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Rotterdam

Rotterdam is a very large city in the province of South Holland in the west of the Netherlands. The city is the second largest in the country with a population of approximately 650,000 inhabitants in the municipality (2020) and about 2.2 million inhabitants in the shared metropolitan area of the Rotterdam-The Hague Metropolitan Region (MRDH). Rotterdam is a vibrant, multicultural city; it is known for its university (Erasmus), cutting-edge architecture, lively cultural life, industrial riverside setting, its maritime heritage and colourful summer events. The municipality stretches all the way to the North Sea with gigantic areas like Europoort and Maasvlakte 1&2. All belong to the Port of Rotterdam.

Starting as a dam constructed in 1270 on the Rotte River, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre. The port of Rotterdam is Europe's busiest port by cargo tonnage, and was the world's busiest from 1962 until it was surpassed by Shanghai in 2004. Rotterdam's commercial and strategic importance is based on its location near the mouth of the Nieuwe Maas (New Meuse), a channel in the delta formed by the Rhine and Meuse on the North Sea. These rivers lead directly into the centre of Europe, including the industrial Ruhr region, which is why Rotterdam is often called the "Gateway to Europe".

Many relatively high buildings (by Dutch standards) have been emerging throughout and around the city centre. Daring and new styles of apartments, office buildings and recreation facilities resulted in Rotterdam becoming a city of modern architecture and the only city in the Netherlands with a modern skyline. Due to this, the city is especially interesting for Dutch people to visit.

History
Settlement at the lower end of the fen stream Rotte dates from at least 900. Around 1150, large floods in the area ended development, leading to the construction of protective dikes and dams. A dam on the Rotte or 'Rotterdam' was built in the 1260s and was at the present-day Hoogstraat ('High Street').

Although Rotterdam did well after the Middle Ages and in the 'Golden Century' - roughly between 1650 and 1750 - it was not before the second part of the nineteenth century that the city started to develop itself rapidly. Helped by the digging of a new seaway (the Nieuwe Waterweg) Rotterdam was rid of access problems caused by the silting of the river and started receiving ever bigger ships with cargo for/from the booming Ruhrgebiet in Germany. Port related trade and industry skyrocketed, and the city started to draw lots of migrants from the then poor Brabant province, for whom the southern part of the city was constructed. At the turn of the twentieth century Rotterdam was well under way to become the largest economic centre in the Netherlands. It was between then and the second world war that large prestigious construction works were undertaken, in part to show off the new found economic pride.

The German army invaded the Netherlands on 10 May 1940. Germany had planned to conquer the country in one day, but after meeting unexpectedly fierce resistance, it finally forced the Dutch army to capitulate on 14 May 1940 by bombing Rotterdam and threatening to bomb other cities. The heart of the city was almost completely destroyed by the German Luftwaffe, and 800 people were killed, while about 80,000 others were made homeless. During the war, Rotterdam was bombed several times during allied raids that were aimed at the harbour area but sometimes also hit the city. The City Hall survived the bombing. Unlike most other European cities however, the City Council did not aim at rebuilding what was lost, but on taking the opportunity to create a 'new' and better city. Damaged but not destroyed old buildings were torn down in the process.

From the 1950s through the 1970s, the city was rebuilt. It remained quite windy and open until the city councils from the 1980s on began developing an active architectural policy. Daring and new styles of apartments, office buildings and recreation facilities resulted in a more 'livable' city center with a new skyline. In the 1990s, the Kop van Zuid was built on the south bank of the river as a new business center.

Demographics
In the Netherlands, Rotterdam has the highest percentage of foreigners from non-industrialised nations. Nearly 50% of the population are not native to the Netherlands or have at least one parent born outside the country. Muslims comprise close to 25% of the city's population. The city is also home to one of the largest Cape Verdean communities in the world, as well as the largest Dutch Antillean community.

Atmosphere
Rotterdam's culture is distinct from other cities in the Netherlands. The mentality of the people is described as 'can do'. From the waiters you meet to the businessmen and recent immigrants, everybody breathes a dream of getting forward with life. The modern design of the city, the bustle and the spree of buildings all add to this impression. That said, you might also find that people are sometimes too straight with you. And yes, the city is not the cosiest, or the most picturesque of towns, especially on drab winter days. But get acquainted with this small metropolis, easiest done on one of the festival days with nice weather. You will come to love it.

Climate
Rotterdam gains a lot of charm when the sun is shining. Visiting in spring or summer may be more enjoyable than during the dark rainy winter. Sunshine runs from 05:30 until 22:00 in the summer, and only between 08:45 and 16:30 in the winter.

Tourist information

How to reach
To plan a trip (for all public transport in the Netherlands) see 9292.nl

Depending on the amount of travel with public transit in The Netherlands it can be advisable to buy a so called OV-Chipkaart, see for more information under Get Around.

 * By bus/metro
 * By taxi
 * By taxi
 * By taxi

Other close airports

 * Amsterdam Schiphol Airport is 58 km north of Rotterdam and has much more flights than the Rotterdam airport. NS (Dutch Railways) operates Intercity Direct high-speed rail service, every 30 minutes to Rotterdam. The journey takes 27 minutes. You have to pay an addition for the journey from Schiphol to Rotterdam, so regular intercities in direction Rotterdam Centraal and Rotterdam Blaak are cheaper (but slower) (these intercities also call at Schiphol).
 * Eindhoven Airport is 106 km southeast of Rotterdam. Ryanair and Wizzair operate flights to this airport. Take a bus to Eindhoven Centraal (approximately 20 minutes, the intercity train to Rotterdam Centraal takes about 63 minutes.
 * Brussels Airport is 140 km south of Rotterdam. Many international carriers operate flights to this airport. The train from Brussels takes about 120 minutes and costs €35. Buses are also available, although less frequent.

International connections

 * Thalys operates high-speed trains from Antwerp (Antwerpen-Centraal, 35 min), Brussels (Brussel-Zuid/Midi, 1 hr 12 min), Paris (Gare du Nord, 2 hr 37 min) and Lille (Lille-Europe, 1 hr 55 min). Book well in advance to secure the best ticket deals. A cheaper but slower alternative to Thalys is the Intercity Brussels service between Amsterdam and Brussels.
 * Coming from Germany, Rotterdam Centraal can only be reached by changing trains in the Netherlands. When travelling on the German high-speed train ICE from Cologne, Düsseldorf and Oberhausen, the exchange will be in Utrecht Centraal station, and coming from Berlin, Hanover, Osnabrück (with the DB-intercity) it is advisable to change at Amersfoort. Intercity-trains to Rotterdam depart from both Utrecht and Amersfoort.
 * Eurostar runs a daily high speed service from London St Pancras International to Rotterdam Centraal. Prices start at £35 one way. The journey time is about 3 hr 30 min, but you must arrive at the station at least 90 minutes before departure in order to clear the extra border controls caused by COVID restrictions and Brexit.
 * Eurostar runs a daily high speed service from London St Pancras International to Rotterdam Centraal. Prices start at £35 one way. The journey time is about 3 hr 30 min, but you must arrive at the station at least 90 minutes before departure in order to clear the extra border controls caused by COVID restrictions and Brexit.

National connections
The Dutch railway company NS runs high-speed Intercity Direct trains between Amsterdam, Schiphol, Rotterdam and Breda. The train stops only at those four stations and shaves 25-30 minutes in journey time between Amsterdam and Schiphol and Rotterdam versus the regular Intercity and Sprinter trains that stop in between.

Beware that you have to pay a supplement (€2.60 during peak hours, €1.56 outside peak hours) to use the Intercity direct line to travel to Rotterdam if your journey involves Schiphol, (i.e. Amsterdam-Rotterdam journeys are subject to this supplement). You can purchase this supplement by tapping an anonymous or personal OV-chipkaart on a designated red pole found on the platform. Those without an anonymous or personal OV-chipkaart can use the ticketing machines or the NS website to purchase the supplement, however the discount may not be applicable to supplements purchased this way. Most unlimited day tickets including the Holland Travel Ticket can be used to travel on the Intercity Direct but a supplement purchase is still required.

Thalys also offers seats for passengers travelling from Amsterdam to Rotterdam. The journey is less than 40 minutes, slightly faster than the Intercity Direct. However, reservations/advance bookings are required and most unlimited day tickets recognised by NS cannot be used on Thalys.

Rotterdam is also well served by NS from other parts of the Netherlands, with direct connections to Delft, Amsterdam, Eindhoven, Gouda, Leiden, The Hague, Utrecht and Vlissingen. Some intercities and sprinters also stop at Rotterdam Blaak station which is in the middle of the city center. This station is also frequented by trams and metro. See also the Netherlands page for further information on national rail.

Alternatively, Rotterdam's Metro line provides a connection for passengers coming from The Hague at Den Haag Centraal. The journey from Den Haag Centraal to Rotterdam Centraal costs €4.43 with an anonymous or personalised OV-chipkaart, which is marginally cheaper than an NS journey (€4.90) between the same points but takes about five minutes longer to complete the journey.

Ferries from England (UK)
You can also get to Rotterdam by ferry from the United Kingdom. No ferries arrive in the center.

 * P&O Ferries has a daily overnight sailing from Kingston Upon Hull to Rotterdam Europoort. From Rotterdam Europoort P&O Ferries operates a shuttle bus service that takes you to the city center of Rotterdam. Please book this shuttle service while you book your sailing.
 * StenaLine has a daily day and a daily overnight sailing from Harwich to Hook of Holland. Next to the port is Hoek van Holland Haven metro station. Line B brings you to the city centre in approximately 30 minutes.
 * DFDS Seaways has a daily overnight ferry crossing from Newcastle to Amsterdam. You can drive to Rotterdam in approx. 50 minutes.

Waterbus
The WaterBus services provide connections between Rotterdam and the Drechtsteden (Dordrecht and surrounding cities, including UNESCO-site - the world-famous windmills - Kinderdijk).

By metro
Coming from The Hague or somewhere in between it can be advisable to use metroline, see for more information the page about the whole region.

By car
Rotterdam is easily reached by car. From Amsterdam take the A4 South to Rotterdam Haven. From Utrecht take the A12 and change to the A20 just after Gouda on knooppunt Gouwe. Traffic congestion on highways is common during peak hours (morning and evening commutes).

You can pay for on-street parking with debit and credit card. Remember your license plate number. Parking regulations are enforced regularly.

