Rotterdam is the busiest port in the world and also a modern city boasting a fine collection of art in its many museums. The old city was reduced to rubble in WWII, and what you see today has been rebuilt, with commercial and residential areas lying on both sides of the Maas River.
A main attraction of the city is the Euromast Tower, overlooking the city from its perch in Central Park. The Space Cabin at the tip allows you to experience the sensation of rocket launching. Rotterdam's Nautical Museum, situated along the Leuvehaven inner harbour, offers exhibitions, models and memorabilia. Additionally, the warship, De Buffel, is moored alongside the museum.
Also of interest is Museum Park, home to three of Rotterdam's art institutions, nestled in well landscaped gardens. The Rotterdam Art Gallery (Kunsthal) has temporary exhibitions in a massive, multi-storey exhibition centre; the Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum boasts excellent early primitives by many famous painters; and the Nederlands Architectuurinstituut displays architectural works.
For leisure time, the Arboretum Trompenburg is a unique botanical garden in the heart of the city and offers an assortment of beautiful plants and trees from all around the world. Alternatively, Delfshaven is a trendy area with many galleries, cafés and restaurants, as well as gabled houses and a windmill.
Just outside of Rotterdam is Blijdorp Zoo, with enclosures such as Gorilla Island, a Malayan 'forest rim', and a widely varied Asian area with many unique animals, and the Oceanium. Seventy-five kilometres away from Rotterdam, Amsterdam is well known for its concentric canals, narrow buildings, excellent museums and naughty nightlife.
By car from Amsterdam, take the A4/E19, and then the A13/E19 to get here. There's frequent train service from around the Netherlands, as well as from Paris and Brussels. From Amsterdam, there are at least two trains each hour, taking 50 minutes.
The Hoek van Holland sea-ferry terminal, for car ferries from Harwich in England, is 20kms away; while Rotterdam's Europoort, the terminal for P&O North Sea Ferries car ferries from Hull in England, is 30kms away. Rotterdam's Zestienhoven Airport is four kilometres from the city centre, with Schiphol International Airport in Amsterdam as a busier alternative - less than an hour by rail.
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