Going out in Rotterdam
Rotterdam has a population of over 200,000 students. On the weekends you can find many of them sitting at an open terrace at Stadhuisplein, Meent or the famous bar street: Witte de Withstraat.
Along great bars, there are also nightclubs with reduced entry fees for students, arcades and open festivals.
On this page, you can find some popular bars, nightclubs, festivals, national holidays and celebrations.
Bars in Rotterdam
Biergarten - Schiestraat 18
Open terrace bar with live DJs, more than 10 types of beer and a great atmosphere. Only open during the summer months!
De Witte Aap - Witte de Withstraat 78
The most famous bar along the Witte de With Street, you can sit on the open terrace during the warmer months or dance to some pop tunes inside, a great place to start if you want to check this street out.
Eetcafé Concordia - Oostzeedijk 56B
This bar is located in front of the Erasmus International House, a favourite for many students it offers 1€ beers on certain nights and also great finger food.
Bier Lokaal Locus Publicus- Ostzeedijk 364
Another Bar that is conveniently located close to the Robert Baeldestraat and EIH dorms, this place has more than 50 types of Beers, come here to experience a true dutch bar!
Stadhuisplein - Stadhuisplein
This is a square in the centre of the city that is filled with bars, if you are into salsa, hip hop, 80's music or typical dutch apres ski music, you will find them all here.
Clubs in Rotterdam
Annabel - Schiestraat 18
Next to Biergarten you will find Annabel, this club often has famous performers and DJs, as well as free entry nights. A student favourite!
Villa Thalia - Kruiskade 31
If you are looking for a bar where you can dress up and enjoy amazing live performances, this is the place to be! Watch out for their Latin music nights as they are the best.
Toffler - Weena Zuid 33
For all the techno music lovers, Toffler is an underground club located 5 minutes from Central station and has been host to DJs such as Seth Troxler, Jamie Jones, Maya Jane Coles, and more.
Maasilo - Maashaven Zuidzijde 1-2
Located in an old factory building Maasilo is one of the coolest event venues in Rotterdam, home to the Now & Wow club, concerts and some of the biggest techno parties in the city, this place is definitely a must-visit.
Festivals and Events in Rotterdam:
The Flying dutchman - Ahoy
One of the biggest techno festivals in the Netherlands presents the top techno DJ's flying between Amsterdam, Eindhoven and Rotterdam.
Festival TREK - Vroesenpark
A mobile food festival in the north of Rotterdam. This is your chance to try some of the best foods from around Rotterdam all in one place!
World Port days - Kop van Zuid
If you are interested in seeing all the kinds of boats that are usually in the port and how they work, this is the festival for you! For one weekend a year, all the boats come down to the Erasmus bridge and show off what they can do.
International Film Festival - All around the city
For a week in the year, you can enjoy movies from all genres and in different languages in cinemas and open-air cinemas all around Rotterdam.
Blijdorp Festival - Blijdorp
A magical festival with live DJs in the north of Rotterdam.
Museum night Rotterdam - All over Rotterdam
For one night a year, the museums in Rotterdam stay open and you can visit them all with one single ticket, expect live music, art installations and special shows.
Festivals and Events in the Netherlands:
Amsterdam Dance Event - Amsterdam
For a weekend you can enter all of Amsterdam's top nightclubs with one single ticket! Expect performances from famous artists and techno DJs.
Amsterdam Pride parade - Amsterdam
As the first country to legalize gay marriage, Holland knows exactly how to throw a proper pride parade; on boats!
Visit at the beginning of August to see beautifully decorated boats, and outrageously dressed up people!
Flower Festival - Zundert
Caravans of beautifully arranged flowers are present in this festival during the month of September.
Scheveningen Firework Festival - The Hague
An amazing show of fireworks over the water at the beach in the Hague, a great way to spend a day with friends during the month of August.
Amsterdam light festival - Amsterdam
Take a stroll around Amsterdam at night and check out all the amazing art installations that light up the city! Available from November to January!
National Holidays and Celebrations
King's day- April 27th
On this day the Dutch celebrate the King's birthday, you will see everyone wearing orange and waving their dutch flags.
Typically dutch people will go out on boats along the canals or visit one of the popular kings landing festivals in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht or Delft.
Carnival - After Ash Wednesday In the southern regions of the Netherlands, they celebrate Carnival or "Dutch Mardi-Gras". For this celebration you should visit Brabant or Limburg with your funniest costume, you will find streets loaded with dressed up people and open-air shows
Sinterklaas - December 6th
Sinterklaas is a dutch legendary figure based on St.Nicholas, it is celebrated by giving children gifts on the night of December 5th. Expect your dutch classmates to bring some peppernoten and chocolate letters to celebrate!
New Year's - December 31st If you are going to be in Rotterdam during the new year, make sure you are close to the Erasmus bridge when it strikes midnight, you will see one of the most impressive Firework shows in the Netherlands.