Netherlands

Things to do in Rotterdam

26 places26 stories4 routes

Sightlore has 26 places to explore in Rotterdam, and 26 of them come with a 60-second story in 5 languages. Point your camera at a landmark to learn its name and story, and earn points and badges at the places you actually visit.

Rotterdam's must-sees

The city's most important places. In the app you see how many you've visited and earn a badge when you've seen them all.

  1. 1
    Nieuwe Instituut

    Nieuwe Instituut

    Nieuwe Instituut is a cultural centre in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. It focuses on architecture, design, and digital culture.

  2. 2
    Wereldmuseum Rotterdam

    Wereldmuseum Rotterdam

    The Wereldmuseum Rotterdam (formerly known as the Museum voor Land- en Volkenkunde) is an ethnographic museum, situated at Willemskade in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

  3. 3
    Market Hall

    Market Hall

    The Markthal is a residential and office building with a market hall underneath, located in Rotterdam. The building was opened on October 1, 2014, by Queen Máxima of the Netherlands.

  4. 4
    Hotel New York

    Hotel New York

    Hotel New York is a hotel in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, based in the former office building of the Holland America Line (Nederlandsch Amerikaansche Stoomvaart Maatschappij, or NASM).

  5. 5
    Depot Boijmans van Beuningen

    Depot Boijmans van Beuningen

    Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen (initially called 'het Collectiegebouw' (Collection Building), popularly called 'The Pot') is an art depot of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam.

  6. 6
    Natuurhistorisch Museum Rotterdam

    Natuurhistorisch Museum Rotterdam

    The Natuurhistorisch Museum Rotterdam is a natural history museum located in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

  7. 7
    Cube Houses

    Cube Houses

    The Cube Houses in Rotterdam are 38 cube-shaped houses on poles at Blaak near the Oude Haven, designed by Piet Blom and built in 1982–1984.

  8. 8
    Delfshaven

    Delfshaven

    Delfshaven is a borough of Rotterdam, Netherlands, on the right bank of river Nieuwe Maas. It was a separate municipality until 1886. The town of Delfshaven grew around the port of the city of Delft.

  9. 9
    Pilgrim Fathers Church

    Pilgrim Fathers Church

    The Old or Pilgrim Fathers' Church is a church located in Rotterdam-Delfshaven, in the Netherlands.

  10. 10
    Maritime Museum Rotterdam

    Maritime Museum Rotterdam

    The Maritime Museum Rotterdam is a maritime museum in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Dedicated to naval history, it was founded in 1874 by Prince Henry of the Netherlands.

Discovery routes in Rotterdam

Visit the stops in any order and tap "Check in" at each one; finish the route to earn points and its own badge.

  • Rotterdam: Markthal, Cube Houses and the Old Harbour

    From the City Hall to St Lawrence Church, the Markthal, the Cube Houses and the Oude Haven, then the Witte Huis, the Willemsbrug and De Hef.

    Walking · 2 h 30 min · 3 km · 8 stops

  • Rotterdam: From the Destroyed City to Museumpark and the Euromast

    From Zadkine's Destroyed City to the Maritime Museum, then through Museumpark past the Nieuwe Instituut, the Boijmans, the Depot, the Natural History Museum and the Kunsthal to the Euromast.

    Walking · 4 h · 3 km · 8 stops

  • Rotterdam: The Erasmus Bridge and Kop van Zuid

    From the Wereldmuseum across the Erasmus Bridge to Hotel New York and the hotel ship SS Rotterdam.

    Walking · 2 h 30 min · 3.5 km · 4 stops

  • Rotterdam: Delfshaven and the Van Nelle Factory

    From the cathedral to the old harbour town of Delfshaven and the Pilgrim Fathers' Church, then past the Mevlana Mosque to the Van Nelle Factory and Blijdorp Zoo.

    Walking · 3 h 30 min · 6.5 km · 6 stops

Places to visit

Historic sites

  • Oude Haven

    Oude Haven

    The Oude Haven is one of the oldest harbours of Rotterdam, in the city centre south-east of Blaak station.

    Has a story

  • Willemsbrug

    Willemsbrug

    The Willemsbrug is a bridge next to the Erasmusbrug in the centre of Rotterdam, Netherlands, spanning the Nieuwe Maas.

    Has a story

  • De Hef

    De Hef

    De Hef (lit. 'the lift'), officially Koningshaven Bridge, is a vertical-lift bridge over the Koningshaven (Kings Harbor) channel at the port of Rotterdam, Netherlands.

    Has a story

  • Erasmusbrug

    Erasmusbrug

    The Erasmusbrug is a combined cable-stayed and bascule bridge. Construction began in 1986 and was completed in 1996. It crosses the Nieuwe Maas in the centre of Rotterdam, connecting the north and south parts of the city.

    Has a story

  • Delfshaven

    Delfshaven

    Delfshaven is a borough of Rotterdam, Netherlands, on the right bank of river Nieuwe Maas. It was a separate municipality until 1886. The town of Delfshaven grew around the port of the city of Delft.

