Hotels near SS Rotterdam

The SS Rotterdam is the largest passenger ship ever built in the Netherlands - a 228-metre transatlantic liner launched in 1958 and the flagship of the Holland America Line for two decades. Retired from cruising in 2000, she was towed home in 2008 and permanently moored at Katendrecht as a floating hotel, restaurant and museum. The interiors are extraordinarily well-preserved - mid-century Dutch modernist murals, teak decks, twin-stage theatre, brass fittings, and an art deco captain's bridge you can stand on.

Self-guided audio tours cost EUR 18.50 and cover 8 decks, a slice of the engine room, and the first-class ballroom. Guided technical tours (EUR 27, book ahead) go deeper into the propulsion turbines. The onboard Lido restaurant serves a solid daily lunch, and the Sky Bar on Deck 12 is one of Rotterdam's most atmospheric drinking spots at sunset. Getting there via the Waterbus from Erasmusbrug pier is half the fun - a 6-minute trip across the river for EUR 4.20 on your OV-chipkaart.

Pro Tip: Combine the tour with a walk around Katendrecht, once Rotterdam's Chinatown and red-light district and now a food-lover's neighbourhood. Fenix Food Factory on Veerlaan is a five-minute walk and does the best natural wine and small plates in the city.