Rotterdam

An electrifying mix of heady dub clubs, swinging cocktail bars, shopping strips and quirky galleries, Rotterdam continues to vie with Amsterdam like some proudly alternative pretender to the throne. In fact, Rotterdam is starkly different to most all metropolises in northern Europe, which—love it loathe it—makes it an extremely interesting stop-off roughly mid-way between Paris and Berlin.

Once the busiest port on the planet, Rotterdam’s maritime past remains indelible to every aspect of its urban aesthetic. On the jetties of the Old Harbour canal, barges bob and creak with the ebb and flow of the water, visitors flood into the Maritime Museum nearby and cosmopolitan eateries converge around the Blaak Station; its curious mix of French fine-dining and Asian staples a testimony to the cultures and creeds that still flow through this naval gateway. For the culture hungry traveller there are also fantastic museums like the Boijmans –Van Beuningen and Kunsthal to explore, along with quaint neighbourhoods, a smattering of rustic Dutch windmills and the Grote of Sint Laurenskerk, the only surviving example of gothic medieval architecture. This architectural marvel of a city otherwise sports a modern look, with skyscrapers and the sleek Erasmus Bridge concentrated around the Maas river area. But, if Rotterdam trumps other cities in anything, it’s got to be the nightlife, because after dark this student hub throbs with energy and interest, blues and electro pop, heady techno and underground jazz alike.