my keyboard seems to change the location of keys.

NinaSearching

What time does your boat dock and then re-sail?

It is a little inconvenient to take public transportation to Kinderdijk from Rotterdam (not difficult, just time-consuming), involving either train + bus, or 2 water ferries.
There is a boat "cruise" that takes you out to Kinderdijk -- 3 hours total, which is ~ 1 hour to, 1 hour at the windmills, 1 hour back. There are only 2 departures per day. (http://europeforvisitors.com/netherl...nformation.htm) Of course, if you've been on a boat for so long, you may not want to hop right back on one.

Rotterdam has a lot of amazing outdoors/public sculpture, so it can be fun to simply wander around town looking at those. Pick up a Rotterdam Welcome Card (http://www.rotterdam.info/cms.php?cmspageid=101) that includes a 1-day unlimited tram card, and just hop on any tram in any direction and explore. The "city center" looks very different from most in NL because, as mentioned, it was bombed out, so you do not have the central town square and all the quaint buildings encircling it.

What day of the week will you be docking? If it's a Saturday or Tuesday, head down to Blaak Market and wander -- in spring time there can be as many as 500 stalls set up. Eat a fresh herring sandwich, or one of the stalls sells huge plates of fresh steamed mussels, or get a warm, fresh stroopwafel. Especially if the weather is nice, it's a great way to see what "real" Rotterdammers do.

Delft is a quaint small town that takes less than 30 minutes to get to by train from Rotterdam. The old town is ringed by canals. You mentioned being museum-ed out, but there is a great museum with the history of the Netherlands that if you are up for, I personally found very interesting and informative. It is on the site of an old convent and also happens to be where William of Orange was killed, so it's kind of interesting.

Den Haag is only 15 minutes away by train, and from there you can get to the beach in another 30 minutes. That may or may not interest you.

Also from Den Haag you can take a bus to the Keukenhof Gardens, but that will take you the 15 minutes to Den Haag plus another 50 minutes on the bus. If you have the time, however, it's a wonderful, amazing sight.

jdp08050

Thank you for the information. We are in Cobh the 6th, Falmouth the 7th , Le Havre the the 8th, Rotterdam on Monday the 9th, Dover the 10th , the 11th at sea, Oslo on the 12th, and end up in Copenhagen on the 13th. To fly back to the US
As I look at our itinerary we will be in port in Rotterdam from 12PM to 9PM so it looks like we will stay in the city or head for Delft. You have been a great help. Would have liked to try that "Stroopwafel".

menachem

You might go to Delft in the early afternoon, be back in Rotterdam for late afternoon drinks. If you want to have a hyperlocal address, try "De Ballentent", where the harbour movers and shakers have their beer. It's right on the river Maas and you'll probably be able to see your ship from the other side of the river. Also nice, and architecturally interesting, is the "Oude Haven" area (old harbour). This is where the bombing was heaviest, and now the area with the most interesting architecture: Piet Blom's cube houses, Blaak station, Willemsbrug, and the building is still going on. It's also an area with a number of good bars, and one rather nice restaurant: Stockholm. Gambrinus is a specialty beer house. If high tea is more your style, there is Picknick, on Mariniersweg nearby, with amazing pastry and scones. An interesting excursion within Rotterdam is "Delfshaven" to the east, an area of one canal that looks remarkably like Amsterdam. The pilgrim fathers left from here, and you can visit the church where they went to services before leaving for the new world. Next door is a microbrewery that serves "pilgrim ale" and a number of other varieties and that has a nice bar menu.

(You can buy a stroopwafel on off - market days on Hoogstraat, there's a good stand there, and also a place that serves "poffertjes", a dutch mini pancake specialty.)

http://www.deballentent.nl/
http://www.oudehaven.nl/
http://www.rotterdamhistorischdelfshaven.nl/
http://www.pelgrimbier.nl/

menachem

I forgot to mention that the quintessential place to have at least a cup of coffee is Melief Bender on Oude Binnenweg.

http://www.meliefbender.nl/

spaarne

Ditto for Delft. Also The Hague, Madurodam.

Urs84

Hi,
In Rotterdam I would recommend visiting:
The old city parts: delfshaven (this is the part of rotterdam that wasn't bombed in WOII), the part near the Erasmusbridge,
If you go onto the Euromast(a big tower) you can see the Rotterdam Skyline.
Also vist the Kubuswoning (homes builed in the form of a cubus)..
Tot travel trough rotterdam I would recommend the bikingtaxi (a cheap and fun way to see the city.. but other forms of transport are also ok). I lived in Rotterdam for most of my life so if you would like more information feel free to email me.

DAX

Bookmarking

MyriamC

I agree with Urs84. If you stay within the centre, no need to take public transport. We walked from Central Station all the way to Hotel New York (Oud Zuid area), then crossed Erasmus Bridge to Oude Veerhaven and had lunch at Zeezout. Then further on via Scheepvaartkwartier, Museumpark, Westersingel, to the cube houses and the 'potlood' building, to Oude Haven, Waterstad and back to Central Station.
Rotterdam is an amazing city in terms of architecture.
The walk we made is called "Rondje Rotterdam". It is outmapped and you get the map and a lot of good information at the tourist office.