Rotterdam, The Netherlands. A very quick 35 minute flight from London got us to the second largest city in Holland seamlessly and before we knew it we were settled in our Hotel room with a nice cup of tea looking forward to our weekend ahead.
The first thing that became apparent when we began walking around the wide streets of the city is the weird and wonderful mix of architecture old and new. Rotterdam was heavily bombed in World war II so much of the old historical buildings were destroyed and as a result, modern and quirky houses, offices and skyscrapers have taken their place.
You wouldn’t necessarily be able to tell what country you were in a lot of the time with all these different styles side by side but occasionally you’ll take a turn down a street and be greeted with those familiar terraced houses overlooking a canal that you’d be used to seeing everywhere in Amsterdam and be fully reminded where you are. Walk a bit further away from the city centre and the old town features much more of this iconic scenery and just to top it off, a windmill in true Dutch fashion.
Rotterdam isn’t always on people’s radar when thinking of a city break destination but after having experienced a delightful weekend here I can say it definitely should be! We spent pretty much the entire time walking around exploring and there was always something interesting to see or do. We happened to be here during a maritime festival which added a buzz to the place but even away from that it had a nice feel. The main spots were never crowded or overly touristic which added to it’s charm, bundle in the reasonable prices and speedy travel time to get here and you’ve got yourself a very enjoyable weekend.
See all my photos from our trip below.