Parking garages can be easily found by following the sign-marked P-route. The easiest way to pay is by credit card, just insert your card on the way in, and insert it again on the way out, and the total time is automatically deducted. You can also pay with cash or debit card.

Park & Ride (P&R) facilities outside the center of Rotterdam offer free or cheap parking with public transport connections into the city center. For some locations (Slinge A15, Kralingse Zoom A16/E19 and Alexander A20/E25), you can park for free if you have a valid check-out on your public transport card (OV-chipkaart).

By bike
As a Dutch city Rotterdam is well connected to extense (inter)national bicycle networks which use all kinds of infrastructural facilities.

Most attractive for tourist to cycle over longer distances are the so called LF-routes. So the city center is croshed by LF2 Stedenroute (City Route) from Amsterdam to Brussels and LF12 Maas- en Vestingroute follows the flow of river Maas all the way from The East. See for more information Bicycle Route Planner: sellect more options and LF-Routes.

Get around

RET operates the buses, trams, and metro within the city. You could find a journey planner and some network maps there. Alternatively you'd use the pan-Netherlands journey planner – 9292.nl. Transport generally arrives every 10 minutes during the day.

Free Wi-Fi is available in some trams, buses and metro lines, and on the busier metro stations, you just need to accept the terms of use.

Tickets
You can use your contactless bank card to pay for any public transport that also accepts the OV-chipkaart. This system is called OV-Pay and is the most convenient way to travel. Debit and credit cards from Maestro, V PAY, Mastercard and Visa are supported. As anywhere else in the country OV-chipkaart can still be used to pay all kinds of public transport. Bear in mind that the card itself costs €7.50 and you'd need to keep a positive balance there for at least €4.

For using buses and trams checking in and out has to be done in the vehicle, while for train and metro travellers in Rotterdam use the gates or card reader poles at the entrance of the stations.

Alternatively one of the city's transport travel cards could be used:
 * Rotterdam Welcome Card also allows for unlimited use of public transport with RET in the city and region.
 * Rotterdam Welcome Card also allows for unlimited use of public transport with RET in the city and region.
 * Rotterdam Welcome Card also allows for unlimited use of public transport with RET in the city and region.

By metro
There are 5 metro lines in the city.

Lines, and , share tracks between Schiedam Centrum and Capelsebrug and offer an east-west connection.

Lines and  share tracks between Rotterdam Centraal and Slinge and offer a north-south connection. Interchange between all lines is possible on Beurs station in the city center.

Lines, and  operate every 10 minutes on working days and Saturday, which allows 3-4 minute intervals on the main section between Schiedam Centrum and Capelsebrug. Lines and  operate every 10 minutes on working days and Saturday, which give shorter intervals between Rotterdam Centraal and Slinge. In the evening, on Saturday morning and Sunday the service is reduced to a 15-minute interval.

The Rotterdam Metro operates from 05:30 until 00:00. On weekends the opening time is not until 07:00 Saturday, and 08:15 on Sunday. On Friday and Saturday nights the service is extended for a bit longer past midnight, but not on some parts of line B and E. See the Weekend metro page for an overview.

For tourists the most important metro stations are:

Line A, B and C (East-West branch) Line D and E (North-South branch)
 * Blaak: train station, interchange with trams and busses, cube houses, Markthal, ports
 * Beurs: city center, shops, interchange with metro and
 * Eendrachtsplein: museumpark
 * Coolhaven: Euromast
 * Delfshaven: historic port
 * Meijerplein: bus service to Rotterdam The Hague Airport (only line )
 * Blijdorp: Rotterdam Zoo (only line )
 * Rotterdam Centraal: northern edge of the city centre, interchange with trams and buses, train station
 * Beurs: city centre, shops, interchange with metro, and
 * Leuvehaven: ports, museums, Erasmus Bridge, Waterbus
 * Wilhelminaplein: Erasmus Bridge, Cruise Terminal Rotterdam, hotel New York
 * Rijnhaven: Katendrecht, bus service to SS Rotterdam

By tram
There are 9 tram lines in the city. Each tram has a conductor. Tram stops provide a detailed map of the public transport system. Most lines operate every 10 minutes on workdays with more frequent service during rush hours on some lines.

All trams except will stop at the Rotterdam Centraal.

 * line  is the only one that stays entirely on the south bank of the river, running through the districts farther away from it - it is thus of little use to tourists
 * lines, and  go over the Erasmus bridge to Kop van Zuid and then further down the south side
 * lines and  go to Schiedam
 * line  goes from the suburbs in the northeast through Station Noord and Rotterdam Centraal to Marconiplein
 * line  has a picturesque terminal at the foot of Erasmus Bridge, then follows Werstersingel to Rotterdam Centraal, and then further east to Kralingen, where you can alight for Kralingse Plas (the lake with leisure activities) and Excelsior Stadium
 * line  is perhaps the most useful for the tourists, as it goes from Rotterdam Centraal south through Westersingel, Coolsingel, Schiedamsedijk and then west, stopping by the Euromast and in Delftshaven, terminating by the Sparta Stadium
 * line  is a special line running between Rotteraam Centraal and the Feijenoord Stadion when there is a match there

By bus
RET operates bus services across the city.

Night bus service (BOB-bus) has been cancelled.

Buses operated by Arriva and Connexxion connect the city with suburbs.

Use the front door when boarding a bus.

By taxi
If you do need a taxi you will have to find yourself a taxi rank or call a taxi company. There is a minimum taxi fare of €2.30 (first it was which included the first two kilometers). Additionally, each subsequent kilometre is charged €2.20.
 * Citytaxi Rotterdam +31103145788
 * Citytaxi Rotterdam +31103145788
 * Citytaxi Rotterdam +31103145788

By bicycle
Like any city in The Netherlands, Rotterdam is very, very bicycle-friendly. Getting around by bike is probably the fastest way of travel within the city. There are separate bike lanes on most major streets and there are separate traffic lights for bicyclists. Avoid getting your tire in the tram rails: always cross tram rails at an angle. Of course it is also strongly advisable to watch out for other traffic at all time. On the other hand bicyclists can rely on the fact that motorists and pedestrians are aware of bikes.

Always lock your bike securely when leaving it (preferably chained to a fixed object) or go to a guarded bicycle parking station.

Rent a bike
At Rotterdam Centraal, you can rent bicycles at the shop in the underground bicycle parking, below the Station square. Leave the station at the front, exit 'Stationsplein'. The entrance of the bicycle parking ('fietsenstalling', with the glass roof) is at your right, in front of grand cafe Engels. Use-it, rents out nice Kronan bikes (Schaatsbaan 41-45, leave Central Station towards the center. Turn right at restaurant Engels and take the 2nd right).

Bikes can be rented by several other private companies. Holland-Cycling.com provides a list of addresses. Another list you will find at Rotterdam.nl.

If you have a personal (rather than an anonymous) OV-chipkaart, bicycles can be rented at many train and metro stations and other central locations by the OV-fiets system.

Guarded bicycle parking stations

 * Many intercity train stations have their own bicycle parking station. Many time the service is not free.
 * Rotterdam municipality has also some locations.

Landmarks
Rotterdam has national notoriety for its architecture, and the city therefore is dotted with landmarks of all sorts. Most of them you will find in the city centre, but Feijenoord is also quite dense with them.

Rotterdam is known for some bridges, not in the last place the Erasmusbrug, spanning the Nieuwe Maas between the city centre and Feijenoord. Also of historical importance is the former railway lifting bridge De Hef, slightly upstream from the Erasmusbrug.

Historical landmarks are somewhat rare to come across in Rotterdam's city centre, but the city itself isn't completely devoid of them. In the city centre, the 1920 City hall and the Great or Saint-Laurence church, both survivors of the 1940 bombardment. Rotterdam is also home to the country's oldest known bronze statue, depicting Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam and dating from 1622. It is found opposite the Saint-Laurence church. Feijenoord, despite being home to many modern redevelopments, does house some historical landmarks such as the former headquarters of the Holland-Amerikalijn. Also worth visiting are the Oude Haven (Old Harbour) and the nearby Witte Huis (White House) and Schielandshuis.

Industrial landmarks are plenty in a city that mostly thrives off of harbour activities. Besides the many industrial sites found in the Port of Rotterdam, the Van Nellefabriek in the north of the city is a listed UNESCO site.

The skyline of Rotterdam can, of course, be observed from one of the many skyscrapers in the city - though you should probably book a hotel located in a skyscraper or find one with a publicly accessible roof, as trespass isn't welcomed. Another great site for views over the city though, is the Euromast on the border between the city centre and Delfshaven, twice in its history the highest building of the Netherlands. For a relatively small entry fee, you can climb the tower or for a larger sum, you can dine inside of it. For those less comfortable with great heights though, a birds-eye overview of the city can also be obtained at Miniworld Rotterdam, near the central station.

The city is also well-known for its experimental and out-of-the-ordinary architecture, often being a testing ground for new concepts. A prime example of this are the Kubuswoningen (Cube Houses) at Blaak. Also striking are the Markthal, harbour-crane inspired sculptures at the Schouwburgplein and the Koopgoot, all found in the city centre.

Historic churches
In the Netherlands churches are generally closed to visitors on Sundays.

Chinatown

Windmills
Rotterdam has only seven windmills left. Of these, only De Ster and De Lelie are open to visitors on a regular basis. Other windmills are open to visitors when the mill is turning (easy enough to see), but there are some exceptions to this rule of thumb. A blue flag also indicates that the mill is open to visitors.

Museums
Museumkaart is accepted at the city's museums.

Museumpark area

Other museums

Do
Upcoming events and performances are listed on the VVV and Use-it websites. The larger events are well documented on the VVV site, for smaller venues check Use-it (under Calendar) for a very attractive and well updated listing of music, expositions, movies and parties that need checking out.

Twice a month the nl10 magazine is distributed around the city. You can take your free copy at a lot of locations (like bars, supermarkets, municipal offices). Besides some articles about interesting things going on in town it also has a large listing of upcoming gigs (in Dutch). Their website can also be handy.

