Sights Rotterdam: On land. By water. In lofty heights.

Fancy a relaxed, delightful stroll through the Dutch port city? Go with us on a special city and harbor tour and up to almost 200 meters high to observe the city from a different perspective. And as if that were not enough, last but not least, there are also some wild animals.

Discover the special port city & many Rotterdam attractions

Rotterdam is the second largest city in our neighboring country the Netherlands. And yet the city, with only about 650.000 inhabitants a certain multi-culti coziness. Rotterdam is colorful, young and lively. Rotterdam offers pleasure, water, art, cultr, harbor flair and above all a truly colorful mix of people, experiences and impressions.

But Rotterdam is not just a port city. It has also made a name for itself as a university city. Correspondingly many technical colleges can be found next to the university, a music college and an art academy. Beside cultural scene quarters the striking skyline with Wokenkratzer silhouette, modern architecture and Erasmus bridge shows up as a contrast.

You can already see, it is worthwhile to give Rotterdam several views and moments and just have a closer look at the city. We really fell in love with Rotterdam and therefore we spent more than one day in the city.

Feel like discovering and experiencing Rotterdam from one perspective or another with us?

Rotterdam sightseeing from above: View from the Euromast

To get a good overview of a city, a view from high above is recommended. This is also possible in Rotterdam. The place to be and to see in Rotterdam is called "Euromast". The observation tower was already opened in 1960. The design for the tower, which is clearly visible from a distance, was made by architect Huig Maaskant.

It takes a while until you reach the top of the Euromast. The first way leads through the souvenir store – because in the best case we should of course also shop something. The tour continues past a first restaurant platform, then by elevator up to a first viewing platform at a height of approx. 100 meters.

On this level there is also a restaurant "with a view"; and the highlight are probably the two hotel rooms (from about 400 euros per night including the hammer view, champagne and breakfast).

From 100 meters to a height of 185 meters

By stairs you reach another elevator. This takes the visitors, still a bit higher, to another viewing platform. During our visit it was storming properly, so it was not very cozy up there. But only from this platform, the observation gondola can be climbed.

This takes the tower visitor up to a giddy height of around 185 meters. The view from here is great – in good weather you can see up to 30 kilometers away.

The entrance fee for adults is about. 10 euros per person; children pay less. But there are also family tickets, group discounts and combination tickets (z.B. Tower + Dinner etc.).

The Euromast serves not only as an observation tower, restaurant or hotel, but also as a special event location for parties, meetings, etc. So it z.B. also possible to abseil from the Euromast (we did not dare to do that… 😉 and it would not have been possible, because of the stormy weather…). Otherwise "the abseil" is possible from May to September and costs 52,50 Euro per person.

By the way, the Euromast is one of the highest buildings in the Netherlands.

Rotterdam sights from the water: Splashtours Rotterdam

Strictly speaking, this adventure in Rotterdam actually begins more on land. Because a splash tour takes place in a special bus. The tour starts near the Euromast in a yellow bus. As already mentioned, not a normal bus – an amphibious bus.

About 30 minutes it goes crisscross by bus through the city – on the street – our two city guides resp. Bus driver and bus guide Ger and Peter.

There is a lot of information about the city in English and Dutch. A screen also shows some additional information in German language.

It goes across the city, through the Maastunnel, which is about one kilometer long, over bridges, along the skyline (Rotterdam is also called Manhattan of the Netherlands) and past various museums. And then all at once it splashes. The bus drives directly into the Maas and then the tour continues on the water and bus driver Peter becomes a captain.

…and down into the Maas

There is also a lot to see on the water, z.B. a big cruise ship "the Rotterdam. She now no longer sails across oceans, but she still serves as a special location and also a special hotel.

About 30 minutes we sail by "a little different harbor tour" over the Maas, with all kinds of interesting information. We find out which is the tallest building in Rotterdam and which company is located in which building on the skyline.

There is also information about the Amphi bus every now and then. Especially the children like this extraordinary tour very much.

The prices for this one hour city tour are 25 Euro per adult, children 17 Euro. There are also combination tickets with other experiences and tours z.B. Euromast + Splashtour or Essen + Splashtour u.v.m.

Of course you can also book a normal harbor tour or a tour around the harbor. Taking a tour of the Meuse River in Rotterdam. I found two nice articles about this on other travel blogs:

Rotterdam sights: On foot in Rotterdam on the road

A little bit of Rotterdam on land the Rotterdam visitor experiences also already at the Splashtour. But we recommend in addition also definitely a walk through the colorful city.

Read also: Rotterdam Sights – More than just a port city in Holland!

But if you are traveling with your family, you still need a special experience program. What always excites kids? A zoo, of course. Therefore the zoo in Rotterdam "Diergaarde Blijdorp" was also on the program.

The zoo is divided into different continents. The tour starts with a visit to the Ozeaneum. Passing by various fish, penguins and jellyfish. The highlight here is definitely the Shark Tunnel. Further it goes past at turtles, prairie dogs (which are really very trusting), by a butterfly hall, also past large animals like z.B. elephants, giraffes, bears, lions etc.

On the way in the Diergaarde Blijdorp

The park is very beautifully laid out, many green areas, pretty and also large enclosures, water areas, catering establishments and in between there is always a playground, so that the kids can really let off steam.

The entrance fee for adults is 21 euros for adults and children pay about 17 euros. If you arrive by car, you have to add a few euros for parking.

Rotterdam Tip: Get a discount at the zoo with the Rotterdam Welcome Card. The Welcome Card also includes discounts for many other sights, experiences and public transport in the city.

*We have already visited Rotterdam several times. Partly also in combination with a cooperation. We thank Rotterdam Tourism and holland.com for the invitation and elaboration of our program and the many interesting impressions and experiences in Rotterdam. Our opinion remains, of course, untouched by it. This article was first written in 2014 and was last updated in December 2021.

Fancy some more experiences, discoveries and sightseeing in Rotterdam?