Rotterdam’s Cafe Culture
Review by Sarah Riches
Quick look
What To See
Eating Out
Sleepover
Getting There
A 10-minute blitz during WWII and the subsequent fire that spread throughout the city wiped out many of Rotterdam’s historic buildings. But the metropolis fought back, and is now home to contemporary designs by some of the world’s most influential architects. Still, Rotterdam doesn’t have any compelling sights – although that’s its charm
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Rather than dashing around ticking everything off your must-see list – and feeling guilty when you don’t – Rotterdam is a city in which to relax. It’s small enough to wander around on foot or by bike, and there are enough things to do to occupy you on a weekend jaunt. But to get a real feel for the place, inbetween the galleries, museums and shops, stop by a cafe, and while away an afternoon with a book or a slice of cake.
What To See : Back to top
Hiring a bike is a great way to get around. Rijwiel Shop Rotterdam hires bicycles for €8.50 a day (plus €50 cash deposit) and is to your immediate right when you exit Central Station – pick up a city map while you’re there. This suggested route takes an hour; but with stops along the way it could fill a day. Zigzag east towards Saint Laurenskerk church and past a football-pitch sized outdoor fleamarket (Tues and Sat only) and you’ll come to a clutch of cube houses (www.kubuswoning.nl).
They were built by the Dutch architect, Piet Blom, who designed each of the 38 homes to be tilted 45 degrees, like a die mid-roll. One is open to the public (€2.50). The houses overlook a harbour and the White House, an American-style office building with a turret that dates from 1898. From there, follow the river past Erasmus Bridge – distinctive for having a single pylon. The World Museum (www.wereldmuseum.nl) is on the other side of it. What began as a sea merchants’ private collection of Buddhist art has turned into an excellent permanent collection of Asian art, housed over three floors. Don’t miss the full-size model of a shrine; Buddhist chanting and the curl of incense smoke help you forget you’re in a museum.
Back on your bike, keep the river on your left and you’ll end up in a park dwarfed by Euromast (www.euromast.nl), which at 185m, is Holland’s tallest tower. Kunsthal Museum (www.kunsthal.nl), a cultural centre which showcases everything from lingerie and surrealist graphic design, is on the edge of Museum Park nearby. On my visit, I learnt how Egyptian mummies are prepared – the nose of the deceased is broken, their brains are dragged out through the hole, then their head is filled with sawdust…
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Eating Out : Back to top
Between sights or instead of them, make sure you stop by a cafe. You’ll find Loos (www.loos-rotterdam.nl), a grand corner cafe, just behind the World Museum. With its tall ceilings, white tablecloths and the sounds of piano music and tinkling teacups, it’s the perfect place to pull up a bar stool or relax by the window with a paper. Witte de Withstraat, in the centre of the city, is a street lined with quirky design shops, bars and a contemporary art gallery, Witte de With Tent (www.wdw.nl). Café De Zondebok en t’Zwarte Schaap is the first cafe you come to, on the right corner. Cafe by day, bar by night, it’s one of the coolest venues on the strip. Request an espresso, made from a blend created just for them. You’ll find Hopper (www.hopper-coffee.nl), a cool split-level cafe with old school desks and concrete floors, further up the street on the left. As well as serving healthy breakfasts, paninis, soup and salads, it has a good selection of bread which you can watch being made and coffee from Columbia, Ethiopia and Panama. If you’re lucky, your visit might coincide with a late-night event, as the cafe hosts occasional short film viewings.
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The Bagel Bakery (www.bagelbakery.nl) is around the corner, and probably the best place in the city for cake. Choose from Dutch apple pie, banana muffins or chocolate brownie cheesecake, which has chunks of brownie embedded in whipped cream on top. It’s a meal in itself, but if you don’t have a sweet tooth, bagels, burgers and frankfurters are on the menu. Lebkov & Sons (www.lebkov.com) is at the other end of town, on a corner outside Central Station – you can’t miss it. If you’re hiring bikes from Rijwiel, chances are you’ll want to stop by once you’ve returned them for a hot chocolate or hazelnut latte. With free wifi, a public laptop and glossy magazines, you can rest here while you get your breath back, or grab a bite to eat – it serves sandwiches, soup, salads and cookies.
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Sleepover : Back to top
For convenience, you can’t beat the four-star Bilderberg Park Hotel (www.bilderberd.nl), which is slap bang in the middle of the city and just a five-minute walk from most of the sights. It has 189 rooms from €89/€119 for a single/double. Hotel Bazar (www.hotelbazar.nl) is around the corner, and if you’re looking for a quirky boutique hotel and restaurant, this is it. Its 27 rooms are all individually decorated with Moroccan lanterns, mirrors and outrageously colourful bedspreads.
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Prices start from €70 for a single/double room. Hotel New York (www.hotelnewyork.nl) is on the south side of the river, accessible by watertaxi. The building dates from 1901, when it was the headquarters of the Holland American Line – the company responsible for shuttling emigrants to the US.
The restaurant and most rooms have a waterfront view and are decorated with nautical touches – portholes in the bathroom door, a leather suitcase nightstand and ship searchlights remind guests of the hotel’s history. But if you’ve ever thought about joining the mile high club, consider staying in one of two rooms (each €385) at the top of Euromast. OK, so it’s not quite a mile high, but the 360 degree views are still incredible.
The low-cost airline, bmibaby, flies direct from East Midlands Airport and Birmingham Airport to Amsterdam 13 times a week, and from Belfast City Airport to Amsterdam six times a week. Fares start from £21.99 one way including taxes – to find out more or book a flight, visit www.bmibaby.com. From the airport, frequent trains whizz you to the centre of Rotterdam in 35 minutes.
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