Rotterdam Zuid

Zuid is a region of Rotterdam comprising of the districts of Charlois and IJsselmonde. In local descriptions, however, 'Zuid' is a term referring to all parts of Rotterdam located south of the Nieuwe Maas river.

Understand

Of the two city districts in Zuid, IJsselmonde is the oldest name in existence, dating back to 1072. Charlois, its pronunciation having corrupted over time to sound like "Sahr-lows", originates from 1462, when the land previously known as the Reijerwaard comes into the possession of Charles the Bold, duke of Burgundy. The act granting it to him, states that the land henceforth shall be known as the Land of Charollais (The land of Charles).

IJsselmonde was originally built around the Castle of IJsselmonde, which was demolished in 1900. Its land covered much of what is today all of Rotterdam's south bank. Its main source of prosperity was salmon fishing, which was brought into jeopardy as the Industrial Revolution polluted the water enough for catches to decrease significantly. The town was annexed into Rotterdam in 1941. In 1965, the Van Brienenoord bridge was completed, creating a fixed link between IJsselmonde and the north bank. Most of IJsselmonde was designed in the 1950s and since, as a southern garden city with an auxiliary function to Rotterdam.

Charlois was annexed significantly earlier, in 1895, and was initially mostly used for the creation of harbours to offload the strain on the harbour of Rotterdam's city centre. Later still, this harbour activity would mostly shift to the more westerly Europort. Europort nowadays is the foremost harbour of Europe. The former docklands of Charlois have mostly been redeveloped for cultural and housing needs.

Get in

The region is bound on the southern and eastern side by motorways: The A15 so the south, and the A16 to the east. Both of those motorways make up part of Rotterdam's ringway. Access to the district goes either via Dordrecht (A16) or Gorinchem (A15) when coming from other Dutch locations below the rivers. From north of the rivers, the A20 connects to Rotterdam's ring from the direction of Gouda. From there, the A16 should be followed heading for Dordrecht. From The Hague (and the rest of Holland), the A4 fulfils this task. It connects to the A15 once it emerges south of the river.

By public transit

Coming from anywhere in the country, travel either to Rotterdam Centraal or Dordrecht, whichever your train calls at first. From Rotterdam Centraal, the metro lines  D  and  E  head south of the river. One terminates at Slinge, the other at Spijkenisse De Akkers, which lies further down the same track. The halts of Maashaven  D  E , Zuidplein  D  E  and Slinge  D  E  lie within the region. At Zuidplein, you can change onto trams going laterally through the districts. From Dordrecht, take a stopping train to Rotterdam Lombardijen. There, transfer onto tram  2  for Charlois, which connects to the metro at Maashaven. Trams in the region are primarily served by lines  2  (west-east, partially on the same alignment as line  20 ),  25  (north-south, connecting with 2 and 20 at Breeplein). Out in IJsselmonde, line  23  connects to most of the district.

See

With most of Rotterdam's south being 20th century, primarily post-war developments dating from the fifties and sixties, it's not surprising to find many museums or historical sights here. Feijenoord has more traditional sights. The more interesting sights of Zuid are those 20th century housing developments, such as the neighbourhoods built around the malls listed in Buy below.

Do

• 1 Rotterdam Ahoy. Rotterdam's foremost event venue, hosting fairs, sporting events, concerts and congresses. The venue was the home of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2021, but some of the recurring events are listed below. (updated Aug 2024)
  • Zesdaagse van Rotterdam (December/January) — Six-day race cycling event.
  • ABN AMRO Open (February) — A hardcourt tennis tournament for men.
  • Premier League Darts (March/April) — One of the premier tournaments in darts.
  • North Sea Jazz Festival (July) — Annual music festival centring around jazz music.
• 2 Baroeg, Spinozaweg 300, ☏ +31 104 325 735. A self-titled 'sub-cultural venue', Baroeg originates from a youth centre set up in 1981. It's mostly claimed its fame as a concert venue for mostly alternative rock; genres like metal, punk and hardcore have been their main niche since the mid-nineties. (updated Aug 2024)
• 3 Adventure City Rotterdam, Dorpslaan 428, ☏ +31 108 002 080. Tu-Su: 10:00 - 17:00. Indoor and outdoor adventure park with ziplines, climbing trails, freefalls and more. Fit for both children and adults. (updated Aug 2024)

Buy

• 1 Winkelcentrum Zuidplein (Zuidplein Mall), Zuidplein (Zuidplein  D  E ). Directly north of Ahoy, the Zuidplein Mall is fully integrated with the metro, with its ground floor being a hub for local buses. It houses the usual businesses you'd find in a mall: Supermarkets, clothes and cosmetics shops, food stands and major restaurants. (updated Aug 2024)
• 2 Winkelcentrum Keizerswaard (Keizerswaard Mall), Keizerswaard (Keizerswaard  2  12  23 ). Another mall, this one in the centre of IJsselmonde. It houses some 80 stores of mostly national chain brands, with a public transit hub for trams and buses nearby. (updated Aug 2024)

Sleep

• 1 Bastion Hotel Rotterdam Zuid, Driemanssteeweg 5, ☏ +31 104 101 000. Check-in: 14:00, check-out: 12:00. (updated Aug 2024)
• 2 Bastion Hotel Barendrecht, Van der Waalsweg 27, ☏ +31 104 792 204. Check-in: 14:00, check-out: 12:00. (updated Aug 2024)
• 3 Van der Valk Ridderkerk, Krommeweg 1, ☏ +31 180 646 900, receptie@ridderkerk.valk.com. Check-in: 14:00, check-out: 11:00. (updated Aug 2024)

Mid-range

• 4 Ibis Styles Rotterdam Ahoy, Jacob Kleiboerweg 80, ☏ +31 105 806 800, toll-free: +31 206 545 730, HB9R9@accor.com. Check-in: 15:00, check-out: 11:00. (updated Aug 2024)