Events
Rotterdam plays host to a lot of events, a lot of them yearly ones. Besides these there are a lot smaller ones that can be very nice, so ask around and check the VVV website. A few of these yearly events to name:
 * The Six Days cycling competition in January
 * On the Rotterdam Museum Night in March, nearly all Rotterdam museums and galleries open their doors in the evening with special events.
 * Metropolis Festival (music) on the first Sunday in July.
 * The sublime North Sea Jazz festival in July with loads of worldfamous artists.
 * The World Port Days a weekend full of activities centred around the large harbour of Rotterdam (early September)
 * The classical music Gergjev festival in September, led by master-conductor Valery Gergjev.
 * The Rotterdam Harvest Festival in September.
 * Bazar Curieux (music) in December
 * Metropolis Festival (music) on the first Sunday in July.
 * The sublime North Sea Jazz festival in July with loads of worldfamous artists.
 * The World Port Days a weekend full of activities centred around the large harbour of Rotterdam (early September)
 * The classical music Gergjev festival in September, led by master-conductor Valery Gergjev.
 * The Rotterdam Harvest Festival in September.
 * Bazar Curieux (music) in December
 * The Rotterdam Harvest Festival in September.
 * Bazar Curieux (music) in December

For full listings of events check Rotterdam.info and Use-it.

Cinema
There are two huge megacinemas in Rotterdam. The one in the city centre is called Pathé Schouwburgplein (at the Schouwburgplein), the other one is on the southside of the city. It's called Pathé De Kuip (next to the Feyenoord stadium De Kuip). In these cinemas you can see Hollywood movies and occasionally an arthouse movie. To get to De Kuip, take tram to stop Stadion Feijenoord. If you're more into alternative cinema go to Lantaren/Venster Cinema (Otto Reuchlinweg 996 (Wilhelminapier)). Here you'll get European, Asian and Latin American cinema in a nice atmosphere. It has a nice bar too. The other option is Cinerama (Westblaak 18) which shows a combination of art/house films and commercial Hollywood flicks. During the IFFR (International Film Festival Rotterdam), which usually takes place in February, art-house movies are shown at much more locations throughout the city.

In August, an open air cinema at the Lloydkwartier shows both blockbusters and independent films. Entrance is free, and you can either bring your own chair or rent one onsite. To get there, take to Coolhaven and walk for about 10–15 minutes towards the river in the south.

Other attractions
When you want to combine a unique experience with a great view over the city of Rotterdam, you can make a (tandem) skydive at Skydive Rotterdam. At Skydive Rotterdam (also called the Flying Dutchman) you can book a tandem skydive or do a complete skydiving course and jump from a height of 3 or 4 kilometers. It's the only skydiving school in the "Randstad" area and the only place in the Netherlands where you can jump over a major city like Rotterdam. When the weather's good you will have a spectacular view over the Rotterdam skyline and other parts of the Randstad area, all the way to the coastline.

An airplane can be rented at reasonable rates at Rotterdam Airport at Happy Wing. Nice tours above the city, its ports or the coastline are on offer.

On summer Sundays, it is possible to lower yourself down from the Euromast. On last Sundays of summer months you can glide down in 15 seconds on a wire (tokkelen). Both: Not for the faint of heart! Check the website of Heightspecialists.

Football

 * Rotterdam has three professional soccer teams:

 * Feyenoord play in Eredivisie, the top tier. Their home ground is Stadion Feijenoord (capacity 51,000), better known as "De Kuip"; it's often also used for rock concerts and similar events. It's south of the river with its own railway station Rotterdam Stadion.
 * Sparta Rotterdam also play in Eredivisie. Their home ground is Het Kasteel ("The Castle", capacity 12,000), 3 km west of the centre.
 * SBV Excelsior were relegated in 2024 so they play in Eerste Divisie the second tier. Their Stadion Woudestein (capacity 4500), now called Van Donge & De Roo Stadion, is 2 km east of city centre on the north bank of the river.

Water sports and yachting
Being a major harbour and having lots of waterways and lakes, Rotterdam has a lot to offer for water-enthousiasts. Boating: There are four major lakes in Rotterdam. The Kralingse Plas, The double Bergse Plas, the Rottemeren and the Zevenhuizer Plas. All of them have active yachting communities and sometimes sailing races can be seen. The Zevenhuizer plas is mainly populated by Windsurf enthousiasts. Sailing boats can be rented at the Kralingse Plas at the Van Gent sailing school, Plaszoom, a 10-minute walk from Metro Voorschoterlaan (walk through the Julianalaan until you reach Plaszoom). Rowing- and sailing boats can be rented at the windmill at the very end of the eastern Rottekade at Van Vliet's (Rottemeren, go by car or bike, a very nice ride). Yachting: When visiting Rotterdam with your own yacht you will find that most yachting harbours are on the inland waterways, were there are a lot of them. On the river Maas you will only find the City Marina, behind a bascule bridge on the southern bank, and the Veerhaven, right in the city center on the northern bank. Unless you need the better shelter of the characterless City Marina, go for the admittedly a little choppy Veerhaven marina, very central and scenic.

Beach
The closest good beach is about 30 km away at Hook of Holland. Here you will find a very fine sand beach with good swimming and enough entertainment. To get there, take line to Hoek van Holland Strand, its end point.

For a more urban-party beach experience head to Scheveningen where you can find everything beach-party addicts dream about; Endless rows of beachside bars, restaurants and discothèques and a boulevard along a splendid fine-sand beach. It can get very crowded here. Take the train to Den Haag Centraal Station and tram subsequently. Also at the same coast is Kijkduin, which is very recommended for children. To get there, get to its northern end point, then take bus 24 to Kijkduin. If you want to go to the beach but want to stay in the city, consider taking to its end point, Nesselande and walk across the Corsicalaan from there. You are at the Strand Nesselande.

Buy

The main shopping areas in the center are the and the. Both are pedestrianised. The Lijnbaan, which runs straight south from the Weena (close to Rotterdam Centraal) was the first pedestrianised shopping street in the world when it was built in 1953. Now it is more of an average shopping street with average shops. In weekends it's very crowded. Linking the Lijnbaan with the Hoogstraat is the, dubbed Koopgoot (Buying-gutter). A subterrainean passage, also connecting to Beurs metro station. It's all rather big and somewhat strange for a Dutch city, but it fits perfectly into the Rotterdam aspiration of being different. If you're looking for it, ask for the Koopgoot, as the official name is little known.

Department stores
The Beurstraverse gives direct access to the city's main department stores:

Markets
There are about 12 larger and smaller markets dotted around Rotterdam. Most of them are enjoyable places to walk through.

Street food markets

 * Try one or many more of the Kaapse Brouwers beers: there is a whole wall of taps to choose from. This is a popular place so waiting lines can be long.
 * Try one or many more of the Kaapse Brouwers beers: there is a whole wall of taps to choose from. This is a popular place so waiting lines can be long.
 * Try one or many more of the Kaapse Brouwers beers: there is a whole wall of taps to choose from. This is a popular place so waiting lines can be long.

Things to buy
Dutch cheese is very famous, you can get some at grocery stores or wider variety at the marketplace. Other typical Dutch things are stroopwafels, hagelslag and drop (liquorice).

Eat
The area around metrostation Blaak, called Oude haven (Old Harbour), is not only worth seeing but has also a lot of pubs and restaurants. The Rotterdam dining scene is developing very fast with new restaurants opening very often. While most of the attention focusses on new Michelin-star aspiring places, there is very much a trend towards high quality mid-range restaurants offering French/Dutch cuisine.

Drink
Nightlife in Rotterdam is extremely varied, every subculture has its own area in the city. The Oude Haven (close to the Kubuswoningen) and the main market square Blaak are the hang out spot for business, economic and law students. The cafés and restaurants in the Oude Haven (Old Harbour) are around a picturesque little harbour. Scenery of water, city lights, boats and Het Witte Huis, the first skyscraper of Europe (1897). The atmosphere is really great and it is best to go when the sun sets, very romantic! Great place for a night out.

Close to the Oude Haven area, the streets around the Pannenkoekstraat have emerged as a new center for shopping and going out. Amidst small boutiques, selling clothes and interior design by young, upcoming designers, you can find cocktailbars such as Level or Soho, which both attract large crowds. Especially in the summer this is a great place for a mojito.

The most lively bar area in town is Eendrachtsplein/Nieuwe Binnenweg. Alternative, easy going and full of friendly, open-minded people. The cafés you should be looking for are Stalles, Parket and Rotown. This is the place to be for the more creative orientated people, musicians, designers and artschool students. Walk down de Nieuwe Binnenweg and arrive at Café Ari (Nieuwe Binnenweg/Mathenesserlaan) and Westerpaviljoen (grand café with the best terrace in the city). This is a good place to start the evening. Walk a little bit (3 minutes) down the Binnenweg again and go left at 's-Gravendijkwal (you'll see the flashy neon lights of sexclub OQ). Across the street you'll find Jazz Cafe Dizzy. A great place for a quality beer and some live jazz music. You can also eat at almost all places mentioned.

Now walk back the Binnenweg up eastbound. Cross Eendrachtsplein and go to the right towards the Westersingel. Walk 3 minutes and on your left there is the Witte de Withstraat. Some nice café's like De Witte Aap, Mondriaan, Bar P, and De Schouw are found here, along with some good restaurants as well. This is also the most arty street of Rotterdam. Here you'll find Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art, MAMA, showroom for media and moving art and many more. Drinking in style!

If you're into loud music, your best option would be to go to De Baroeg at the "Spinozaweg" in Rotterdam-Lombardijen. Loads of heavy metal acts play here each year. Should you not feel like making your way all the way into sub-urbia, you could also try your luck at the Rhythm on Oude Binnenweg. A popular hang out of alternative types.

The clubscene in Rotterdam is well-renowned. For example, it gave birth to the gabber-housescene in the early 1990s and was home to the Now&Wow, one of the world's trendiest clubs. The Now&Wow is now defunct, but in its last location, an old grain silo near metro station Maashaven, there are still numerous dance parties. Just as with the bar scene, there are clubs that cater for different groups of people. Moreover, Rotterdam nightlife is very dynamic: places come and go, move around, change ownership, etc. It is mostly centered around:

 * Kruiskade: clubs as Off Corso (housed in an old cinema) and Thalia Lounge have good parties over the weekends and mostly attract 20-somethings.
 * Stadhuisplein: number of bars and disco's that are more directed towards the working class. The nearby Baja Beach Club (at the Schouwburgplein) attracts a similar crowd. Stadhuisplein is better to be avoided in the weekends due to a lot of aggression! During week days it's mostly students going out, with De Après Skihut full of people every day of the week.
 * Delftsestraat: the Hollywood is a large disco that fills up quickly in weekends with an overall somewhat younger crowd. The Apres Ski Hut recreates the atmosphere of Tirol in the same colourless street.
 * Club Vie, near the old harbour area, is a more stylish, trendy club, which also offers nice views over the Maas river.

