A Rainy day should not stop you from exploring Rotterdam. Since it is very normal to have rainy days in the Netherlands, the city is fully equipped with plenty of things to do. From cool sights, cultural activities, and cozy places to eat and drink. These are the top tips for what to do in Rotterdam on a rainy day.
What to do in Rotterdam on a rainy day?
You would often think that when it is raining it is would ruin your day. That does not have to be the case. Rainy days can be really cozy and there is plenty to do. Try one (or more) of these 18 tips below!
Rotterdam is probably the most famous city in the Netherlands after Amsterdam. However, the two cities are completely different and each has its own unique appeal. Rotterdam is a vibrant modern city with beautiful architecture. The city has a lot to offer for young and old, and even on a rainy day, there is still plenty to do in Rotterdam.
So don't wait any longer and check out our 18 tips for what to do in Rotterdam on a rainy day.
Rotterdam is well known for its architecture. Designed by Piet Blom back in the '70s, this is now one of the biggest tourist attractions of Rotterdam. The cube houses are built at a 45 degrees angle and put on a hexagonal pylon. Every house represents a tree, so all the houses together form a forest. Each cube has 3 levels and all the furniture is specially made to fit in these houses.
One of the Cube houses is turned into a museum and open for tourist to visit.
Location: Overblaak 70, 3011 MH Rotterdam
Opening Hours: everyday 11 am - 5 pm
Entrance Fee: €3 or $3,75
Do you want to try out one of the cube houses yourself? Stayokay Hostel allows you the opportunity to do just that, or you can rent this one on Airbnb.
This is the perfect place to hide when it rains and you are hungry. This building is built in 2014, the giant 4,000 tile artwork which adorns the curved ceiling is the colorful "Horn of Plenty". The most surprising part of the Markthal structure is the fact that there are 228 apartments within the ceiling.
You can find here over 40 different stalls, with all different kinds of international dishes and drinks. If you are a food lover this is definitely the place for you.
Location: Dominee Jan Scharpstraat 298, 3011 GZ Rotterdam
Opening Hours: Monday to Thursday: 10 am - 8 pm, Friday: 10 am - 9 pm, Saturday: 10 am - 8 pm, Sunday: 12 pm - 6 pm
Entrance Fee: free
If you want to take photos of the Markthal, I would recommend going a little earlier. Around 11 a.m. when most of the stalls are open but before visitors really begin arriving.
This museum is located in the oldest and largest museum port in the Netherlands. The amazing thing is that this museum presents visitors with an opportunity to learn about the enormous influence of the maritime world on the daily lives of people in the Netherlands. The Maritime Museum building, designed by Dutch architect Wim Quist, was opened in 1986. The design includes references to shipbuilding such as steel stairs and dock cranes.
Location: Leuvehaven 1, 3011 EA Rotterdam
Opening Hours: Tuesday to Saturday: 10 am - 5 pm, Sunday: 11 am - 5 pm
Entrance Fee: €14 or $16,67
The Maritime Museum is perfect to visit on a rainy day. The museum is also kid-friendly.
What better to do on a rainy day, than going to the cinema. You can find several cinemas in the city of Rotterdam. There are some smaller cozy cinemas, the one I would recommend going to is Cinerama. And of course, we have a Pathé cinema with all the latest movies.
Location: Westblaak 18, 3012 KL Rotterdam
Opening Hours: everyday 12.30 pm - 12 am
Entrance Fee: €11 or $13,09
Location: Schouwburgplein 101, 3012 CL Rotterdam
Opening Hours: everyday 10 am - 12 am
Entrance Fee: €13 or $15,47
The Kunsthal Museum in Rotterdam has over 20 exhibitions a year. The Kunsthal offers a program that is dynamic and always surprising. Because of the regularly changing exhibitions, they can offer a big variety of art. From Modern art to different cultures, fashion and so much more. This museum is suitable for everyone, from real art enthusiasts to children.
Location: Museumpark, Westzeedijk 341, 3015 AA Rotterdam
Opening Hours: Tuesday to Sunday: 10 am - 5 pm
Entrance Fee: Students: €8,25 or $9,83 - Adults: €16,50 or $19,65
The Splash tour bus is something different and a unique experience to do on a rainy day. This tour seems like a normal bus tour which passes all the touristy places. The bus actually takes a splash into the river Maas. This is a fun way to see the city from another side. The duration of this tour is 1 hour.
