"Rotterdam" a Rotterdam Travel Page by DanielF

Rotterdam is the largest city in the Netherlands and an important industrial center. It is famous for having the biggest and most active port in the world. However, it can not rival Amsterdam in glamour or cosmopolitanism. It lacks of old mansions and palaces and the historical center was practically turned to ashes during World War II. It seems that Holland’s wealthiest families preferred to establish in beautiful and chic Amsterdam, while Rotterdam has kept a working class atmosphere. The affluence of low qualified labor mass demanded by the huge port has marked Rotterdam’s face and people think of it as a place where to work or make business, but not a place to enjoy or relax.

For these reasons, Rotterdam is not one of these cities that are in everyone’s list of favorite destinations, and even if there are not famous monuments or sights there, it is a place worth to be discovered. It has some fine examples of Dutch contemporary architecture and, since there are not a lot of tourists, it has not been corrupted by mass tourism. If you enjoy discovering the hidden face of everyplace and visiting the places left out by tourist routes, Rotterdam is a destination for you. No need to say that I love Rotterdam.

By the way, I am honoured to have received the kind assistance of a real Rotterdam specialist in VT (ATLC) in building this page. I do recommend to check her fantastic pages for good information and sensitive comments.