Welcome to Rotterdam!
Rotterdam is a young, dynamic global city, continuously renewing itself at a rapid rate. Sparkling skyscrapers, an impressive port, trendy restaurants and food markets, renowned museums and awesome festivals are the direct result of the can-do mentality of the people from Rotterdam. Add to that the many extraordinary attractions and city tours – by bike, bus, boat or on foot – and you understand why Rotterdam was voted Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2016.
Innovative
Full of energy and innovation, Rotterdam reinvented itself after the bombing of the Second World War. It broke with the past and chose modern architecture. The motto: light, air and space, was ground breaking for that time. Rotterdam still embraces experimentation: almost anything is possible. Here, you are constantly surprised by new initiatives: from a rooftop city farm to a music festival in the harbor, from an exclusive rooftop bar to a brewery in an old warehouse.
City of architecture
Icons of the “Nieuwe Bouwen” era stand beside the typical reconstruction-architecture from the sixties, seventies and eighties. They clash cheerfully with the hypermodern landmarks that have been built in recent decennia: the Erasmus Bridge, Rotterdam Central Station, The Rotterdam, the Timmerhuis and of course the Market hall. In the first indoor market hall in the Netherlands, you can find nearly 100 fresh produce stalls, about 15 food shops and diverse restaurants including Jamie’s Italian (from Jamie Oliver). If you look up you will see the largest artwork in the Netherlands, the wall painting the Horn of Plenty.
Port city
As a port city, Rotterdam has unbreakable ties to the water, from the Maas River that flows right through the city to the many (historic) city harbors like Delfshaven. The city flows – courtesy of the Maas – seamlessly over into its industrial port that stretches for 40 kilometers to the Maasvlakte 2 and Hoek van Holland.
University city
The Erasmus University Medical Center (Erasmus MC), affiliated with Erasmus University and home to its faculty of medicine, is one of the largest and most authoritative scientific University Medical Centers in Europe. Furthermore, the hospital is the largest of the eight university medical centers in the Netherlands, both in terms of turnover and number of beds. According to the Times Higher Education rankings of 2018, the faculty of medicine ranks #1 in the Netherlands, #20 in Europe, and #40 worldwide.