Hotels near Witte de Withstraat

Witte de Withstraat is a 400-metre street between the Museumpark and the harbourfront that concentrates more good bars, cafes and restaurants per square metre than anywhere else in Rotterdam. It runs east-west between the Witte de With centre for contemporary art (recently renamed Kunstinstituut Melly) and the Schouwburgplein plaza. On summer weekends the whole street closes to cars and turns into an outdoor cafe row - locals treat it as their default evening venue.

Key stops: Bazar (Witte de Withstraat 16) does excellent Middle Eastern brunch in a Moroccan-tiled dining room; De Consul serves Dutch craft beer and simple bar food; Ayla is the best modern Middle-Eastern dinner in the city. For coffee, De Machinist and Man Met Bril are both worth the queue. The street has been a bohemian quarter since the 1980s, and the mix of Turkish, Dutch, Cape Verdean and Surinamese ownership gives it a texture central Amsterdam has long since priced out.

Pro Tip: Wednesday to Sunday from 17:00 onwards is when the street peaks. Book Bazar or Ayla at least 3 days ahead in summer. The side alleys off Witte de Withstraat (Schilderstraat, Nieuwe Binnenweg) hide smaller, cheaper spots that locals prefer once they've done the main strip.