Some listings that can be found around these places:

Coffeeshops
As everywhere in the Netherlands, the possession (of small quantities) and use of cannabis (hash and weed) is tolerated in Rotterdam. Since Amsterdam draws more coffee-shop tourism prices are lower in Rotterdam. Some renowned places:

 * Coffeeshop "De lachende paus" ("The laughing pope", Nieuwe Binnenweg): A shop where you can buy over 40 kinds of pre-rolled joints (voorgedraaide in Dutch). The prices can be high, but it's worth a visit.
 * Coffeeshop "Pluto" (Nieuwe Binnenweg 139a): Actually a headshop. They also sell loads of paraphernalia like pipes, and bongs.
 * Coffeeshop "Greenhouse" (Nieuwe Binnenweg) Ditto.
 * Coffeeshop "The Reefer" (De Meent, City center)
 * Coffeeshop "The Pool" (Westersingel, 5 m from Central Station): A nice Coffeeshop on the 1st floor where you can sit and relax by a table or bar. Or play some pool on the 2nd and 3rd floor.
 * Coffeeshop the "Act" / Cafe "De Nieuwe Wet" (Westerwagenstraat): Since the mid-1990s the sale of alcohol and cannabis in the same place has been made illegal. The natural solution? Split your coffeeshop and pub into two separate entities, with only one door.
 * Coffeeshop "Nemo" (Nieuwe Binnenweg): Unlike many coffeeshops this place is bright, open and airy with large windows and comfortable seats; the walls are covered in a (Disney) Nimo-esque montage and the music is more relaxed than many coffeeshops. A good place for someone wanting something softer than many other coffeeshops.

Possessing large quantities of hasheesh or cannabis is a crime in the Netherlands: do not take stuff with you when leaving the Netherlands (you can be punished severely in neighbouring countries). It's also unwise to buy for someone else, especially if it's a foreigner as you can be punished in his or her country of origin (it has happened).

Smoking tobacco is banned inside food and drink establishments — even coffeeshops! But tobacco smoking appears to be tolerated in coffee shops, and their pre-rolled joints are often mixed with tobacco.

Music venues

 * Rotown where smaller international and national indie artists perform.
 * WORM, venue focused on underground and avant garde music
 * Roodkapje, a gallery that also host various parties
 * Poortgebouw, a venue run by the squatters that live in the building.

Bed and Breakfast
There are numerous bed and breakfast houses in Rotterdam and they generally offer a good possibility of getting a "local" experience.

Hotel

Mid-range

Connect
The telephone country code for the Netherlands is 31, and Rotterdam's city code is 010. In case of an Emergency, dial 1-1-2 (free of charge). When staying for a longer time, buy a prepaid sim card for your mobile phone.

Stay safe
You should take normal precautions against pickpockets and baggage theft, especially in the main shopping streets, at markets, in trams and trains, at stations, and anywhere where tourists congregate. It is not wise to hang around Stadhuisplein when nightlife ends. Fights often occur in this area after midnight. Rotterdam also has a reputation of mass venues getting out of hand, though you shouldn't worry too much about it. If violence breaks out at football festivities (not so unlikely) or at the end of sun soaked festive days, like Kings Day (even less unlikely, especially at the Stadhuisplein), just get out of the way and you're unlikely to be affected. It's advisable not to wear a football jersey of Ajax Amsterdam or any other stuff promoting Ajax or Amsterdam. In terms of general safety, at daylight most areas in the city are safe. But at night, some areas such as Spangen, Charlois and Hillesluis are wise to avoid.

As of the end of 2022/beginning of 2023, many explosions at the front doors of houses occurred across the entire city. These were related to drug crime and targeted at people involved in drug trafficking, or their family. Explosions mostly happened at night.

When you drive a car with a foreign numberplate (especially if it's a French or Belgian one) you might or will be approached by so-called drugsrunners. This can occur on the motorways surrounding the city and in the city proper. These guys try to lure people to places where drugs are dealt. Do not respond to their signals and do not follow them.

Go next
If you do not have a car, the hub for leaving the city will probably be Rotterdam Centraal, from where trains leave in all directions at short intervals (you can generally drop in and catch the next train to your destination). Most regional and longer distance buses leave here too, with the exception of most buses to southerly destinations and the province of Zeeland that leave from metro station Zuidplein. In contrast with the trains, bus departure times should be checked in advance as they can be far and between.

For trains to the North and the South travellers can also choose to depart from Rotterdam Blaak.

The Hague can also be reached easily and rather quickly by metro line E.

Nearby destinations like Schiedam or even Delft can also be reached by bike if you fancy a somewhat longer ride. Bike routes and directions are well marked and available in abundance. A good idea for a sunny day! Schiedam can be reached by train or by metro (in 15 minutes) too. MRDH is the area of the region Rotterdam-Schiedam-Delft-The Hague, see this page for more information on travel and cycling.

Nearby

 * Kinderdijk — a UNESCO World Heritage site. 19 old windmills are still helping to control the water level there. Windmill #2 is open to the public (€3), allowing you to see its inner workings. In season there is a direct waterbus service from an embankment at the Erasmus bridge (travel time ~1/2 hour). Alternatively, Arriva bus 90 from bus and metro station Zuidplein will get you there in 50 minutes.
 * Schiedam — visit the historic centre of this small town at the edge of Rotterdam, including the world's six tallest windmills. Also you can find there the Stedelijk Museum, an attractive museum with some nice modern art exhibitions. Easily reached by bicycle, a train (from Rotterdam Centraal to Schiedam Centrum), metro A, B or C line to Schiedam Centrum station, or tram lines 21 or 24 (Broersvest or Koemarkt stop).
 * Hoek van Holland is a part of the Rotterdam municipality and it's 30 km from Rotterdam. On hot summer days it serves as Rotterdam's beach town, overlooking large ships leaving the port of Rotterdam, including the ferries to the United Kingdom.

Day trips

 * Delft — this famous town is a 15-minute train ride from Rotterdam Centraal. Very historic and scenic, but also very touristy.
 * Dordrecht — a magnificent historic town with little tourism and an excellent old art museum (Dordrechts Museum). It is a 15-min train ride, or even better, take a waterbus.
 * Gouda — visit this small picturesque postcard-like town and see the magnificent stained glass windows in the Sint Janskerk. Also 20 min by train.
 * Delta Works — a series of construction projects protecting the Southwest of the Netherlands from the sea. The Oosterschelde storm surge barrier is the most impressive, and next to it is Neeltje Jans, a water theme park dedicated to the Delta Works.
 * Brielle — a mediaeval fortified town. The centre is a nice ensemble of old houses and churches, enclosed by the original earthen defensive walls. There are some museums and the Roman Catholic shrine of the Martyrs of Gorcum. Walking around town and fortifications is a treat. You can easily spend a full day in Brielle. Take bus 103 at the Spijkenisse Centrum metro station. A journey takes about 70 min.
 * Schoonhoven — a nice small town with many well preserved medieval buildings on the Lek river in a halfway to Utrecht. From Station Capelsebrug, Rotterdam, take a bus 195 (direction Utrecht). A journey takes about 1 hour.
 * Go to the other cities of the Randstad, e.g. The Hague is 1/2 hour by train or metro, Utrecht is around 45 min by train, Amsterdam about an hour.

title: Rotterdam


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Rottingdean

Rottingdean is a village in Brighton on the south coast of England. Although on the coast this was a farming village rather than a fishing one. But it was not disconnected from the sea as it used to be known as the smugglers' village. It was the home of the writer, Rudyard Kipling, and of his uncle, the painter Edward Burne-Jones.

Get in
Buses along the coast from Brighton run every 5 to 10 minutes. The walk from Brighton Palace pier will take about 1½ hours, either along the undercliff or along the cliff top. You can start this walk from Brighton Marina. At Ovingdean gap there is a small cafe by the beach that will be open if it is sunny.

Get around
A small village, easy to walk around.

Do

There is a pebble beach which is nice in the summer. Boxing Day is a traditional village day with inter-pub football, tug of war, races, etc. The whole village closes about 6:30PM that day mostly drunk.

Buy
You can go along the chalk cliff beach and look for fossils in the geodes that you will find on the beach.

Eat

 * Thai, Chinese and Indian restaurants. A chippy (fish and chip shop), once frequented by John Major a former British prime minister. Try The Coach House, The Victoria or The Plough public houses for food.

Drink
Five pubs in addition to those above the Black Horse and White Horse Hotel.

Go next
West to Brighton along the Marine Drive

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Rottingdean


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Rottweil

Rottweil is a city between Black Forest (Schwarzwald) and Swabian Jura (Schwäbische Alb).

Understand

Rottweil is the oldest city in Baden-Württemberg being founded as Arae Flaviae in 73 CE and named after the then ruling dynasty of the Roman Empire. However, the Roman settlement was never all that big and only in 1950 did archeologists positively identify Arae Flaviae, which had been mentioned in various sources, including the Tabula Peutingeriana, with modern Rottweil. The town lends its name to the (nowadays far more famous) dog breed, believed to descend from Roman drover dogs.

By bus
bwegt is the state public transit company and if you are coming from a nearby town or town such as Balingen or Tübingen, then the bus is a flexible option to use. There is also a direct Bus line between Villingen-Schwenningen and Rottweil.

By plane
The closest major airport to Rottweil is Stuttgart. Friedrichshafen has a smaller airport mostly served by short haul flights.

By car
About an hour's drive on the Autobahn from Stuttgart or from Freiburg, Rottweil is pretty easy to get to. It is the oldest town in this German area, so it is well linked to the Autobahn and other road networks.

Access with the Autobahn:

 * A 81 Stuttgart - Singen, exiting at Rottweil.

You can also access Rottweil via the following highways:

 * B 27 Stuttgart - Schaffhausen
 * B 14 Herrenberg - Stockach
 * B 462 Schramberg - Rottweil (from the Schwarzwald)

On foot
The town is not very large, so you can practically walk anywhere you need to go; just follow the roads. As you leave the train station, you will see the city centre up the slight hill.

