Arrived at the Cruise Terminal on Ovation of the Seas, Royal Caribbean newest ship, and docked close to the Erasmubery bridge which is impressive to say the least. Jump on one of our Courtney buses at arrived at the Markthal about 10 minutes later. An impressive building to look at from the outside, once inside it's pretty WOW !!!!!. After you get over the wonderful smells of the food and cooking look skywards for a while, the artwork covering the roof is quite spectacular and so so colourful, mind you, you would need to find yourself a clear floor space to spend some time looking skywards, there is a constant bustle of people from all a round the world looking to eat. The building is built to the shape or a very large tunnel with doors each end.........................strange place but facinating.
I am pretty much certain the you can eat from anywhere around the World under this one roof...........Try it, you wont be disappointed I am sure

This new huge building with its amazing colorful interior called the “Markthal” was opened as recently as 2014. It has all types of small market like shops that sell almost any kind of food and drink you can imagine. It’s usually quite crowded but that gives it a nice and lively ambiance. All these sounds, smells and tastes are a feast for your senses! The vendors and visitors are of all kinds of ethnic background. Mostly very kind and open and always ready for a small chat. If the sparkling crowd just gets a little too much… you could “escape” to one of the small roof terraces on top of the market shops and enjoy some wining & dining as the vibrant crowd passes by…

Now if it’s a Saturday you’re in luck! Because just outside the main (south-east) entrance of the “Markthal” you can visit the “Blaak Markt”. There you will find over 450 of relatively large market stalls selling everything from clothes, toys, house hold items, antiques & vintage stuff and of course all kinds of groceries, foods and colorful herbs with beautiful smells that might bring back memories long forgotten.

If you like to continue after the “Blaak Markt” you can exit to the North-West and walk towards to Sint-Laurens Church. It’s one of the few medieval city remnants of Rotterdam (most of the center was destroyed during WW2) open to the public and definitely worth a visit with its gothic architecture and very large and heavy bronze doors. If you exit the church to the left into the street next to it called the “Wijde Kerkstraat” (wide church street) you can on Saturdays take a “blast from the past” browsing through second hand books and old vinyl records form the 50’s and 60’s right up to the late 80’s. Beyond this further to the north-west you will find the modern city shopping area of Rotterdam with the latest in fashion, shoes and accessories.

All this is in walking distance with the most modern car park of Europe right underneath the big “Markthal” and the train station “Blaak” conveniently next to it.

I wish you a nice and sunny (Satur-) day and hope you will enjoy Rotterdam “Markthal” as much as we have!

Very nice and colourful building full of super tasty food and spices. It is a must visit in Rotterdam. Good to visit it in lunch time.