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Museums in Rotterdam: art, harbour and architecture

Rotterdam looks ahead, and so do its museums: bold buildings, a harbour full of stories and art inside a mirrored bowl.

Place: Rotterdam

The museums in Rotterdam suit the city: modern, outspoken and never dull. Many of them stand around the Museumpark, within walking distance of Rotterdam Centraal. The harbour runs through the rest of the story, from the Leuvehaven to the old warehouses of Katendrecht. The city centre was bombed in 1940, and you still feel that history in the architecture. Rebuilding gave architects such as Rem Koolhaas room to experiment. In one day you can easily combine art, shipping and design. Below you read how to split the city into two parts.

Museums in Rotterdam's Museumpark

Start in the Museumpark, where most of the art is. Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen is the mirrored bowl designed by MVRDV, opened in November 2021. Inside you walk through the storage of a collection that has been growing since 1849, and you can watch restorers at work. On the roof, almost forty metres up, a garden of birches gives you a view over the city. Across the park stands the Kunsthal Rotterdam, a Rem Koolhaas building from 1992 with no permanent collection, only changing exhibitions in seven halls. Huis Sonneveld shows how a director's family lived in a modern house in 1933, and Het Nieuwe Instituut covers architecture and design.

Harbour museums in Rotterdam and Katendrecht

The Maritiem Museum sits on the Leuvehaven, where the port of Rotterdam began, with historic ships moored outside. You follow six centuries of shipping and can even operate an offshore platform yourself. Cross the Maas to Katendrecht and you reach a second museum quarter in former harbour buildings. Fenix is an art museum about migration, housed in an old harbour warehouse. Next door, the Nederlands Fotomuseum has been based in a former coffee warehouse since 2026. Take the water taxi for the crossing and your museum day starts on the river. Prefer to stay on land? The metro also takes you across.

How to plan a museum day in Rotterdam

Spend the morning in the Museumpark, because that is where the museums sit closest together. From the central station it is about a fifteen minute walk, or you take the tram. Two big visits there are plenty: the depot and the Kunsthal lie on opposite sides of the park, so they pair well. Book a time slot for both in advance, also if you have a Museumkaart, the Dutch annual museum pass. Keep the afternoon for the harbour. Catch the water taxi near the Erasmus Bridge to Katendrecht and finish at Fenix or the Fotomuseum. Because the Kunsthal has no permanent collection, check its programme before you go.

All museums in Rotterdam

This is the full list of museums in the city, from the Museumpark to Overschie. Click through for tips on each museum.

Frequently asked questions

Which museum in Rotterdam is the best known?
Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen in the Museumpark stands out the most. For the harbour, go to the Maritiem Museum.
Is Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen open?
The main museum building next to the depot is closed for a major renovation. While the work goes on, the depot is the best place to see its collection.
Does the Museumkaart work at the depot and the Kunsthal?
Yes, at both. You still book a time slot online in advance.
Can I walk from one museum to the next?
Around the Museumpark, yes. For Katendrecht you take the water taxi or the metro, because the Maas lies in between.
Where can I see all the museums on a map?
Open the map of Rotterdam. It also shows the museums in Overschie and Hoek van Holland.

From the Museumpark to Katendrecht

See on the map how the museums lie on both banks of the Maas.

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