Rotterdam/Northern Rotterdam

Overschie and Hillegersberg-Schiebroek are two districts in the north of Rotterdam. The districts are bound by the Rotte (from which Rotterdam gets its name) in the east, the A20 highway in the south, the river Schiedamse Schie (one of the branches of the Schie that goes to Schiedam) in the west and the Berkelse Zweth and Oude Bovendijk waterways in the north. Within the district lies Zestienhoven polder, which is home to Rotterdam-The Hague airport (RTM IATA).

Not to be confused with Noord (North), a different district of Rotterdam due north of the central station.

Understand

Northern Rotterdam consists of four historical places north of the A20 motorway and the sprawl of the city of Rotterdam around it. These places being Overschie, which was located around the four branches of the river Schie, Schiebroek, a former peat-harvesting colony which in the 1920s boomed as a 'tuinstad' (garden city), Hillegersberg, a town built around the former Ten Berghe castle, which was destroyed in 1426, and Terbregge, a small town on the banks of the river Rotte.

Get in

By plane

Within Northern Rotterdam lies 🌍 Rotterdam-The Hague Airport (RTM IATA). Compared to the close-by Schiphol, this single-runway airport isn't very noteworthy, but can be cheaper to fly into with a direct flight than Schiphol. Flights to and from Rotterdam are mostly operated by Transavia, which flies to Ibiza, Barcelona, London City Airport, Leipzig, Palma de Mallorca and Bergamo among others. The airport is not too far from the Meijersplein metro station, which can be reached by bus line 33. Several car rental agencies are also located at the airport.

By car

If all goes well, the district is to be (almost) completely surrounded by highways by 2024, which connect to virtually any place in the rest of the country with ease. Until then, coming from most of North- and South-Holland, the A13 is your best bet. From Utrecht, and any part of the country east of it, take the A12 heading for Gouda, after which you switch onto the A20. From Dordrecht and most of Noord-Brabant and Limburg, take the A16 towards Rotterdam.

As of 2022, the A13 and A20 border the district on the western and southern sides. To get from one to another, you will have to use the Kleinpolderplein Interchange, which is quite notorious for its congestion within and out of rush hour. Both highways are connected through a flyover. From the A13 onto the A20, this is the leftmost flyover, which follows Rotterdam's ring clockwise. In the opposite direction, there is only one flyover, going in the direction of Delft. Directions to key parts of the district are as follows:

  • Rotterdam-The Hague Airport — Exit 11 (A13) and follow the signs onto the Matlingeweg (N209), then an immediate right onto the Vliegveldweg, followed by a left onto the Rotterdam Airportbaan.
  • Overschie — Exit 13 (A13 and A20), which puts you onto the ring of the Kleinpolderplein. From here, you can turn onto the Abtsweg for Kleinpolder-Oost, or the Burg. de Josselin de Jonglaan for Kleinpolder-West and Overschie. For Overschie, take the first exit at the roundabout, and follow the road. Then turning left onto De Lugt, you will quickly find yourself on the Overschiese Dorpsstraat, which is the historical centre of Overschie.
  • Schiebroek — Exit 14 (A20), heading north onto the N471/S112. Follow the tramline you can see to the right of the road, and turn right once it does, heading onto the Melanchtonweg, then later left onto the Wilgenplaslaan. Following this road then will bring you into the heart of Schiebroek.
  • Hillegersberg Exit 15 (A20, only eastbound), immediately right, followed by another right, which leads you to the other side of the highway. Follow this road which leads right into the centre of Hillegersberg.

By public transit

Northern Rotterdam has one train station to its name on the line between Rotterdam and Gouda: 🌍 Rotterdam (Station) Noord  SPR   4  8 . This train station has three Sprinter services (stopping trains) call here. One of those connects to Gouda and Utrecht, the other connects to Breukelen, Amsterdam and Uitgeest. At those kinds of distances though, it is faster to take an Intercity service via Rotterdam Centraal or Rotterdam Alexander instead.

