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'ad it with Amsterdam? OutUK's Adrian Gillan reaches Nether-parts other guides don't reach
in Holland's creative and buzzing electro capital Rotterdam.
Holland's second biggest city, in its South West - birthplace of the great Dutch humanist Erasmus, and home to around two thirds of a million - punches well above its gay weight! Somewhat blitzed in the last war, Rotterdam has risen - ex nihilo, from the ashes - as a creative, cutting edge and contemporary hot-house in the fields of electro-music, art, architecture and design. | |
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Rotterdam still retains its links to the waterfront and harbour that put it on the map and
reaped riches centuries ago via sea trade links with the Dutch East Indies; all intermingled
with dramatic space-age bridges and towers.
A great way to see the city is by foot or guided bicycle tour (see The Little Black Book below), taking in the modern Cube Buildings overlooking the massive marketplace; the lovely walkway through the Old Harbour and floating section of the Maritime Museum; the Walk of Fame, full of hand and footprints of the great and good; the futuristic Erasmus Bridge; the Het Park and Euromast; and Museum Park and Kunsthal - not to mention all the amazing pedestrianised shopping areas just back from the sparkling water. |
Cycling in Rotterdam©Erik De Graaf/Dreamstime |
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As we all know, Netherlands dearly loves its queers. Though few overtly gay-targeting restaurants,
you'll feel particularly at home at middle-eastern themed Bazar, with its sociable communal
dishes and exotic, lamp-lit ambience; and swish, pink-coloured Stockholm down by the Old Harbour,
with its contemporary Euro fare.
FERRY started out as a print magazine in 2011 and has now grown into a meeting spot for the LGBTQ+ community of Rotterdam. With 2 floors, a separate room and a spacious terrace, it offers good music, a warm atmosphere and a tasty menu with bar specials. | |
GAY PRIDERotterdam Pride serves as umbrella organisation that combines and communicates all the activities from different organisations during Rotterdam Pride. They work with cultural partners and partners from different industries to produce the annual celebrations each year in June. |
Protest Fist on a Rotterdam Brick Wall Photo: VlatkoRadovic |
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Rotterdam Pride is the first and oldest pride in the Netherlands which includes Pink Saturday found on the Coolsingel, one of the best
known streets in central Rotterdam located in the Cool district. Yes, they really do have a "Cool" district!
SHOPPINGGaytoys Rotterdam has been the store for gay sex toys in Rotterdam for more than 30 years. They have a wide range of dildos, masturbators, BDSM toys and clothing, and a selection of must-haves and care products for your adventures including condoms, lubricants, toy cleaners and room odorizers that should certainly not be missing in your bedside table. | |
| Rotterdam also boasts a friendly, lively and sizable queer scene, mainly clustered around Van Oldenbarneveltstraat. Meet the queer locals up close - all ages, genders and sizes, at cheery & boozey Elio — the perfect hideout before things get loud. It's open from 5pm just in time for after-work wine, midweek gossip, or a pre-party pour before you go heading off to FERRY. |
The famous cube houses of Rotterdam©Erik De Graaf/Dreamstime |
BARSTwo of the most popular bars are Bar Loge 90 which is almost exclusively gay, and late at night, the bar just about everyone squeezes into Café Keerweer. It's so packed you'll be lucky to get a drink, but sure of continual groping and "vertical frottage" - of necessity, very cruisy. They also have an additional location, Plein 1940 (behind the Maritime Museum) which has a maximum of 750 visitors per day so make sure you experience their unique party!Strano on Van Oldenbarneveltstraat is a gay bar that's good for having a dance or simply to meet friends and have a conversation. It's busy at weekends and the music is known for being good. Café Naar Ons is an authentic traditional Dutch pub with a twist, located in the heart of the city on Oude-Binnenweg. The pub is LGBTQ+ friendly, a hint of which is the rainbow in their logo. They want everyone to be themselves in a pleasant and inclusive environment. Café Naar Ons is open from early afternoon. Later in the day, the pub transforms into a cozy nightlife spot with festive lighting and music. Café Bonaparte was one of the best known gay & drag café in the heart of Rotterdam. It is TEMPORARILY CLOSED. Sadly Richard who led the way, and all the entertainment at the venue passed away a couple of years ago and those involved have not yet recovered from their loss. Their facebook page suggests that they hope to reopen at some point in the future, and hopefully they will, as Bonaparte was one of the best loved gay cafés in the city. NIGHT CLUBSThe Maasboulevard is the main eastern access road from the center of Rotterdam in the Dutch province of South Holland and it has two night clubs in close proximity. There's a gay night club called Maasboulevard which just down the road from a mixed disco club, previously known as Club Vie, but now called Munch. | 
Rotterdam's club scene is renowned in Holland and has a well-earned reputation throughout
Europe. Not surprisingly, many of Holland's top DJs hail from the city, or are based here -
like Michel de Hey, Jay Samuel and Speedy J. Ever since the early nineties the dance music
produced and played in the city has had its own unique feel: hard, fast, rough and gritty -
just like its gorgeous men. These early techno records led to a subgenre that later became
known as "gabber".
One of Rotterdam's most popular nightlife areas is Witte de Withstraat. Besides the street's many restaurants, its pubs, cosy cafés and stylish wine and cocktail bars attract a varied crowd. Tourists, locals, students, intellectuals, clubbers, creative professionals, colleagues enjoying drinks after work: they all rub shoulders on a good Friday or Saturday night, in an exuberant and cheerful atmosphere. The city is also awash with hot electro-based record stores and keep an eye out for many of the annual Music Festivals that celebrate the unique music scene of this vibrant city. If it's literally underground that you are after then Toffler is a house and techno club situated in a former metro tunnel. |
GETTING FITQueer Gym is the first Dutch gym aimed at non-normative bodies, founded by Romy Rockx and located in Rotterdam West. Now a foundation, Queer Gym is active for anyone who wants to (re)discover the joy and confidence in movement in a safe environment.They strive to create an open environment for everyone, regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, appearance, body shape, ability, race, socioeconomic status, religion, age and other personal circumstances and choices. They strive to amplify queer joy, which can look different for every body, which doesn't mean striving for a normative body. It's a totally different gym environment which is popular with a broad rage of LGBTQI+ people. TRAVEL INFOWe can recommend the four-star Hilton Rotterdam - located in the vibrant heart of the city, in the middle of the nightlife and shopping districts.For general info about Rotterdam, including the great value Welcome Card, offering free or discounted travel and entries go to rotterdam.info. KLM's discount airline Transavia fly direct to Rotterdam from London Luton or from Edinburgh. Other airlines like Easyjet and BA go to Amsterdam Schiphol and then you can take a train to Rotterdam from the airport.
Urban Guides provide excellent travel information via their Website Revised September 2025. |