    Has a story

Museums

  • Maritime Museum Rotterdam

    Maritime Museum Rotterdam

    The Maritime Museum Rotterdam is a maritime museum in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Dedicated to naval history, it was founded in 1874 by Prince Henry of the Netherlands.

    Has a story

  • Nieuwe Instituut

    Nieuwe Instituut

    Nieuwe Instituut is a cultural centre in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. It focuses on architecture, design, and digital culture.

    Has a story

  • Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen

    Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen

    Municipal Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen is an art museum in Rotterdam in the Netherlands. The name of the museum is derived from its two most important donors, Frans Jacob Otto Boijmans and Daniël George van Beuningen.

    Has a story

  • Natuurhistorisch Museum Rotterdam

    Natuurhistorisch Museum Rotterdam

    The Natuurhistorisch Museum Rotterdam is a natural history museum located in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

    Has a story

  • Kunsthal

    Kunsthal

    The Kunsthal is an art space in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

    Has a story

  • Wereldmuseum Rotterdam

    Wereldmuseum Rotterdam

    The Wereldmuseum Rotterdam (formerly known as the Museum voor Land- en Volkenkunde) is an ethnographic museum, situated at Willemskade in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

    Has a story

Places of worship

  • Grote of Sint-Laurenskerk

    Grote of Sint-Laurenskerk

    Grote Kerk or Sint-Laurenskerk is a Protestant church in Rotterdam, Netherlands. It is the only remnant of the medieval city of Rotterdam.

    Has a story

  • St. Laurentius

    St. Laurentius

    The Cathedral of Saints Laurentius and Elisabeth is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Rotterdam, built in the first quarter of the 20th century.

    Has a story

  • Pilgrim Fathers Church

    Pilgrim Fathers Church

    The Old or Pilgrim Fathers' Church is a church located in Rotterdam-Delfshaven, in the Netherlands.

    Has a story

  • Mevlana Mosque

    Mevlana Mosque

    The Mevlana Mosque is a mosque in northwestern Rotterdam, Netherlands which serves mainly Turkish-Dutch Muslims. The mosque, named after Rumi, was built in 2001 and has two minarets.

    Has a story

Monuments

  • The Destroyed City

    The Destroyed City

    The Destroyed City is a bronze memorial sculpture in the Dutch city of Rotterdam. It commemorates the German bombing of Rotterdam on 14 May 1940, which destroyed the medieval centre of the city.

    Has a story

Nature

  • Diergaarde Blijdorp

    Diergaarde Blijdorp

    Diergaarde Blijdorp, officially Rotterdam Zoo, is a zoo located in the northwestern part of Rotterdam.

    Has a story

Other

  • Rotterdam City Hall

    Rotterdam City Hall

    Rotterdam City Hall was built between 1914 and 1920 by Henri Evers. It is one of the few buildings in the center of Rotterdam that survived the bombing of May 14, 1940. Since 10 October 2000 it has been recognized as a Rijksmonument.

    Has a story

  • Market Hall

    Market Hall

    The Markthal is a residential and office building with a market hall underneath, located in Rotterdam. The building was opened on October 1, 2014, by Queen Máxima of the Netherlands.

    Has a story

  • Cube Houses

    Cube Houses

    The Cube Houses in Rotterdam are 38 cube-shaped houses on poles at Blaak near the Oude Haven, designed by Piet Blom and built in 1982–1984.

    Has a story

  • Witte Huis

    Witte Huis

    The Witte Huis or White House is a building and National Heritage Site in Rotterdam, Netherlands, built in 1898 in the Art Nouveau style. The building is 43 m (141 ft) tall, with 10 floors. It was the first hoogbouw in Europe.

    Has a story

  • Depot Boijmans van Beuningen

    Depot Boijmans van Beuningen

    Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen (initially called 'het Collectiegebouw' (Collection Building), popularly called 'The Pot') is an art depot of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam.

    Has a story

  • Euromast

    Euromast

    Euromast is an observation tower in Rotterdam, Netherlands, designed by Hugh Maaskant constructed between 1958 and 1960. It was specially built for the 1960 Floriade, and is a listed monument since 2010. The tower is a concrete structure with an internal diameter of 9 m (30…

    Has a story

  • Hotel New York

    Hotel New York

    Hotel New York is a hotel in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, based in the former office building of the Holland America Line (Nederlandsch Amerikaansche Stoomvaart Maatschappij, or NASM).

    Has a story

  • SS Rotterdam

    SS Rotterdam

    The fifth SS Rotterdam, also known as "The Grande Dame", is a former ocean liner and cruise ship, and has been a hotel ship in Rotterdam, Netherlands, since 2010. She was launched by Queen Juliana of the Netherlands in a gala ceremony on 13 September 1958, and was completed…

    Has a story

  • Van Nelle Factory

    Van Nelle Factory

    The former Van Nelle Factory on the Schie in Rotterdam, is considered a prime example of the modernist and functionalist architecture.

    Has a story

Explore Rotterdam with your camera

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