A central connector for the district is line E of Rotterdam's metro. This service runs between Slinge and Rotterdam Centraal to the south, and with The Hague in the north. Line E has two stops in Schiebroek: 🌍 Melanchtonweg  E  25  and 🌍 Meijersplein  E . The latter connects Rotterdam-The Hague Airport with the Rotterdam Metro via bus line 33, which terminates at this station.

The eastern half of the district (Hillegersberg) is connected to Rotterdam Noord via tram line 4. Overschie in the west is only served by buses. The lines calling in Overschie are:

  • 32: Connecting Overschie with metro and train stations in the city centre (Eendrachtsplein  A  B  C , Beurs  A  B  C  D  E  and Blaak  IC  SPR   A  B  C ) and south of the river Meuse (Rotterdam Zuid  SPR ).
  • 33: Connecting Meijersplein Metro and Rotterdam Airport on the one end with Blijdorp metro and Rotterdam Centraal on the other. This line has at least a bus every ten minutes during weekdays.
  • 40: Runs between Rotterdam Centraal and Delft's train station.

See

  • 🌍 Plaswijckpark, Ringdijk 20 (Plaswijckpark  35 ), ☏ +31 104 181 836, . Opens 10:00, closes 17:00 (Nov - Mar), 18:00 (May 19 - Oct); 19:00 (Jul 17 - Aug 29). Small amusement park, mostly aimed at parents with young children and school classes. The park houses mostly animals from mainland Europe, but also has meerkats, wallabies, coatis, and several species of small monkeys. (updated Oct 2021)
  • 🌍 Rotterdam Tram Museum (Stichting RoMeO), Kootsekade 19 (Kootsekade  4  8 ), ☏ +31 612 042 666. Limited opening days as listed on website. Refer to the Dutch version for the most up-to-date information.. Located in an old tram depot, the museum has dozens of old trams, metros and buses on display that at some point in time services the greater Rotterdam area. The museum and heritage train rides through the city centre are organised and run by volunteers, so opening hours may vary wildly. Age 4-11, 65+: €3; age 12-64: €5. (updated Apr 2022)

Windmills
  • 🌍 De Speelman, Overschiese Kleiweg 775 (Ten minutes east from Ruggeweg  32  33  40 , follow Weerlanerstraat). Open when turning. De Speelman was built in 1712. Heavily damaged during World War II, it was restored and moved to its present location. 
  • 🌍 De Prinsenmolen, Prinsenmolenpad 72 (Bergse Dorpstraat  4 , follow Freericksplaats → Weissenbruchlaan → Strekkade → Prinsenmolenpad, about 20 minutes on foot). closed to visitors. De Prinsenmolen dates back to 1648 and worked until 1966 to keep the adjacent polder dry. It's a house now, but the mill is still in working order. It's a nice walk alongside the Bergse Voorplas lake. 
  • 🌍 De Vier Winden, Terbregse Rechter Rottekade 91 (Prinses Irenebrug  33 , about a ten minute walk upstream along the Rotte from the Prinsenmolen). closed to visitors. De Vier Winden was built in 1776. Until 1964 it was used to grind wheat. Although the mill is not open to visitors, it has a small shop with old fashioned mill-products. 

