Things to do in Rotterdam

Rotterdam Zoo is situated in the district of Blijdorp in Rotterdam Noord. Stroll across the African Savannah and stand face-to-face with the giraffes. Visit Bokito the gorilla and his family. Walk on the seabed in the indoor Oceanarium and meet stingrays and sharks. Stroll through the largest butterfly paradise of Europe: Amazonica, filled with fragrant flowers, thousands of South American butterflies, anacondas and piranhas that love to bite.

The climbing park in Rotterdam has 7 different courses in living trees ranging in various heights and levels of difficulty. Climbing may take up to 3 hours max (including instruction), but you can choose to shorten this time. The climbing park is interesting for young and old people, between ages of 7 (length 1.20m) and 80 years old. For the smallest monkeys there’s a free playwood.

Plaswijck Park has been a small-scale recreational park for over ninety years. It is located on the Bergse Achterplas in Hillegersberg-Schiebroek on the northern edge of Rotterdam. The park used to be known in the 1930s as the earthly paradise. The park currently consists of a Speelwijck (play area), Dierenwijck (animal area) and Wandelwijck (walking area). Speelwijck includes a Port Playground, Monkey Playground and Traffic Playground. And in the event of bad weather, guests can enjoy the House on the Hill, a giant playhouse where kids can jump on a trampoline on beds in the bedroom, squirt bubble bath in the bathroom and crawl and climb through the secret tunnels and passageways. Animals from around the globe live in Dierenwijck, including monkeys, owls, lynxes and goats. Wandelwijck offers various places to relax, including the English Garden and the Picnic Meadow.

You'll find an indoor market hall in various world-class cities, but the combination with luxury housing makes Rotterdam's Markthal the first of its kind. The apartments are draped over the food market in a horseshoe configuration.

The Cube Houses (or Pole Houses or Tree Houses) designed by architect Piet Blom are part of the Blaakse Bos development which borders on the Laurenskwartier district and the Waterfront area.

The Laurenskerk, or Church of St. Lawrence, originally arose on the banks of the River Rotte and its location can truly be called the very birthplace of Rotterdam. It is an imposing church built between 1449 and 1525, and it is Rotterdam's only surviving late Gothic building.