By bus
Rottweil has a good bus system so if you need it do use it. If you are arriving at the train station (Hauptbahnhof)
 * Citybus 9 (Stadtbus 9)
 * 20 Müller-Reisen
 * 7444 SBG and 7478, South Baden Bus Company/ Südbadenbus GmbH (SBG)
 * V V R - another bus company that operates in Rottweil
 * EFA - is more like the Bahn.de website where you input your destination and date and it searches the main bus companies

By taxi
There is a taxi stand at the train station. However, here are some numbers, should there be no taxis on the stand.
 * Tel.: 07 41 / 2 35 55 (Taxi Hafa),
 * Tel.: 07 41 / 5 30 04 00 (City-Taxi),
 * Tel.: 07 41 / 1 20 06 (Taxi-Schmidt)

See
The heart of Rottweil is its walled old town set high above the valley. The walls are no longer complete, but you can certainly follow their course around three of the four sides of the town. On the fourth side, there was no real need for a wall, as the landscape drops down to a deep river valley.

Within the walls is a main street lined with traditional German town houses. An especially attractive one houses the tourist information. Opposite it there is the small town museum. At the top of the street there is the town gate which still imposes its presence and limits the entrance into the town.

The setting of the town can probably best be appreciated in the North East corner. Here you can see a small chapel and tower remains on the wall at the edge of the valley.

Go next

 * Tuttlingen
 * Villingen-Schwenningen
 * Bad Düreihm

title: Rottweil


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Rotuma

Rotuma lies approximately 465 km to the north of the Fiji Islands. After Rotuma was invaded, its culture is much more in common with Polynesian Tonga and Samoa than Melanesian Fiji. It is a volcanic island of approximately 43 km², with a few, much smaller, surrounding islands. The island has been politically part of Fiji since 1881. Because of their Polynesian appearance and distinctive language, Rotuman's now constitute a recognizable minority group within Fiji. Rotuma’s population is 2,000 but twice as many Rotuman's now live abroad (on the other islands of Fiji, Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Europe) than live on the island, especially young people.

In 1985, over 85% of Rotuman's voted against allowing organized tourism on their island, so to this day, although it is easy to visit, there are very few travellers on the island. Most travellers have either been invited or are expatriate Rotuman's revisiting home. Visitors have to arrange accommodation with families.

Get in
Fiji Airways (Pacific Sun) is Fiji majority owned and flies to Rotuma from Nadi. Flights can be cancelled when the grass airstrip at Rotuma is waterlogged.

There is a monthly cargo ship from Suva but it does not follow a fixed schedule. It takes up to 100 passengers.

Get around
There is a sandy coastal road. Villages are spread out along this road. The island also has walking tracks in the interior.

See
On Sisilo hill lies around 20 stone tombs at an archaeological site called the Graveyard of Kings.

Do
Hiking in Rotuma is excellent due to the presence of spectacular views from Solroroa Bluff and Mt. Suelhof, the highest peak on the island. Between Losa beach and Solroroa Bluff is the 25-meter deep volcanic vent of Manfiri.

Rotuma has some of the most enchanting beaches in Fiji. The best are Oinafa, Losa and Vai’oa, west of Solroroa Bluff. Other popular beaches and picnic areas on the main island are Joro, Lulu, and 'Ana-te-Fapufa ('Fapufa cave'). The islets of 'Agaha, around 1.2 kilometers off the southeast coast, and Solkope, only around 75 meters offshore, are also ideal picnic spots. There are also fine surfing areas around the island and pristine snorkelling.

Eat
Meals are provided by the families with whom you stay. The basic diet is taro, reef fish, and tinned meat.

Drink
There are some small local shops but these can run out of supplies. Consider taking some of your favourite drink with you.

Sleep

 * Rotuma Homestay. The easiest way to stay on Rotuma is to organise a homestay. If you’re lucky enough to be invited to the island, discuss with your Rotuman contact what the best way is to repay the family during your stay. You can also contact the Fiji Visitor Bureau in either Nadi or Suva to get the contact details for the Rotuman Island Council, which is the group you should contact if you want to visit. You can also simply ask the visitor’s bureau for their advice. Another option would be to post a message on the Rotumans' Facebook group or at their forums. These online forums are used by Rotuman expatriates and a user of the forum may have a family member or friend who is willing to offer a homestay.

title: Rotuma


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Rouen

Rouen is the capital of the French region of Upper Normandy on the River Seine, 135 km (approximately 90 minutes drive) northwest from the centre of Paris. The city has a population of 110,000 and its metropolitan area includes some 666,000 inhabitants (2017). It is where Joan of Arc was burnt at the stake, but the main reason for visiting is its incredible cathedral that inspired Monet to paint over 30 canvases. Rouen was the home of the author, Gustave Flaubert.

Understand
Rouen was for a long time France's second city, after Paris, which explains the richness of the town's artistic heritage. It has hosted many famous French writers, including Victor Hugo, Guy Maupassant, and Gustave Flaubert, among others. Today, it deserves a visit for its monuments, Gothic art being particularly well represented, but also for the charm of its alleyways and the many half-timbered houses there are.

The town is on the right bank of the River Seine, but today, includes the left bank (the Saint-Sever area in particular, on the south of the river), and the Île Lacroix.

By car

 * From Paris, Rouen is approximately an hour and a half's drive (135 km) north-west from the centre of the French capital, the fastest route including the A13 motorway (note: this a toll road). An alternative route would include the N14 slightly further to the north.
 * From the Channel port city of Dieppe, Rouen is approximately an hour's drive (66 km) south along the N27.
 * From the French end of the Eurotunnel, Rouen is approximately a 2-hour drive (208 km) using the E402.
 * From other major centres in Normandy, Rouen is respectively 90 km (1 hr 10 min) from Le Havre, 128 km (1 hr 25 min) from Caen, 156 km (1 hr 45 min) from Bayeux and 249 km (2 hr 45 min) from Cherbourg.

By train

 * The train posting in Paris St-Lazare can be confusing to the first-time traveller. The train platform number (la voie) is not posted until 15–20 minutes before the departure, so do not panic if you arrive earlier than that. Look for the train heading to Le Havre or Dieppe which will be leaving from the platforms to the right as you enter the concourse. Do not forget to punch (composter) your ticket in one of the yellow machines before boarding. This will validate your ticket.
 * The train posting in Paris St-Lazare can be confusing to the first-time traveller. The train platform number (la voie) is not posted until 15–20 minutes before the departure, so do not panic if you arrive earlier than that. Look for the train heading to Le Havre or Dieppe which will be leaving from the platforms to the right as you enter the concourse. Do not forget to punch (composter) your ticket in one of the yellow machines before boarding. This will validate your ticket.

By bus
Flixbus and BlablaCar Bus serve the city. From Paris, connections can be made with buses throughout France and Europe.

By boat
Ferries from the UK go to the French ports of Dieppe and Le Havre, from where trains can be caught to Rouen. For foot-passengers, the train and ferry journey from London via Newhaven and Dieppe is one of the most pleasant and restful ways of getting to Rouen.

Get around
The city center is compact and all sights can easily be seen by foot, however, there is public transport throughout the town.

The Métro du Rouen is a tramway operating in Rouen, running north to south from Boulingrin in the north to Saint-Sever, where it branches off into two lines - one to Technopôle and one to Georges Braque.

There is also a "bus rapid transit" system, which is very similar to a normal bus system, in Rouen, called the Transport est-ouest rouennais (TEOR). This system has three lines in the town, T1, T2 and T3, all of which run on the north of the river.

A normal bus system also exists with 29 lines operating throughout the town.

Tickets for public transport can be bought from many places, including the Gare-Rue Verte tram station on Place Bernard-Tissot, the Théâtre des Arts tram station on rue Jeanne d'Arc, from conductors on buses (not on TEOR) and from automatic ticket machines at metro and TEOR stations. Tickets can also be bought by text, costing €1.60 and are valid for one hour.

 * Velo-R north of the Seine on Avenue Jeanne D' Arc (near the metro station) rents bikes for €1-2 per day. The city also has an official bicycle rental scheme where you can rent a bike at one location and drop it off at another.
 * A scooter shop on Avenue De Bretagne no. 18 rents scooters but they need to be reserved ahead of time. There is also an Avis in town.

By taxi

 * Taxi Rouen Farnes,  +33 6 89 07 78 61

Do

 * Rouen has many biking trails and forests nearby. There is a trail on the north side of the Seine to the Foret Roumare. La Véloroute du Val de Seine is a cycling route following the Seine starting at Elbeuf just south of Rouen, and ending at Le Havre.
 * Get a boat trip along the Seine, some companies offering cruises include Escapade en Seine and Normandie Croisières.
 * Football: US Quevilly-Rouen were relegated in 2024 and now play soccer in Championnat National, the third tier. Their home ground Stade Robert Diochon (capacity 8300) is in Le Petit-Quevilly, 5 km south across the river from city centre.
 * Football: US Quevilly-Rouen were relegated in 2024 and now play soccer in Championnat National, the third tier. Their home ground Stade Robert Diochon (capacity 8300) is in Le Petit-Quevilly, 5 km south across the river from city centre.
 * Football: US Quevilly-Rouen were relegated in 2024 and now play soccer in Championnat National, the third tier. Their home ground Stade Robert Diochon (capacity 8300) is in Le Petit-Quevilly, 5 km south across the river from city centre.
 * Football: US Quevilly-Rouen were relegated in 2024 and now play soccer in Championnat National, the third tier. Their home ground Stade Robert Diochon (capacity 8300) is in Le Petit-Quevilly, 5 km south across the river from city centre.
 * Football: US Quevilly-Rouen were relegated in 2024 and now play soccer in Championnat National, the third tier. Their home ground Stade Robert Diochon (capacity 8300) is in Le Petit-Quevilly, 5 km south across the river from city centre.

Buy

 * Market on Saturdays and Sundays at Place Saint Marc. Fresh produce, flowers, bric-a-brac and antiques. Well worth a visit. Closes early on Sunday, approx at 13:00.
 * Cheeses, meats, fruit and vegetables can be bought at the Vieux Marche. A larger selection, as well as used clothing, furniture, and knick-knacks can be found at the Place de Saint Marc.

Eat
Most of the tourist restaurants are located near the Eglise Sainte Jenne D'Arc. They are likely to be open Sunday when most other restaurants are closed. There are also shops, markets, and patisseries in that square and scattered throughout Rouen to purchase food. Many are open Sunday as well.

