Rotterdam and The Hague - share your tips!

[Lottapianos]

DP and I are off to Rotterdam for a long weekend soon. Getting ferry from Harwich to Hook of Holland over night. 4 nights in total. Planning a day trip to The Hague coz only 30 mins on the train

Adults only trip - we love walking, eating and drinking, bit of shopping, bit of museum / gallery visiting. Would love some recommendations for good bars and restaurants (any cuisine, mid price rather than fine dining). Thanks!

Where are you off to next - Liverpool or Rome?

Bump

Anyone been to either city and got any advice?

I was in Rotterdam for the film festival a few weeks ago and have been to the Hague.

Suggestions- the Museum van Beuningen depot and the nearby Kunsthal, and in the Hague the Mauritshuis and Madurodam I'd think you'd enjoy as museums. Delft half way in between the two cities.

Can't really recommend restaurants because in between films and museums tended to go to cafes. However, one cafe opposite Eendrachtsplein metro station had a wide variety of fish to choose from and was inexpensive.

If you have a bit of time worth a trip on the riverboat service- about an hour to Dordrecht but you could get off somewhere along the route and come back to Rotterdam.

Are you doing public transport only? What kind of museums do you like? Rotterdam is very modern and a bit difficult to grasp as a visitor, The Hague more traditional and not very touristy, and Delft is right in between so I'd stop there.

In Rotterdam Delfshaven is very picturesque and what it was like before it got entirely bombed in WWII.

Definitely go for Chinese food in the Chinese neighborhood in Rotterdam, it's cheap and excellent (large Chinese community). For something a bit more interesting and not extremely expensive, the restaurant of Hotel New York on Kop van Zuid (the photo museum is there too, it's nice if you're into photography). In The Hague there's Foodhallen right in the centre among the shops, lots of little startup restaurants, good for lunch. I could be more specific if I had a better idea of what you're interested in. There's a really good museum (Museum Voorlinden) on the outskirts of The Hague but it's not the easiest if all you have to rely on is public transport.

The Hague has quite a few attractions. I would recommend Escher in the Palace. Very good if you like Escher and a setting in a former palace. Also the Binnenhof and the centre is worth a walk around. Maybe a trip to Scheveningen on the tram if it’s not too cold.

Don’t overlook Delft, it’s very picturesque with canals and centuries old houses (my auntie lives in one) and a couple of interesting museums.

The Cube houses in Rotterdam are definitely worth seeing, like nothing I’ve seen before!

We followed this, meaning we went to places we might not have.

https://loveandroad.com/one-day-in-rotterdam-what-to-see-itinerary/

Love Rotterdam.

Scheveningen if it's not cold/raining

I'd say there is more to do in the Hague:

Mauritzhuis
Madurodam
Trip to the beach at Scheveningen
Escher Museum if you like Escher - it's a big anniversary so there are special exhibitions on
Kunstmuseum Den Haag - essential if you like Mondrian as the building is like being in a big Mondrian painting, also has lots of other collections - if you like dollshouses it is great
Binnenhof - offices of the Dutch Prime Minister

Rotterdam less so:
Tour the modern architecture
Museum Boijmans van Beuningen - we found it disappointing but TBF we'd gone to the Rijksmuseum the day before

The marittuuus on the Hague, don't miss it! Utterly gorgeous place

Just to say, het Binnenhof and Booijmans Van Beuningen are currently closed for multi year renovations. The depot of Booijmans is open and a really interesting building, Part of het Binnenhof are still open to the public but it's mostly closed off.

As a Dutch person I'm mystified by the love for Scheveningen, there is a nice museum there, though, Beelden aan Zee, but beyond that Kijkduin is the much nicer The Hague beacj. There's also a James Tyrell art piece in the dunes right by it that's well worth the visit.

When is this as there are a lot of strikes on public transport in the NL at the moment...

What a lot of great information! Thank you so much

To answer a couple of questions, we will be using public transport only and we're going Easter weekend

Hmm, prepare for it to be busy. Easter Sunday some things will be open but what is will be busy. City centres of The Hague and Rotterdam will be extra busy on Easter Monday. So I'd go to busy attractions like het Mauritshuis on other days, preferably a week day. If you're visiting a lot of museums it's worth buying a museum card, €65 for a year, you can buy it at the museum it's not valid everywhere, I believe Escher in het Paleis doesn't accept it. At the moment there's several Escher exhibitions as it's some special anniversary, there's a large exhibition in het Kunstmuseum in The Hague, which is more interesting than the dedicated Escher in het Paleis museum IMO.

For Rotterdam, shopping areas of interest that are a little less busy, Hofbogen are little shops and restaurants underneath a railway line, there's Ted's on the roof nearby, mid range food, with a great view, brunch or lunch would be nice there. The area around Pannenkoekstraat is nice, there's a good secondhand shop, Hendrik, better for men than women though, north of that area has a lot of good restaurants. A bit more upscale independent shops around van Oldenbarneveltstraat.

In The Hague it's a bit more concentrated but the nicer shops are spread out. Denneweg and Noordeinde/Hoogstraat are better shoping destinations than the traditional city centre (it's right up to it) you can walk from one end to the other over a very nice traditional shell path (part of Lange Voorhout). The better restaurants in the city also tend to be located around de Denneweg.

Public strikes seem to be affecting public transport in the rural region so that shouldn't affect you, and it's unlikely they'll strike on Easter anyhow.

*Hendrikus

'Public strikes seem to be affecting public transport in the rural region so that shouldn't affect you, and it's unlikely they'll strike on Easter anyhow.'

Great to know, thanks

Will you take a booked trip out to the bulb fields or Keukenhof. The tulips are STUNNING if they are in bloom. Spring is the right time though changeable for actual weeks of full bloom.

I like the maritime museum in Rotterdam. It's got lots of boats in the harbour you can visit. There's an old light ship next door with a restaurant that often has good bands. They also have hot tugs (floating hot tubs with motors! ) which is the best way ever to see that bit of the city. Other things to do: have a drink at a terrace on het plein in Den Haag and try to spot a politician; take the train to Dordrecht and go for a walk in the Biesbos national park. The weather should be getting better by then

Witte de Withstrasse is the place for bars and restaurants in Rotterdam (hope I've spelled that right!) and nice to wander from there to Museum Park