Rotterdam is the gateway to the Southwestern part of The Netherlands and in a limited period of time you can easily reach a number of other cities and interesting sites. The historic town of Delft is only 15 minutes by car or train and the windmills of Kinderkijk (an UNESCO monument) can easily be reached by boat or car from Rotterdam. As are the worldfamous Deltaworks that protect our country against the water of the North Sea and the cities of Gouda and The Hague. Travelling to Amsterdam & Antwerp (Belgium) will only take you about 1 hour by car or 30 minutes by high speed train.
We will give you a number of suggestions so you can enjoy the best of Holland.... from Rotterdam!
Historic Delft
GO 4 Delft
The historic city of Delft is worldfamous for the Delft Blue pottery, painter Johannes Vermeer and the link to the Dutch Royal Family. Only 15 minutes by car or train from Rotterdam, Delft is the perfect match with Rotterdam.
by car: highway A13 to The Hague/Amsterdam, exit Delft Centrum. Follow Parking-Route in the city center.
by train: from Rotterdam Central Station or Rotterdam Blaak to Delft. Get off at Delft Central Station.
by bike: GO the Dutch way! Travel by bike to Delft. Follow the bicycle signs. (approx 16 km to/from city center)
Only about 25 kilometres from Rotterdam by car or by boat you will find the worldfamous windmills of Kinderdijk. The area with 19 windmills has been an UNESCO monument since 1997. One of the mills (number 2) is open to visitors. Explore the area by foot or by bike and enjoy Kinderdijk.
Windmills at Kinderdijk - UNESCO worldheritage at only 25 kilometres from Rotterdam
Maeslantkering, stormbarrier in the Nieuwe Waterweg
GO 4 Deltaworks
In 1953 a spring tide in combination with a North-westerly storm flooded a big part of the South-west of Holland. As many as 1800 people lost their lives. The Delta plan was initiated to protect our country against the water. The whole project reaches from the Nieuwe Waterweg near Rotterdam to the Wester Schelde down South in the province of Zeeland. Nowadays, dikes, huge dams and hypermodern stormbarriers protect the country agains the water of the North Sea. The Keringhuis at Hoek van Holland is open to visitors and will tell you all about the Rotterdam stormbarrier named Maeslandkering. From Rotterdam you can easily reach the other projects of the Deltaworks. A car is preferred to reach the various places easily.