Drink

 * Hotel de Bourgtheroulde has a beautiful artistic bar with cocktails ranging from €9-13.
 * Hotel de Bourgtheroulde has a beautiful artistic bar with cocktails ranging from €9-13.

Hospitals
CHU de Rouen has five hospitals in the Rouen area.

Consulates

 * 🇩🇰 Denmark
 * 🇩🇪 Germany
 * 🇳🇵 Nepal

Go next
The whole Norman countryside, coast, and the Seine valley are spectacular with beautiful peaceful green pastures and forests, white cliffs, and including such famous sites as the cliff-arches of Etretat.
 * Dieppe, a lovely seaside resort, 45 minutes away.
 * An ideal half-day trip would include Les Andelys, a picturesque village with an impressive castle just south of Rouen
 * Next stop could be the little 17th-century harbor of Honfleur, west
 * Le Havre and its modern architecture which belongs to the prestigious Unesco World Heritage List (regular trains running from Rouen)Visit Le Havre page on the site to get a better view of western Normandy
 * From Rouen station you can reach Bayeux and its impressive tapestry. It is a two-hour train ride and is only 30 minutes from the D-Day beaches. Additionally, busy Lille, chock full of museums and an enormous flea market in early September, lies to the North; about two hours on the train, each way.
 * Vernon and Monet's home at Giverny are about 40 minutes away on the train (direction of Paris, less than.

title: Rouen


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Rougemont

Rougemont is a city of 2,696 people (2021) in Regional County Municipality (RCM) of Rouville, in the Montérégie region of Quebec, Canada. Rougemont is recognized as the apple capital of Quebec and an important center of sugar bushes.

Landlocked between the limits of Saint-Jean-Baptiste, Saint-Damase, Saint-Césaire, Sainte-Angèle-de-Monnoir, and covering the southern part of Mont Rougemont, this municipality is an agritourism paradise, home to many sugar shacks, apple growing, vineyards. Its rural areas attract many visitors. The main attractions of Rougemont are:
 * its orchards and vineyards: U-pick attracts tens of thousands of visitors in September and October; several of these apple producers run shops selling their apple-derived products and organize events, including tastings and gatherings (family celebrations, corporate or association meetings, etc.)
 * its sweets: several sugar bushes offer meal services in addition to their maple products shop;
 * its municipal parks, its sports and leisure facilities, and its program of activities;
 * its Mont Rougemont with a footpath leading to the cross at the top.

Understand
The Rougemont area is known for apple and maple syrup production. It is the location of Mont Rougemont and Rougemont Airport for private aircraft.

By car
From Montreal, it's 55 km. Take Autoroute 10 east to exit 37 (towards Marieville), then Hwy 227 north to Hwy 112, and 112 east to Rougemont.

Get around
Cars and bicycles are the best means of transport to get around Rougemont. In the winter, snowmobiling and mountain biking are popular.

See

 * In May, the apple trees are briefly in bloom; which gives off a bucolic scent. Many visitors will admire this magnificent coloring of the trees.

Do

 * From September to mid-October, the apples are ready to harvest, and Rougemont is home to pick,-your-own apple farms.

Winery and cidery
From September to mid-October, the apples are ready to be harvested and Rougemont is home to vegetable farms and orchards offering pick-your-own.

 * Principale Street

 * Rang de la Montagne

 * Rang Double

 * Chemin La Grande-Caroline

 * Chemin La Petite-Caroline

 * Autres chemins

title: Rougemont


text:
Round Mountain

Round Mountain is a city in the Shasta Cascades region of California.

Get in
By car is the main mode of transport to Round Mountain.

Get around
Either walk to enjoy scenery or drive to go quickly.

See
There are not many attractions in Round Mountain.

Do
The town of Round Mountain itself doesn't have much to do, but Burney and Lassen are both to the east, and Redding is to the west.

Buy
There aren't any major shopping areas in Round Mountain.

Eat
The closest restaurants that are listed are in Burney.

Sleep
The closest listed accommodations to Round Mountain are in Burney as well.

title: Round Mountain


text:
Round Rock

Round Rock is a city in the Central Hill Country region of Texas. It is located 19 miles north of downtown Austin.

Understand
Round Rock is a rapidly growing city just 20 minutes away from downtown Austin (without traffic.) It was once a small town with several locally owned businesses and few huge corporations but in the last 15 years it has more than doubled in population. Much of this is attributed to the arrival of Dell Computer Corporation. Round Rock is the main headquarters for Dell. Round Rock is also a "bedroom community" with many residents commuting daily to jobs in Austin.

By plane
Austin Bergstrom International Airport is 30 miles south of the city center. The most practical means of travel from the airport is by rental car but taxis are available. A one way trip by taxi is about $40 (credit cards accepted).

By car
The main highway through Round Rock is Interstate Highway 35, which may be taken 19 miles south to downtown Austin or 177 miles north to downtown Dallas. State Highway 79 to the east is the most direct route to Bryan-College Station, home of Texas A&M University.

Get around

 * American Yellow Checker Cab, 452 9999.
 * Roy's Taxi, 482 0000.

title: Round Rock


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Round the world overland

Overland travel or overlanding refers to a journey performed without the use of flights. This may include:
 * Travel to relatively distant or inaccessible points (such as the Australian outback) with vehicles designed to be capable of off-road use.
 * Cross-continental travel without flights or boats – a famous historical example being Marco Polo's first overland expedition in the 13th century from Venice to the Chinese court of Kublai Khan.
 * Round-the-world travel using sea travel between continents and road or rail travel ashore, in the Around the world in 80 days tradition.

Since the 1960s overlanding has been a popular means of travel between destinations across Africa, Europe, Asia (particularly India), the Americas and Australia. In the 1960s and 70s, thousands of young westerners travelled the "Hippie Trail" through the Middle East to India and Nepal. See Istanbul to New Delhi over land.

Understand
Travelling around the world has been a goal for many intrepid explorers ever since humans suspected that the world was round. Ancient Greek mathematicians calculated that the world was round (and despite common myth today, was believed round throughout the Middle Ages as well) and speculated on how to follow it all the way. The first persons generally acknowledged to have made this trip were the survivors of Ferdinand Magellan's crew. After three years under sail, one ship safely returned. With the widespread deployment of locomotives and steamships in the late 1800s, Jules Verne predicted a trip around the world in eighty days to be feasible by land and sea. A pair of rival New York City journalists made the trip in 1889 in 72 and 76 days respectively.

These days, it is easy to buy a number of flights that take you around the world, but many people choose not to fly. One reason is that air travel is an intensely polluting form of transport. Another is that the joy of travelling is the journey itself and the many places and experiences that come from passing through countries rather than flying over them.

Many people plan to travel around the world without using air transport by using a combination of sea, rail and road, although generally it is almost impossible not to include some air transport on the way, due to the cost of covering the oceans and for political reasons in some parts of the world.

In a nutshell: the very minimum requirements for a trip like this are several months of time, good health and, tens of thousands of US Dollars.

Arranged voyages round the world
There are a limited number of arranged overland trips around the world. In practice these trips are cruises circumnavigating the globe from port to port, therefore a more describing name for them would be "over seas". Some travel agents arrange places on freight ships going around the world, the rest on regular cruise ships. These usually last about 100 days, and prices begin at USD 15,000.

A few cruise ship lines package a "world cruise" as a single bundle, with duration typically 110–120 days. These trips typically run once annually.

Shorter tours
Originally overland tours catered to young travellers who were happy to "rough it" and travel in large groups. Since then, the overlanding industry has evolved and now there are arranged trips for all kinds of travellers. In Africa, for example, there are wide range of tours designed for different types of travellers, including families and senior travellers, with primitive as well as quite luxury accommodation and services.

There are many overland tour companies that provide a converted or purpose-built truck or bus and a tour leader. On these guided overland tours the group travels together overland for a period of weeks or months either with their own vehicles or with the provided one.

The tours marketed as overlanding are often quite long, such as six weeks from Kenya to South Africa. A twenty-six weeks tour from London to Johannesburg like in the old days is hard to find nowadays, though, and the itineraries are usually planned in detail, leaving little to improvisation.

On your own
A possibly cheaper and definitely more adventurous way is to combine scheduled intercity bus, train and boat connections to go around the world – or to go all the way by yacht. You could also use any land vehicle, such as a bike, motorcycle, car, or even travel on foot. You plan your trip from scratch and set your own schedule. This will mean a lot more planning than, e.g., flying round the world through ten cities. Remember that your itinerary will very likely include places far off the beaten track and far away from everything. Consult the articles for each of the countries you plan to travel to in order to learn about the connections and travel conditions.

General considerations

Crossing from Europe to Asia or vice versa can be done relatively easy – you can take a train from most major European cities to Moscow and travel by the Trans Siberian to Beijing, Vladivostok and places along the route. Another relatively straightforward train route is from Moscow to Urumqi. Travel through Central Asia or the Middle East is possible but requires more visas and more changes of buses and trains. The security situation also tends to be worse, as many countries in the region are or have been embroiled in violence. The fabled Hippie Trail overland from Europe to India came to a screeching halt when Iran had a revolution and the Soviet military invaded Afghanistan in 1979. The on-going Syrian Civil war is a major obstacle to all travel in the region, as is visa trouble should you enter Israel.

The Pacific Ocean is by far the greatest obstacle to completing a circuit around the world overland; There are no ferries between either Indonesia or New Zealand to Australia, nor are there any sort of regular services from Asia or Australia to the thousands of islands in Polynesia. Further north the Bering strait between Russia and Alaska doesn't have any scheduled traffic crossing it either. Moreover there are no roads on either side of the Bering Strait and a special permission is required to enter Chukotka on the Russian side. This means you either have to shell out more money than a plane ticket on the cruise ships that do cover this route – Japan to Alaska is the most economical option – or opt for the option more in the spirit of such a journey: freighter travel (or trying to combine yacht hitchhikes). New Zealand, which maintains loose associations with a number of small islands in the Pacific, sometimes allows people to join on the semi regular freight routes supplying these islands, but natives are always given priority, and securing a spot on these trips are not trivial, and requires much perseverance. If you want to cross as many longitudes as possible by land but are willing to fly if absolutely necessary, things get a little easier. Coming from Asia, you can get across the Indonesian islands by ferry and overland to the easternmost of Papua New Guinea. From there you can fly to New Zealand, via Australia if you wish. The North Island reaches all the way to 178°E. From New Zealand you can fly via Hawaii to Anchorage, Alaska from where you can backtrack by ferry to Dutch Harbor-Unalaska, located at 166°W. Alaska is connected by ferry and road to Canada and the Lower 48.