Do
  • Lage Bergse Bos (Low (Hillegers)bergse Forest). Originally a region where peat was claimed for burning in Rotterdam households, leaving the area as a wetland. The area was reclaimed thereafter, and in 1970 the region was transformed into a forested park of 216 hectares (0.83 sq mi).
    • The Lage Bergse Bos does not have many commodities and functions much like any city park would. Central points around the park feature restaurants, these being located at the Wezelpad and Muizenplaats.
  • Hoge Bergse Bos (High (Hillegers)bergse Forest). Located somewhat further from Rotterdam, the Hoge Bergse Bos is the hillier brother of the Lage Bergse Bos. These hills formed due to human interaction, with the area being used for dumping demolition- and building scraps. It is this terrain that gives the Hoge Bergse Bos some of its qualities for activities.
    • 🌍 Ski en Skatecentrum Bergschenhoek (Outdoor Valley Wintersport), Rottebandreef 10, Bergschenhoek, ☏ +31 105 220 755. W 13:00 - 18:00; Th F 15:00 - 18:00; Sa Su 10:00 - 18:00. Skiing and snowboarding year-round. Also allows for activities such as tubing. From €7.75, cheaper when purchased online. (updated Oct 2021)
    • 🌍 Outdoor Valley, Hoeksekade 141, Bergschenhoek, ☏ +315 221 380. 09:00 - 18:00. Outdoor centre, featuring a climbing wall, canoe (from €14.50 per canoe), kayak (from €10 per kayak) and mountain bike (from €23.50 per bike) rental as well as disc golf (from €7.50 per person). Outdoor Valley also organises events such as obstacle runs and mud runs. At least €1 cheaper when purchased online.. (updated Oct 2021)
    • 🌍 Golfbaan de Hooge Rotterdamsche, Rottebandreef 40, Bergschenhoek, ☏ +31 105 220 052, . 07:30 - 21:00. 18-hole from €37, 9-hole from €26. (updated Oct 2021)
  • Enjoy the countryside in polder Schieveen with spectacular views on the skyline of Rotterdam. This polder is situated just north of the airport and for a large part in the original state since the area was reclaimed after peat harvesting. Plans for a business park and new nature in the form of marsh/wetlands were torpedoed due to the recession and to protect species (especially birds) associated with the pastures. Since 2016 the area is preserved as a cultural landscape where nature is protected. New paths for cycling and walking have been added. Note that parts of the polder are closed 1 March - 1 July to protect birds breeding in the polder.

Buy

The essential supermarkets are all located in central locations within Overschie and Schiebroek-Hillegersberg: In Overschie, almost all supermarkets and most common shops are found along the Burgemeester Baumannlaan.

In Schiebroek-Hillegersberg, shops and restaurants are located along several main roads which all connect to one another, these being:

  • Kleiweg (Bergpolderplein  8 )
  • Straatweg (Kootsekade  4  8 )
  • Bergse Dorpsstraat and Weissenbruchlaan (Bergse Dorpsstraat  4 )

Another shopping 'artery' of Schiebroek is the Peppelweg (Meidoornweide  25 )

Eat

Much like the shops, restaurant and other eating venues can be found along the main streets of the towns within the district. In Overschie, most restaurants span along the Burgemeester Baumannlaan. In Hillegersberg, there are two centres around the Bergpolderplein (Bergpolderplein  8 ) and around the Bergse Dorpsstraat (Bergse Dorpsstraat  4 ).

Other restaurants outside of the town centres are:

Sleep

The biggest hotel-density of Northern Rotterdam is, somewhat unsurprisingly, found around Rotterdam-The Hague Airport, to the north of Overschie.

Aside from a few B&Bs dotted around Northern Rotterdam, that's all that's on offer within the district. Around the district's edges with Schiedam or Kralingen and Crooswijk, however, there are more than enough hotels and B&Bs to make up for the relative lack of them within the district itself.

Go next
  • Rotterdam's city centre — The heart of Rotterdam, which while having been lost in the Second World War, has found new life as a city centre that is unlike that of your average Dutch city, while still retaining many of the museums, restaurants, shops and nightlife that come with being a large city's central district. Both Northern Rotterdam and the city centre can be combined relatively easily, as all tram connections within Northern Rotterdam connect back to the central train station.
  • The more tourist-y districts of Rotterdam can be found in Delfshaven and Feijenoord, both of which are formerly major harbours, which, after ports moving closer to the sea itself, turned into more trendy outgoing districts with its own communities and identities. The Port of Rotterdam, however, definitely can merit a day trip in itself, for the sheer scale of this European mega-port.
  • Gouda, more than just a cheese, is also a fairly close-by historical city which can be easily be visited by train.
  • Other interesting visits can be made to the sea-side town of Hoek van Holland, the Dutch political capital of The Hague and the charming historical university city of Delft.
Routes through Northern Rotterdam
END ←  S  N  → Delft → The Hague
END ←  W  S  → Dordrecht → Breda → Antwerp
Maassluis ← Vlaardingen ←  W  E  → Nieuwerkerk → Gouda
Rotterdam CS ←  S  NE  → Gouda → Breukelen


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