Where to stay in Rotterdam
In Rotterdam you do not choose a room by its distance from a canal but by its view of a city built after the war.
- The centre around Blaak
- Everything on foot
- Kop van Zuid
- Over the bridge
- Kralingen
- By the Kralingse Plas lake and park
Where to stay in Rotterdam comes down to one question: the view, or everything at the door. Kop van Zuid has the skyline and the Erasmus Bridge, the centre around Blaak the Markthal and the metro, and an average hotel room is €74–82 per person — so many people sleep here and take the train to Amsterdam.
Four choices and what each really means
The difference is the view, not the distance — all four quarters have a metro station
Why you sleep here and travel elsewhere
The train to Amsterdam takes about forty minutes, with a supplement for the high-speed line between Rotterdam and Schiphol, and Delft is twelve. An average hotel room per person is €74–82 in Rotterdam and €135–139 in Amsterdam. The tax widens the gap: in Rotterdam it is 6.5 per cent of the room rate, in Amsterdam 12.5 per cent, and there it is often charged separately at reception. So Rotterdam makes sense as a base when Amsterdam gets a day or two, not every day.
When you choose by the view
Here you are not looking for proximity to something beautiful but for a view of what was built after the war. Kop van Zuid is best for that — across the water from the centre, with the Erasmus bridge in the frame and Hotel New York in the old Holland America Line headquarters. The centre around Blaak is more practical: the Markthal, the Cube Houses and the metro are all on one square, and dinner is found without looking.
What not to choose
- A Cube House as accommodation, unchecked. One of the large cubes holds the Stayokay hostel, opposite Blaak metro, and the rooms follow the slanting walls; look at a photo of that exact room before booking.
- Amsterdam as a day trip every day. The journey there and back adds up; two days there and three here beats five return journeys.
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
Is it worth sleeping in Rotterdam and visiting Amsterdam?
When Amsterdam gets a day or two, yes. An average room per person is €74–82 against €135–139 in Amsterdam, and the train takes about forty minutes, with a supplement for the high-speed line.
Where do you stay on a first visit to Rotterdam?
In the centre around Blaak. The Markthal, the Cube Houses and the metro are on one square, and the city is walked from there.
How much is the tourist tax in Rotterdam?
6.5 per cent of the room rate; in Amsterdam it is 12.5 per cent.
Ready for Rotterdam?
Where to next
Rotterdam off Blaak: Van Nelle, Delfshaven and Fenix
→A UNESCO-listed factory, a town the 1940 bombing passed by, and a warehouse turned into a museum of migration.
Delft · 13 km
→Vermeer's town, which does not own a single Vermeer
How well does Rotterdam suit you?
→Six questions: a score for this place and others like it.
Front row for the next trip
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