The large collection of antique toys is brought together in a monumental house dating from 1927 and is situated in Rotterdam Kralingen. Here you can take a look at the rare samples of famous toy-factories from West-Europe, like Bing, Steiner, Bugatti, Queen Anne etc. The toys date from 1700 to 1940.

Small institute with changing exhibitions.Guss : It's a bit tricky what they offer here. Sometimes I get really amazed at what they dare to exhibit, but then somtimes I also really get inspired or moved by some excellent pictures. It's almost alway a supprise.

The Euromast is a 185m high reminder for the flower fair, the “Floriade” held in 1960. It’s the symbol of Rotterdams erection from the ashes of the bombardment and the modern future the city awaits. H.A. Maaskant was the name of the designer, witch translates as “Side of the Meuse”. The original tower reached 100 meter into the air. At a height of 60 meter it has a panoramic restaurant from were you have a beautiful view over Rotterdam. It was to be the tallest building in the Netherlands, but just ten years later found itself beaten by new arrivals. This is why it was extended by a second tower, which supports a revolving elevator. If the restaurant is not yet high enough you can take this “Space-Cabin” and experience the sensation of a rocket start, slowly turning in orbit to the highest point of Rotterdam.

Near subway Blaak you'll find the most striking houses of Rotterdam; the cube houses. One of them is open to the public. Take a look inside and see the fully furnished interior.

The Blijdorp Zoo is very popular due to its many different animal species that live in imitation surroundings: a Gorilla island, Malayan 'forest rim', a widely varied Asian area with many unique animals like bantengs and babirussa. The newly build Oceanium is a real sight. Here you can experience walking beneath the sea surrounded by tons of fish.

For a tropical dive go to the Tropicana swimming pool where you are surrounded by palms and banana trees. It’s the best way to rinse of all the impressions made by this city.

This museum offers an extensive collection ranging from medieval religious painting to modern Italian design. There’s a lovely collection of late nineteenth and early twentieth century furniture, some excellent glasswork and really interesting modern art of the seventies and eighties. Special interest also deserves the collection of modern photography with a work by Jeff Wall as a highlight. From the renewed pavilion by the architect Hubert Jan Henket you have a great view at the garden with sculptures.

To take a real close look at the biggest port of the world go on a Spido boattrip and see the busy river and sea traffic from close by. An ocean liner or cargo carrier may be an impressive sight standing ashore, see how it looks from a relatively small ship.

One of the most interesting sites of Rotterdam which is not very known because of it's distance to the city centre, is the neighbourhood of Delfshaven. Interesting because of two reasons: first of all in the centre of Delfshaven you will find a magnificent historical part, full of old warehouses and interesting public buildings. Main street is Voorhaven, where today you'll also find many sites for eating and dining. Don't miss brewery De Pelgrim where they still brew the Rotterdam oldest beer!

Secondly, this neighbourhood, really shows the melting pot which is Rotterdam today (by the way, there are many neighbourhoods which give you this idea nowadays). 

To get to Delfshaven, take the subway (metro) called Delfshaven station.    

Since it opened in 1996 the Erasmus bridge - or 'the swan' as it is called by the Rotterdammer - has become the symbol of Rotterdam.

The Kunsthal Rotterdam is a notably exposition-building where annually about 25 expositions are held. You can enjoy all sorts of art, design and photography. Lancia, Leonardo da Vinci, M.C. Escher and Picasso are some of the names you can run into during your visit. The Kunsthal does not have a collection of its own, so check out the exhibition agenda.

The building was designed by the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) architects Rem Koolhaas and Fuminori Hoshino. Basically it’s a big box with a passage through it. Inside a sloping path mirrors this passage. The whole building is conceived as a transition between park and motorway. On the roof there’s a surreal Japanese garden with a sculpture by Henk Visch. Just like the pavilion by Hubert Jan Henket at the Boymans van Beuningen museum on the other side of the park, the Kunsthal also draws heavy on the Neue Galerie by Mies van der Rohe in Berlin. Jerome: The Kunsthal is one of the most innovating platforms of art in Rotterdam; they dare to exhibit collections that are not yet accepted as art. Some collections will always be trash, the kunsthal just raisses the question.

The St Laurence church is one of few buildings in the centre of Rotterdam that survived the WO-II bombardment. It suffered severe damage and had to be partly rebuild, but it’s still standing. This rebuilding was finished in 1968. The church dates back to the first half of the 16th century (1525) and replaces an earlier church. It’s build in a typically Dutch fashion with gothic shapes made in brick. Just the top of the 64 meters rising tower and the window and doorframing are made of stone. The place is near the origin of the town Rotterdam. The dam build in the river “Rotte”, which gave it’s name to the city, once was were the "Hoogstraat" crosses the "Binnerotte".

The black blocks to the northern side of the church were added between 1976 and 1981. But are still topic of discussion. They are by W.G. Quist,the architect who designed the Cities Theater. Their dimensions represent the same masurements on what basis the church was build.

The church is now also used for concerts, lectures and exhibitions.

The Maritiem Buitenmuseum is a so-called working museum, which you find in the city-centre of Rotterdam. The collection gives a good impression of the huge habour and of the Dutch naval hisory.

You can see all sorts of ships, some of them are floating. In the summer it's possible to make a trip on an old steam ship. The highlight of the collection is the steam battering ship ”De Buffel” wich you can see afloat in front of the museum. Jerome: The nice thing about this museum is that you can though most items on display. Its orientated on visiting school classes and very educational.

This is a unique botanical garden in the heart of Rotterdam since 1820 and it's the best place to enjoy the nature and tranquility in the noisy Dutch city.

You will see beautiful plants and trees from all around the world for only 5 guilders.

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