Where the List Came From

Every resident of a city with a bit of a reputation knows the moment. A friend announces a visit, and you sit down to write "a few quick tips". An hour later you have a page of bridges, bakeries, tram lines and warnings about the wind, and you realise you have opinions about almost every corner of town.

From an email to a website

That is roughly how Your Rotterdam began. The same list went out to one visitor after another, and each of them came back with corrections and additions: a terrace that had closed, a viewpoint we had forgotten, a better way to reach the windmills. After a while the list was too long and too useful to keep in an inbox, so it moved here and became a set of proper guides.

What we still care about

The original idea has not changed much. We want to help people enjoy the city at a sensible pace, without the feeling that they have to tick off every sight. That means:

• recommending fewer things, explained better;
• being honest about weather, distances and stairs;
• giving older neighbourhoods and quiet streets as much space as the famous landmarks;
• keeping the practical advice practical — how to get there, what to bring, what to check.

Why Rotterdam

Because it is a city that keeps reinventing itself. Much of its centre had to be rebuilt after 1940, and the city chose to experiment rather than copy. The port moved west towards the sea and left behind docks that turned into neighbourhoods. New buildings appear every year, and old ones find new uses. That restlessness makes it a fascinating place to live and an endless subject to write about.

Where the site is going

We add guides as we explore, and we revisit older ones as the city changes around them. If you would like to suggest a topic, the contact page is the place to start.