The Most Instagrammable Places in Rotterdam
Rotterdam, also referred to as the Manhattan at the Meuse, is known for its outstanding architecture. While other Dutch cities are known for historical buildings and canals, Rotterdam offers a mix of both modern and old architecture. This results in a lot of Insta-worthy photo spots around the city. Read on to find out about all the Instagrammable places in Rotterdam, including the exact locations!
Read more: A Complete Sightseeing Guide of Rotterdam
Wilhelminapier
The Wilhelminapier is filled with high-rise buildings and offers amazing views of the city from its quays. It’s also a great area for a walk. Take a photo in between the buildings, showcasing the architecture, or head over to Wilhelminakade for a perfect view of the Erasmus Bridge.
Nico Koomanskade
From Wilhelminapier, head across the bridge to the Katendrecht peninsula for a great view of the high-rise buildings of the Wilhelminapier. You can also find the Fenix Food Factory here, which is a food market, and great spot for a drink and snack on their large and (in the late afternoon) sunny terrace.
Rijnhaven
The best view of the skyscrapers on the Wilhelminapier is at the crossing of Hillelaan and Posthumalaan. We love to shoot here at dusk when the lights are on and the sky still has some last traces of sunset colors.
Wilhelminaplein
Wilhelminaplein is one of the best spots in Rotterdam to watch the sunset. From here, you’ll see the sun set behind the high-rise buildings and it’s beautiful to witness. There’s also a walking bridge on Wilhelminaplein, for a more higher-up view. Bring drinks and snacks if you want to have a sunset picnic, there’s plenty of space for it!
Erasmusbrug
It’s a must to take a photo on the Erasmus Bridge. If you didn’t, your trip to Rotterdam didn’t happen, haha. Besides being an amazing photo spot, it’s also nice to walk across the Erasmus Bridge. The bridge offers great views of the city at any time of day. Even after living in Rotterdam for over a year, we still love crossing this bridge so much.
Leuvehoofd
Leuvehoofd has a small park, which makes it a perfect photo spot, framing the greenery of the park with the Erasmus Bridge and the skyscrapers De Rotterdam and New Orleans.
Willemskade
Willemskade offers amazing views of the Wilhelminapier. We love walking along this quay and admiring the beauty across the river. It’s a very nice area to walk around in as well!
Veerhaven
Veerhaven is a harbor and a permanent base of historical boats. Besides the historical boats, the harbor is also open to passing ships. This creates a mix of old and new boats. Veerhaven is surrounded by historical buildings, but the skyscrapers of Rotterdam are also part of the view. We love how this spot offers a mix of old and new, both in architecture as well as in boats!
Westerkade
Just like Willemskade, Westerkade also offers a great view of the Erasmus Bridge and the Wilhelminapier. Because Westerkade is a little further away, it’s possible to frame more of the view in your shot. Besides the beautiful photo spot, this area is simply very nice to walk around in.
Het Park
Het Park, which literally means The Park is the most beautiful park in Rotterdam. It’s a great spot to see the changing of the seasons. We love the fall colors in November, but also the blossoms in March. During spring, you’ll also stumble upon flowers in the park, such as daffodils and tulips. It’s a very nice park to walk around in and explore the greenery and flowers. The park is closely located to the Euromast as well, offering plenty of photo spots of the Euromast.
Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen
With the opening in November 2021, the Depot is one of the newest sightseeing spots. The Depot is an art depot that’s open to the public and the architecture of the Depot is very interesting. The round facade is completely covered in mirrors, showing the skyline of Rotterdam. It’s a very cool building and an amazing spot to take photos!
Markthal
The Markthal is also a relatively new addition to Rotterdam. The construction was finished in 2014, and it houses an indoor market. There’s a large artwork on the ceiling inside the indoor market, showing fruits, insects, vegetables, seeds and flowers. Besides being a great photo spot, it’s also worth checking out the food stands inside the Markthal. You can try all different kinds of food from different countries.
Kubuswoningen
The Kubuswoningen is a photo spot you can’t miss in Rotterdam. We love the unique architecture of these houses and their bright yellow color. You can get really creative with the angles of these uniquely shaped houses. Did you know that people actually live in these houses!? One of the houses is open to the public, so you can see what it’s like to live in such a kubuswoning. Check out our complete sightseeing guide of Rotterdam for more information about this.
Stadhuis
Stadhuis, the city hall of Rotterdam, is one of the few buildings that survived the World War II bombings in the city center of Rotterdam. It’s a beautiful building and a favorite photo spot among Instagrammers. You’ll always see some people taking photos here. We especially love it during the winter months, as the city hall is covered with pretty lights.
There’s also a courtyard inside the city hall that’s open to the public during weekdays. We’ve heard that it’s a beautiful garden, but we haven’t been able to visit it ourselves yet.
Kralingse Plas
Kralingse Plas is a large lake which is perfect for outdoor summer activities. We love exploring the lake by kayak, and paddle to the windmills. The windmills offer a great photo spot!
There’s also a beach surrounding the lake and a dedicated area to swim in, but we wouldn’t recommend going to the beach here. It’s always very busy and people are very loud with their music. Besides that, the water isn’t very clean. We’d recommend heading to Hoek van Holland if you fancy a beach day. Read our complete sightseeing guide of Rotterdam for more information on kayak rental in Kralingse Plas and Hoek van Holland Beach.
Kralingse Plas is a nice area for a walk along the lake year round. There are also a few restaurants near the windmills with nice terraces overlooking the water.
Delfshaven
Delfshaven is known for its well-preserved historical harbor, including the typically Dutch canal houses. The historical part of Delfshaven is not a very large area, but it’s absolutely a must- visit. While wandering along the canal, you’ll probably want to take a photo every few minutes. With so many photo spots, you don’t want to skip visiting Delfshaven.
Schiedam
The last photo spots on this list are in Schiedam, which is technically not in Rotterdam. Schiedam is a small neighboring town of Rotterdam, and is only 20 minutes away by public transport. The historical city center of Schiedam is beautiful and on top of that, there are 7(!) windmills in Schiedam, among them the tallest in the world. With this many windmills, beautiful canals and historical buildings, you probably can’t stop taking photos in Schiedam. Check out our complete sightseeing guide of Rotterdam for more information about Schiedam.
We hope we’ve inspired you to visit the amazing city of Rotterdam with these Instagrammable places. Have you been to Rotterdam or is it on your bucket list? Let us know in the comments below!
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