Traffic over the Atlantic is much more frequent than over the Pacific. Cunard Line's proud historical ocean liners still ply the route between Southampton and New York, and are much more economically feasible than the Trans-Pacific cruises. Some cruise ships spend the summer in Europe and the winter in the Caribbean and offer affordable "re-positioning cruises" across the Atlantic. Lots of freighters cross the Atlantic between Europe and the Americas and journeys on these can be arranged through several agencies. Additionally, quite a few sailors cross the Atlantic in their own vessels for fun (see Hitchhiking boats to tag along with one). If you can get from North America to Iceland, you can take Smyril Line's weekly ferry from Seyðisfjörður to Denmark on the European mainland. Headstrong, experienced travellers with a very loose timetable could attempt to cross the North Atlantic on fishing vessels – Greenland to Iceland is, while in no way easy, possibly doable. But unless you use a cruise ship as ferry or charter small craft, there is no practical way to cover the strait between Canada and Greenland. It may be possible to hire experienced Inuit to cross the strait on dog sleighs during the winter and hopefully to continue by coastal vessels.

Perhaps surprisingly, another obstacle is the Darién Gap: a small 160-km stretch of dense marshy jungle, made even more dangerous by guerrillas fighting in the area, between Panama and Colombia. Yes, this means there are no roads between Central and South America, there are no ferries covering the gap either, but backpacker traffic is so heavy that there is a fairly organised line of private vessels operating between Cartagena and the Portobelo Area or Carti in Panama. Blue Sailing have regularly scheduled boat departures for the journey between Carti in Panama and Cartagena in Colombia. It is also feasible to walk along the Caribbean coast line, but unless you have experience in such journeys, this is not something you should take lightly. From Europe, you can go by freighter to Montevideo and some ports in Brazil and some of the cruises in the Caribbean also include ports in Venezuela.

Northern Africa can be easily visited from Europe. However, if you want to travel further south overland you need to cross the Sahara desert, which is a challenging task. You could travel along the west coast, passing through several countries that require visas from almost all foreigners. The easier route would be in eastern Africa, sample routes include Cairo to Nairobi overland and Alexandria to Cape Town by train and bus. Rail transportation and paved roads are uncommon, therefore getting around can be challenging and take time. Also, inform yourself about the situation in the areas you plan to travel through – sadly infectious diseases, armed conflicts and crime are prevalent in much of Africa. Finally, to get out from anywhere in Sub-Saharan Africa your alternatives are to either backtrack north to get to Europe or Asia or fly. Crossing the Indian ocean by boat is dangerous because of pirates, at least unless you take a very southerly route.

Australia and the rest of Oceania require flying if you aren't going by freighter or by an irregular and expensive Trans-Pacific or RTW cruise. While most Indonesian islands are connected to each other by ferry and western Indonesia has several connections to the Asian mainland, there are no scheduled ships between Asia and Oceania. It is possible to arrange a ride from South-East Asia to Australia by working on a sailing boat. Depending on the captain, experience may not be essential, but definitely helpful.

Hitching a ride on a cargo-ship between East-Timor and Darwin is not possible. There is a lack of information on the Internet about this. Even though it looks like the two are the closest points on a map, the shipping companies want nothing to do with passengers. It is not out of any legal considerations, travelling as a passenger is perfectly legal, they just do not want the hassle of the paperwork. This is taken from first-hand experience at Dili port and numerous face-to-face conversations with company reps and port officials. Dili marina is also pretty quiet and not as busy as Bali marinas are. Avoid East Timor if your intention to attempt a crossing to Darwin.

A hypothetical route into Australia, not spoken about much is via the Torres Strait Islands (Disclaimer, this was not attempted by the writer but was researched extensively). Separating Daru, Papua New Guinea and Thursday Island is approximately 150 km of water. While no commercial boats connect them, it is legal for Torres Strait Islanders to freely travel between the Torres Strait Islands (Australia) and PNG. You could hire a captain to sail between the two, or kayak it yourself between Daru and Saibai Island.

The main difficulty is reaching Daru from Indonesia as it may involve traversing the entire PNG coastline to reach it. It may be possible to reach Daru from Merauke but you may not be able to cross the border into PNG from here ( seems to hint there is, but check with official sources). It is possible to cross the border at Jayapura on the north-side of Papau but reaching Daru may be very difficult as it would involve many many ferry rides to reach even Port Moresby. Air travel is the primary means of travel between towns and cities in PNG.

Overall getting from one continent to another in the Southern Hemisphere is in practice an option only if you have your own boat.

By car
In 1907, a car race from Beijing to Paris was arranged, and in 1936 two drivers from Prague drove around the world in 97 days. There are two ways to drive around the world: you can buy and sell vehicles along the way (or rent for at least some stretches), which means that you can fly over difficult and dangerous regions and avoid the hassle and expense of shipping your vehicle. If you drive the same car around the world you will have to drive all the way and arrange with freighters to take the car at least over the Atlantic and the Pacific. Driving around the world means you will need various documents in addition to your passport and visas such as an international driver's license, Carnet de Passage, documents concerning the car's insurances and in some cases even a local driver's license (or a local driver)! Weblogs where RTW drivers share their first hand experiences include My Overland Adventure Transworldexpedition, The world by road and Vw vagabonds. Many other examples of Round the world travel by vehicle (Overlanding) can be found on Overland Sphere.

By rail
At 9,288 km (nearly 6,000 miles), the Trans-Siberian Railway is one of the longest overland journeys in existence, taking seven days to reach Vladivostok from Moscow, and providing an alternative to air travel for journeys between Europe and Asia. The Chinese, Russian and other governments are discussing a high-speed (around 320 km/h or 200 mph) line on this route. Europe itself has a comprehensive rail network.

The Indian Pacific Railway, completed in 1970, links Sydney and Perth in Australia. Covering 4,343 km over 4 days, the railway includes the longest stretch of straight railway line in the world.

In the USA Amtrak can carry you overland from New York across the continent to San Francisco on the Pacific Coast and back and forth across the continent using different routes, just a part of their 21,000-mile (34,000-km) train line system, Canada's Via Rail offers similar services; see Rail travel in Canada and Rail travel in the US.

The introduction of Japan's high speed railway, Tōkaidō Shinkansen, in 1964 changed the face of rail travel. The railway has carried more than 4 billion passengers and its new N700 series trains are capable of 300 km/hr. France's TGV (train à grande vitesse or high speed train) attains similar speeds, making it faster than air travel for many journeys. Germany was the first European country to respond to the TGV and for a short time, a German ICE held the speed record for trains before the TGV got it back. Today Spain has the longest HSR network in Europe and fast trains crisscross the Benelux, southern England, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy and even Turkey. China has the longest HSR network and is still building more, see High-speed rail in China. More networks are either planned or under construction, slashing travel times to never before seen levels.

Buses and overland safari trucks
The Silk Road historically connects the Mediterranean with Persia and China. Today the route refers to overland journeys between Europe and China, taking either the northern route – through Russia and Kazakhstan to Urumqi or Xi'an in China – or the southern route – through Turkey, Iran, and Pakistan to India and perhaps beyond. These routes are still popular today, with companies such as Oasis Overland and Odyssey Overland offering tours on the southern route.

By small craft
Nowadays circumnavigating the globe by yacht is not the feat it was a hundred years ago – even teenagers have done it solo. But it still requires solid ocean sailing experience, there is much that can go wrong, and there is little help available on the ocean. For some introduction, see Cruising on small craft.

Hitchhiking boats is possible. Hundreds of sailing boats cross the oceans every year (although quite few do all the Pacific). Waiting in busy ports like Grenada, Madeira or Panama can help. Talk to boat owners, be friendly, helpful, and approachable. Something may turn up. The Internet is also a useful resource, there are many websites that match crew with short-handed skippers. They might just be going the right way.

Trans-Africa overland routes
Some of the longest and more traditional overland routes are in Africa. The Cairo to Cape Town route covers more than 10,000 km, usually following the Nile River through Egypt and Sudan, continuing to Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia along the way. From the mid-1980s, the closure of the Aswan-to-Wadi Halfa ferry between Egypt and Sudan, and instability in Sudan, northern Uganda and Ethiopia, made the journey impossible. The Cape to Cairo and Cairo to Cape Town route has again become possible and increasingly popular both with commercial overland trucks carrying groups of 20 or so paying passengers as well as independent travellers on motorbikes or with 4WD vehicles. See Alexandria to Cape Town by train and bus.

The traditional Trans Africa route is from London to Nairobi, Kenya and Cape Town, South Africa. The route started in the 1970s and became very popular with small companies using old Bedford four wheel drive trucks carrying about 24 people each, plus lots of independents, normally run by groups of friends in 4x4 Land Rovers heading out of London from November to March every year. The usual route was from Morocco to Algeria with a Sahara desert crossing into Niger in West Africa, continuing to Nigeria. This was followed by a month-long journey likened to Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” through the forests of Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo), surfacing into the relatively modern world in Kenya via Uganda. From Kenya the last leg was south through Tanzania to either Zimbabwe or South Africa.

This route has changed dramatically due to border closures and political instability creating no-go zones. The route has reversed itself somewhat over the last few years, with trucks now crossing from the north to the south of Africa, closely following the west coast all the way from Morocco to Cape Town with the biggest change in the route being made possible by the opening of Angola to tourism. The journey then continues through Southern and East Africa from Cape Town to Nairobi and on to Cairo. For the coast of West Africa, there is even a bike trail.

The 2 month long Cape Town to Kenya Overland routing is extremely popular due to the diversity experienced along the route. The range of cultures, fauna and flora experienced allows for a traveller to experience remote regions in Africa yet still allow for a more manageable length of time. Due to the logistics in East and Southern Africa it allows you to travel to areas which are difficult and expensive to access independently.

In Southern Africa the most popular route is Cape Town to Victoria Falls (around 3 weeks long). Companies have trucks leaving almost daily starting the route in Cape Town, South Africa. The Cape to Vic route takes travellers through Namibia, Botswana and ending in either Zimbabwe or Zambia.

Summary

These days, overland journeys explore most continents; the only one not yet regularly travelled is Antarctica.