Location: Parkhaven 9, 3016 GM Rotterdam
Opening Hours: Saturday and Sunday: 9 am - 4:30 pm
Tickets: Kids: €19 or $22,63 - Adults: €27,50 or $32,76
The Splash tour bus is a unique experience and an original way to see Rotterdam.
Rotterdam has many different escape rooms, this is a great activity to do with your friends. In an escape room, you are locked up in a room with a group, after which you have to leave this room by solving riddles and puzzles. This often has to be done within a certain time, otherwise, you have failed as a team. There are many different types of escape rooms, each with a different theme.
One of the escape rooms you can find is the SS-Rotterdam, a cruise ship named after the city of Rotterdam. In the bowels of the ship, you can find one of the best escape rooms I have had a chance to experience.
“The deeper you go, the darker it gets. The weary metal seems to sigh. You can feel the history and still smell the steam turbines of the mighty ship. Hear that? It’s the sloshing of the Maas river. Descending into the belly of the ss Rotterdam is an adventure in itself. But playing in an Escape Room in such a remarkable place is a true experience! Solve the riddles, make the right connections, work together as a team and try to escape within 60 minutes. Will you unravel all of the captain’s brilliant secrets? Or would you rather board the mysterious metro?”
Location: 3e Katendrechtse Hoofd 25, 3072 AM Rotterdam
Open Hours: Sunday to Wednesday: 11:30 am - 9.30 pm, Thursday to Saturday: 11:30 am - 11 pm
Entrance Fee: €125 or $148,42 (group price)
All-you-can-eat pancakes + toppings for 75 minutes, how amazing does that sound. Sail Across the waters of Rotterdam, whilst enjoying a beautiful view of the impressive skyline. Enjoy a delicious pancake buffet that offers a range of different flavors for you to choose from.
Location: Parkhaven 13, 3016 GM Rotterdam
Opening Hours: make a reservation
Price: Kids: €14,50 or $17,25 - Adults: €19,50 or $23,20 (drinks are not included)
The pancake boat is a unique way to try Dutch pancakes.
This ice skating rink is built in an indoor tunnel. Only open a few months a year, this is the perfect activity alone or with friends, raining or not. Get yourself a hot choco or Glühwein for the real winter feeling. The ice skating rink is 400 meters. There is also a fun rink to practice. You can rent ice hockey skates or racing skates.
Location: Toepad 95, 3063 NJ Rotterdam
Opening Hours: December till February
Entrance Fee: from €6 or $7,14
Check out their website for more information.
What could be more fun than swimming indoors while it is raining outside? Fortunately, Rotterdam has several indoor swimming pools, so there is plenty of choice for everyone. You can choose a fun pool day with your kids or a relaxing day, with sauna and steam cabins. In some pools, you can even take diving lessons.
Here you can find all the swimming pools in Rotterdam: rotterdamzwemt.nl
Location: various
Opening Hours: various
Entrance Fee: +/- €4 or $4,76
The most famous Dutch beer brand is of course Heineken. But there are so many small breweries in the Netherlands that make delicious beer. And honestly, nothing beats drinking beer while it's raining outside. During a beer tasting, you can taste special beers and enjoy some snacks. At KAAPSE MARIA you can have a beer tasting in a relaxed, intimate setting. You can choose between a "small" beer tasting for 90 minutes or a "large" one for 180 minutes.
Click here for more information about the beer tasting.
Location: Mauritsweg 52, 3012 JW Rotterdam
Opening Hours: Tuesday to Sunday: 12 pm - 11 pm
Price: from €20 or $23,81 to €35 or $41,66
Are you more into wine, there are also wine tastings and high wines possible in Rotterdam. I would recommend going to Lokanta Proeflokaal. Here you can get a Spanish high wine. You will get a selection of their Spanish tapas, cold cuts, and cheeses, of course, accompanied by fine Spanish wines.
Click here for more information about the high wine.
Location: Waterloostraat 148A, 3062 TW Rotterdam
Opening Hours: everyday 4 pm-8 pm
Price: €24,95 or $29,70
If you are looking for something non-alcoholic, maybe a high tea is more your thing. Having unlimited cups of tea with sweet treats such as scones, cakes, and chocolate. The Euromast is not the first thing to come to mind on a rainy day, since you won’t have the best views. But this combination works really well, and maybe the weather will clear up later on, so you can see the skyline of Rotterdam. Enjoying your high tea 100 meters above the ground is a unique experience.
