1 From Wilhelminaplein to Hotel New York

This interesting walk starts from the metro station Wilhelminaplein (you can also exit the metro at Leuvehaven station and cross the Erasmus bridge, which will take you to the Wilhelminaplein). When leaving the station Wilhelminaplein, take the exit towards Erasmusbrug (Erasmus bridge), Cruise Terminal, Nieuwe Luxor Theatre and Las Palmas. Walk through the futuristic elliptical tunnel with its horizontal escalator.

When outside, you’ll be standing on the square Wilhelminaplein. In front of you is the tall bu i ld ing, Toren van Zu id, wh ich has continuously changing patterns of 896 illuminated green spheres on the entire forward-sloping façade of the building. Designed by the famous Italian architect Renzo Piano, who also designed the Centre Pompidou in Par i s , the bui ld ing i s the centra l headquarters of Dutch telecom provider KPN. Behind you is the Nieuwe Luxor Theater (the red building).

When you’re facing the theatre, the futuristic grey building on its left houses the court of justice. Further to the left is the Maastoren (Maas Tower), home to financial giant Deloitte. The building is 161 metres high, the highest office building in the Netherlands.

In front of the Toren op Zuid, walk to the left. On your left are old warehouses and on your right is the yet to be finished skyscraper De Rotterdam, designed by world renowned and award winning Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas.

The building is a record-setting design, being the largest building in volume of Holland that has been developed in one go. Referred to by Koolhaas as the Vertical City, De Rotterdam comprises offices, apartments, a hotel, leisure and waterfront areas, as well as parking. This transparent design truly is a city within a city.

When you walk further, you’ll come across the Cruise Terminal and the World Port Centre. Across from the Cruise terminal is the Las Palmas, an interesting architectural building

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Kop van Zuid and De Kaap WalkDiscover buildings designed by well-known architects

Hotel New York and the ship SS Rotterdam

Useful tips from locals about the best restaurants, cafés and hotspots  

with the entrance to the Dutch Photo Museum on this side, and on the other side fish restaurant Las Palmas, owned by well-known celebrity Dutch chef, Herman den Blijker.

Walking on, you’ll come to Hotel New York. The river Nieuwe Maas flows on your right hand side. Up until the sixties, passenger ships of the Holland America Line (HAL) used to depart from here, the Kop van Zuid, with thousands of emigrants seeking a new life on the other side of the Atlantic. In 1990, the former head office of HAL was transformed into a luxury hotel named Hotel New York. With its grand

reference to the exciting days of trans-Atlantic shipping, many guest rooms offer magnificent views over the river Maas and to the other side towards the historic harbour Veerhaven and the modern skyscrapers of the city centre.

The immense café-restaurant of Hotel New York is a great place to enjoy lunch and is certainly worth going inside. When the sun’s out, you can also have lunch or fresh oysters on the waterside terrace of Maaskant at the hotel. Walk around the left side of Hotel New York, which takes you to the shipping wharf. From here, the affordable ferry can take you to the Veerhaven or Leuvehaven. A faster alternative is the water-taxi.

Behind Hotel New York is the Montevideo building. Cross the square Landverhuizersplein to the right and cross the bridge Rijnhavenbrug to Katendrecht, also known as De Kaap (The Cape).

De Kaap is a peninsula that used to have a dubious reputation, where prostitutes enter-tained sailors and where violence and poverty was a way of life. Nowadays, the area is in full development, replacing the old with new housing, special shops, great cafés and restaurants.

The bridge takes you to the charming Walhalla theater on the left and the Fenix Food Factory on the right. In this old warehouses you can try

and buy a wide range of local products like tasty bread from Jordy’s bakery, delicious meat and cheese, local roasted coffee and citybrewed beer from the Kaapse Brouwers. You can taste it inside in the restaurant or outside on the terraces.

The walking route goes further to the other side of the Fenix to Deliplein. On this square are restaurants and special shops located. In summertime this is a crowdy place to get a drink on a terrace. Walk to the right of the square to the Sumatrastraat, and you will find Kopi Soesoe, a small cafe-lunchroom. This Indonesian name refers to the mix of cultures.

2 From Hotel New York to the SS Rotterdam

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Walk through the Sumatrastraat and turn right onto the Brede Hilledijk. A bit further on you’ll see a park on the other side of the road. Walk through it until you reach the ship SS Rotterdam, the former passenger and cruise ship of the Holland America Line. It’s definitely worthwhile to go onto the ship’s deck, which is free.

The SS Rotterdam offers several interesting tours that allow you to explore the ship’s inner and outer quarters. The tours aren’t free, but you’ll learn a lot about the ship’s rich history.

You can also enjoy a meal or drinks in the café-restaurant on board.

From the SS Rotterdam, walk along the Maashavenkade and past the many inland barges back to the Deliplein, via the Sumatraweg. Then cross the bridge Rijn-havenbrug back towards Hotel New York.

After the bridge, turn right and keep walking along the waterfront, with its many nice restaurants. Just after you pass some large air shafts, you’ll see the elevated terrace of the LantarenVenster. Here you can enjoy a bite to eat or even catch a movie. If you continue walking, you’ll get back to the starting point of the walk, metro station Wilhelminaplein.

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Overview map of the Rotterdam Harbours and Bridges Walk

Length: 6 kilometres Duration: approximately 2 hours

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