A few companies offer overland expeditions from the UK to Australia. Originated by Exploratory Overland Expeditions in 2006, the expedition is marketed as the longest trans-Asian overland journey available.

The longest overland expedition of any kind is run by African Trails; their London-Cape Town-Istanbul journey (43 weeks) remains the classic overland expedition for die-hard travellers. Though the longest combination of trips is 50½ weeks run by Dragoman from Helsinki, Finland to Cape Town, South Africa via Russia, China, Middle East, following the Nile and to Kenya and on to southern Africa.

title: Round the world overland


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Roundwood

Roundwood is a small village in the hills of County Wicklow in Ireland, with a population in 2016 of 948. Its Irish name is An Tóchar, "the causeway" which probably refers to the approaches to the nearby monastic centre of Glendalough; but the main reason to be here is to hike its trails. Roundwood's key role in Irish life is to supply Dublin with water.

Understand

 * "... and on his expressed desire for some beverage to drink Mr Bloom in view of the hour it was and there being no pump of Vartry water available for their ablutions let alone drinking purposes...." (James Joyce, Ulysses, III Eumeus).

In the 19th century Dublin outgrew its water supply and sewage system, and became filthy, so a scheme was established to bring water from the Wicklow mountains. A first reservoir was completed at Roundwood in 1863, damming the River Vartry, and a second higher-level reservoir was completed in 1923. Their combined capacity is 18 billion litres: water is piped "raw" to Stillorgan in the south of the city, where it's treated and put into supply. The river retains plenty of water and flows to the sea at Wicklow Town.

James Joyce took a great interest in the works and the political shenanigans involved. (One opposition faction was the backers of the Grand and Royal canals, who'd ruined themselves to build transport routes that could never compete with the railways, but that undeniably brought water into Dublin. Canal water.) In one of several references in Ulysses (set on 16 June 1904) Stephen Dedalus casually asks if there is a decent flow from the tap — Vartry water having a better head of pressure — and in reply he's given a voluminous description of the scheme. In the passage quoted above, Leopold Bloom prefers pure Vartry water to less reputable sources, but since there's none to be had, he and Stephen venture out (none too steadily) in search of other drink, deep into a Dublin dark night of the soul.

Joyce didn't spend much time here and soon emigrated to Trieste, but two Presidents of Ireland had links to Roundwood. Seán Thomas O'Kelly (1882-1966) was second President 1945-1959. He had a country residence in Roundwood, but it burnt down in 1957. Erskine Hamilton Childers (1905-1974) was fourth President from 1973 but died in office after a year, and is buried in the nearby Church of Ireland churchyard at Derralossary. His father Robert Erskine Childers, author of The Riddle of the Sands, was executed by firing squad in 1922 for illegal possession of a pistol.

Get in
St Kevin's Bus runs twice a day from St Stephen's Green in Dublin, via Cabinteely, Bray (for DART trains), Kilmacanogue, Roundwood and Annamoe to Glendalough. The morning run allows a day-trip with four hours to explore Glendalough, or you can take it as a point-to-point bus.

Local Link Bus 183 runs 4 or 5 times a day from Wicklow Town via Ashford and Rathnew to Roundwood. It continues to Annamoe, Laragh, Glendalough, Blessington, Naas and Sallins railway station.

By bike, the Dublin suburbs are ratty so take the train as far as Bray. There are two steep hills early on, after that it's level yet scenic.

By car from Dublin follow M11 / N11 past Bray and exit at Kilmacanogue onto R755. Follow signs for Glendalough, which will take you through Roundwood.

See below for getting here on foot along the Wicklow Way.

Get around

 * Walk or bike.

See

 * The Bullaun is the stone mounted in village centre at the junction of R755 and R765. A bullaun is a stone with a basin worn in it, sometimes naturally, or by use as a mortar for grinding. It collects rainwater which is supposed to have holy or healing powers. Such stones are often within church precincts, and the Roundwood bullaun may have come from a church that has disappeared, but its present setting is misguided - it's been mounted on a pedestal, so it looks like an artsy but modern bird-table.
 * Church of St Laurence O'Toole is the RC parish church. It's neo-Gothic, completed in 1871.
 * is the scenic R759 through the mountains into west Wicklow, a popular motoring or cycling route. It branches off R755 two km north of Roundwood to ascend past the corrie lake of Lough Tay, the usual start point for climbing Luggala. Strictly speaking "Sally Gap" means the crest of the ridge at 503 m (1650 ft), the crossroads with the old military road R115, with Kippure looming to the north and Gravale and Duff Hill to the south. R759 then descends west into the valley of the River Liffey, and the landscape becomes pastoral towards Blessington and the reservoir lake of Poulaphouca.
 * is the scenic R759 through the mountains into west Wicklow, a popular motoring or cycling route. It branches off R755 two km north of Roundwood to ascend past the corrie lake of Lough Tay, the usual start point for climbing Luggala. Strictly speaking "Sally Gap" means the crest of the ridge at 503 m (1650 ft), the crossroads with the old military road R115, with Kippure looming to the north and Gravale and Duff Hill to the south. R759 then descends west into the valley of the River Liffey, and the landscape becomes pastoral towards Blessington and the reservoir lake of Poulaphouca.

Do

 * Hike: Lots of walking close to the village around the reservoirs and woods. Sli ná Sláinte trails are short walks promoted by the Irish Heart Foundation, signposted from village centre. However you can't walk around Lough Dan 3 km west, as this is private land.
 * Djouce at 725 m (2379 ft) can be climbed by a firm boardwalk along the Wicklow Way. Start from either Ballinastoe Wood or JB Malone car park off R759 (you can also ascend from Enniskerry to the north). A gravel path branches off the boardwalk to the summit.
 * The Wicklow Way is a long-distance trail passing 1 km west of Roundwood. Heading south, Day Two is from Knockree to Roundwood, you can divert into the village but there is accommodation on the trail. Day Three is an easy stage from Roundwood to Glendalough, where you'll want to take a full day out to visit the antiquities before trudging on.
 * Golf: Roundwood GC is 5 km east along R765.
 * Special Ops is an outdoor activity centre on the east lake shore, where you ought to arrive in camo.
 * Several more equestrian centres flank M11 to the east.
 * Several more equestrian centres flank M11 to the east.

Buy

 * Centra is the main convenience store. It has an ATM within and stocks food, newspapers, wine, beer etc. It's open M-F 7AM-9PM, Sa Su 8AM-9PM.
 * Roundwood Stores has anything that could be called eco, and a cafe. It's open M-F 9AM-4PM, Sa Su 10AM-5PM.
 * Keely's Hardware Store has practical bits and bats such as BBQ supplies. It's open M-Sa 9AM-5PM.

Eat

 * The Coach House restaurant has rooms, see Sleep.
 * The Coach House restaurant has rooms, see Sleep.

Drink

 * And of course there's always the water.
 * And of course there's always the water.
 * And of course there's always the water.

Connect
As of June 2024 Roundwood and its approach roads have 4G from Eir and Vodafone, and 5G from Three.

Go next

 * Glendalough 6 km south is a scenic valley with a large medieval monastic complex.
 * Wicklow Town has fine gardens at Kilmacurragh and at Mount Usher. The good beaches start 15 km south of town.

title: Roundwood


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Rourkela

Rourkela is the main centre of trade in the Sundergarh district and state of Odisha (formerly known as Orissa).

Understand
Close to Rourkela, lie many scenic places including Khandadhar Waterfall, which boasts to be the highest waterfall of its kind in the whole of eastern India. Apart from that Vedavyas, the confluence of two rivers Sankh and Koel, is only a few miles from the main city, which is believed to be the abode of Vedavyasa, the great poet, who created the grandeur epic Mahabharat.

By plane
Rourkela has its own public airport, which opened in January 2023. It operates daily flights to and fro from Bhubaneswar and Kolkata. Another airport is at Ranchi, 250 km away. You can reach Rourkela from Ranchi by bus or rail.

By rail
Rourkela is well connected to most parts of the country by fast trains. It takes around 7 hr by train from Bhubaneswar. Also, you can reach here from Kolkata, which takes 6 hr. The cost for both fares is around ₹400.

By bus
You can come from Bhubaneshwar by luxury buses for a cost of ₹300-400.The roadway is quite good from the state capital.

Get around
Getting around is very easy with shared autos and very cheap buses. The auto is now the most popular form of transportation because it is quite cheap. Also hired Ambassadors, Tata Sumos, etc., are available for sight-seeing the tourist spots in and around Rourkela.

See
74 feet 9 inch height Hanuman statue.

Hanuman Vatika, VedVyas Temple, Vaisnodevi Mandir on Hills, Hill top (Sec -20), Koel River, IG Park (the main attraction is musical fountain - a must-see), Deer Park, Jubilee Park.

Bhalulata (40 km from Rourkela), Blue stone (80 km), Jaraikela, Mandira Dam (a good picnic spot).

Do
The best time to go to Rourkela is in winter. There are various clubs which organises exhibitions, festivals, competition held during that time. This beautiful city becomes more beautiful at this time. The second best time is during Durga Puja in the month of September - October, where one can enjoy the rich festival, pandals are set up at almost every place.

Buy

 * Aam Bagan - Well known market of Rourkela. It is also known as Ispat Market.
 * Traffic Market - for fruits and vegetables
 * Forum Raleria- supermarket for groceries

Eat

You can have a dinner at Mayfair hotel which has a multicusine restaurant serving Indian, Chinese, Continental and also have a joint called Super Max which serves South Indian Food.Madhuban is a must go place to have food and specially famous for its rolls and Frankies.The Park restaurant near NIT Rourkela is one of the best places to eat here, the food and ambiance of the place is one of the best in Rourkela. Restaurants beside madhuban like nottee 9 and Leela also offer good options. Ambagan is a food street where many local shops are present to give a variety of options.

Nottee at Radhika Hotel is a good family restaurant.

7AM on 11th June St. is a pure vegetarian restaurant.

Must try pani-puri (called Gup-chup) from Sector 18 (old book store row).

Try pizza at Pizza Den which is above the Max Bakery.

Drink
You can hang out at Cafe Coffee Day in the evening.There are also several local shops where you can enjoy different types of mocktails.

Go next

 * Bhubaneswar - about 340 km away by Road. Direct train is also available
 * Jharsuguda - about 130 km away from Rourkela
 * Khandadhar Falls - about 104 km away from Rourkela

title: Rourkela