Location: Parkhaven 20, 3016 GM Rotterdam
Opening Hours: everyday 9:30 am - 10 pm
Price: €10,50 or $12,50 up to €19,75 or $23,53
Stay the night in one of the hotel rooms in the Euromast. 100 meters above ground, watch the stars at night and enjoy breakfast in the morning with a 360-degree view.
Click here for more information.
There is nothing better than reading a book with a tea or a nice coffee during a rainy day in Rotterdam. There are plenty of cozy places in Rotterdam from which to choose. For example, you have Harvest Coffee Brewers.
The owners of Harvest Coffee Brewers previously worked in Melbourne, where coffee making is considered true art. With this experience and expertise, they returned to Rotterdam to set up a coffee bar as they know it in Melbourne, this resulted in delicious food and a perfect cup of coffee.
Click here to go to their website, to check out their menu.
Location: Glashaven 107, 3011 XG Rotterdam
Opening Hours: Monday: 9 am - 4 pm, Wednesday to Friday: 9 am - 4 pm, Saturday & Sunday: 9 am - 5 pm
This is such a fun activity for all ages, especially when it's raining outside. Glow golf Rotterdam is themed in Hollywood style. You will play mini-golf in an amazing fluorescent decor and discover the world of film and fantasy. For €1,25 ($1,49) extra you will have the option to get 3D glasses. This will give everything more depth and the game also becomes more challenging. One round of min golf will take around 75minutes.
Location: Cor Kieboomplein 513, 3077 EM Rotterdam
Opening Hours: Sunday to Wednesday: 11 am - 11 pm, Friday & Saturday: 11 am - 1 am
Price: € 8,25 or $9,82
While playing golf, put on clothes with white accents or fluorescent colors. This makes the experience even greater.
Not sure what to do in Rotterdam on a rainy day? Well, go to the Game Hall and play over 60 different arcade games. From dance arcades to old fashion Pac-Man, they have it all. Play the games, win tickets, and trade for fun prices. The game hall is a household name in Rotterdam and has been around for over 50 years.
Location: Cor Kieboomplein 109, 3077 MH Rotterdam
Opening Hours: everyday 10 am - 12 am
Price: various
Another activity to stay dry when it is raining is bowling. I would recommend going to Atoll, this place is close to glow mini golf, game hall, and the Pathé cinema. And when you are tired of bowling, you can still play a game of pool.
Location: Cor Kieboomplein 509-510, 3077 MK Rotterdam
Opening Hours: everyday 11 am - 1 am
Price: between €22,50 or $26,78 - €36,50 or $43,44 per hour, per bowling ally
One of the most popular activities to do when it rains in Rotterdam is of course shopping. Fortunately, Rotterdam has a great shopping center with Alexandrium shopping center where you can shop for hours. This is an indoor shopping mall, so this is perfect for when it's raining in Rotterdam.
The shopping area consists of three parts: Alexandrium Shopping Center, Alexandrium Megastores, and Alexandrium Woonmall. Alexandrium shopping center has 140 different shops and food places. From Calzedonia to H&M and Zara, here you will find everything you need for a shopping day.
Location: Korte Poolsterstraat 2, 3067 LZ Rotterdam
Opening Hours: everyday 9:30 am - 6 pm
Price: various
Do you really want to experience something special, while it's raining in Rotterdam? Then visit a real roller skate disco with a 1,500 m2 dance floor, bar, snack bar, beautiful lounge bar, and party room. Dance on your skates to some popular music and imagine yourself in the 80s.
Location: Rhijnspoor 275, 2901 LB Capelle aan den IJssel
Opening Hours: Tuesday to Sunday: 12 pm - 9 pm
Entrance Fee: €10 or $11,90
MORE ABOUT ROTTERDAM?
Do you like Rotterdam? Then please check out our other articles about this city!
- Visiting Rotterdam – Good For Tourists Or Not? (We Find Out)
- 52 Amazing Facts About Rotterdam (Facts Fully Explained)
After reading this I hope you find some great activities to do in Rotterdam on a rainy day. Maybe even try something new! Do not let the rain stop you, because the city of Rotterdam has a lot to offer, even on a rainy day. We wish you lots of fun with the activity you have chosen!
