Amsterdam, Delft and Rotterdam in 3 days
Everyone loves Amsterdam with it's winding streets and canal-side cafe culture, but the rest of the Netherlands is often overlooked by mini-breakers. This year I decided to branch out and to explore two more of the country's most interesting cities - Delft and Rotterdam. Since this was not my first trip to the Netherlands (having previously enjoyed weekends away in Amsterdam) I didn't feel the need to trek around all the major sights. In order to really experience all of these wonderful cities I would really recommend scheduling a few days in each. However if, like me, you just have a few days spare to explore and a desire to head out of capital, these are my suggested highlights:
Amsterdam
There are, of course, a handful of must-see sites in Amsterdam. These include a trip to Museumplein to visit the Rijksmuseum, the Stedelijk Museum of Modern Art and the Van Gogh Museum (highly recommended!). No first trip to the Amsterdam would be complete without a stroll through the red light district (regardless of your stance on the city's sex trade) or a boozy canal tour to see the sights from water. However on this occasion, with just a few hours to explore, I decided to trek the streets on foot. My first stop was to find Wildernis, an urban plant and garden shop that I've been following on Instagram for years. It's a beautiful little shop, packed to the rafters with hanging baskets and plant pots and all kinds of greenery! It took longer than imagined to walk from the station but I made the most of plenty of photo opportunities along the way. Knowing that I'd have to carry any purchases around with me for the rest of the day I was extremely restrained and left on my merry way with just a pack of illustrated postcards. Upon leaving, I headed towards the floating bloemenmarkt where I stumbled across Blue Amsterdam, a café and restaurant with an amazing 360-degree view of the city, the perfect place to take stock. The afternoon was spent poking around shops and getting lost, before jumping on a train towards Rotterdam.
P.s. Should you be in Amsterdam in the evening and be in search of food, consider booking a table outside at Restaurant de Luwte - cocktails particularly recommended!
Delft
Getting there: There are trains between Amsterdam and Delft every ten minutes throughout the day. They take between about an hour and cost around €14.
Delftware ceramics are a huge tourist pull for the Netherlands and as such the city of Delft has a steady stream of visitors. These visitors flood the many shops lining the market square that sell blue and white pottery in all imaginable shapes and sizes. The market square itself is really very beautiful, featuring the town hall (or Stadhuis) at one end and the 15th century Nieuwe Kerk (new church) at the opposite end. The real highlight of Delft for me was exploring beyond the square in the surrounding streets, where you will find bars, cafes and shops in abundance.
Rotterdam
Cube Houses in Rotterdam
Getting there: There are trains between Amsterdam and Rotterdam every 10 minutes. They take around 40m and cost €17. Rotterdam Centraal station is an attraction in itself - a contemporary gateway to the city centre.
Rotterdam is truly an architectural playground, featuring radical housing projects such as Piet Blom's Cube Houses, boisterous public buildings like the colourful Markthal (by MVRDV) and imposing historical constructions such as Hotel New York which was built in the early 1900s. Beyond strolling the streets, the best way to appreciate the city's contemporary makeup is at the Het Nieuwe Institute of Architecture, Design and E-culture which contains one of the largest architectural collections in the world (and a GREAT museum shop, if that tickles your fancy).
Rotterdam Markethall
Inside Rotterdam Markethall
Inside Sonneveld House
The entrance ticket to the Het Nieuwe Institute also get your access to Sonneveld House, a beautifully maintained private home from the Dutch Functionalist period of the 1930s. It's a modernists dream - with sharp white exterior walls and a custom-made interior almost entirely designed by Dutch brand Gispen.
The contemporary arts scene in Rotterdam is thriving and there are a number of world-class galleries such as the Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art.
If you're thinking about visiting in the summer months it is worth noting that every July Rotterdam plays host to the North Sea Jazz Festival. Stay tuned for 2018 line-up announcements here!